Confirm IVDD before crating- my dog had tumor not IVDD

Hi, this isn't the typical sort of post on here so I'm not sure if it is allowed, but I wanted to share my experience with my dog with the hope that it might help others. It's coming close to one year now without my dog. I never made an account here before, but I browsed the forum and website. I wrote a longer post on reddit a while back about my experience which I'll link www.reddit.com/r/Petloss/comments/u2fe2k/dealing_with_grief_and_guilt_over_my_dog/, but I'll at least try to be more brief here.

My dog had been having issues with random pain and his walking had worsened so I made an appt with the vet. They said the pain was originating from his neck and believed it could be a slipped/herniated disc or even a soft issue injury. The vet recommended taking it easy and not letting him walk up or down stairs and prescribed gabapentin for pain (which I gave along with his heart medicine). She didn't want to take an x-ray then because she worried it would only further cause pain to his neck and I didn't insist on one which is something I've really come to regret.

I did a bit of research on ivdd,believing his symptoms lined up, and I took it upon myself to start crate rest for him. I set up an area in the living room with a couple of dog beds and pillows. I could tell he didn't enjoy it but I wanted to avoid any chance of him needing surgery. I ended up restricting his movement for almost 2 months in total. It was hard to tell at points whether he was improving or worsening, especially when it seems the gabapentin itself made his walk more wobbly. I began to notice he was having problems swallowing. I didn't find someone on the forum with the same issue, but I thought it seemed reasonable that cervical disc issues could cause issues with swallowing. I already had his food/water elevated but started to feed him softer food in case the kibble was causing too much stress on his neck. I called the vet to make an appt, the soonest available being 2 weeks out. I was somewhat worried that the crate rest I was doing wasn't strict enough or that he'd managed to re-injure himself since he wasn't always calm and still.

Days passed and I felt he was also beginning to whine more, whether due to pain or from being unhappy in crate rest, I wasn't sure. He was also drooling at times and occasionally had breathing that was more wheezy. Another symptom that I noticed toward the end which I ultimately never told the vets was that he seemed to not be able to move his tongue much anymore. I was becoming more anxious and suspicious about his condition and debated on taking him to the ER instead of waiting for his regular vet app, but I wanted to avoid this due to previous negative experiences with the ER vet hospital and because I wanted to avoid moving him too much. I finally did take him to the ER where we were told that he had a mass on his neck which the vet believed to be a tumor. They wanted to take an x-ray but I decided against getting it there and then because the experience there hadn't been great and I was worried that my dog would react badly with the sedative they wanted to give him for the x-ray. He was still breathing heavily because I could hear when they had him out in observation that they wanted to see how he would walk/run for a bit. I was really upset that I had kept him in crate rest all that time for nothing and now he was being pushed to over-exert himself. We went home after he was given a shot for pain and the next day I was able to get in an appt with his vet.

An x-ray was done and the vet told me he had an abscess. He said abscesses could be caused by an underlying tumor, but that he didn't believe my dog had that issue. They drained some fluid to be sent out for analysis (which I ultimately never got the results for) and was sent home with antibiotics and a NSAID. The ER vet had recommended steroids, but I figured his primary vet was worried about the side effects for some reason, so I didn't question it.

My dog still had issues, but seemed much more calm now that he could walk freely around the house instead of being cooped up in the living room. About 5 days later, he was up early morning with obvious breathing difficulty, with his chin covered in drool. We took him to another ER hospital where the vet told us he had a mass on his trachea which was making it difficult for him to breathe. She believed surgery was too risky (especially with his heart condition) and warned that switching to steroids could give him stomach ulcers. She recommended putting him down. We took him home with the new steroid and a stomach protectant. He slept for a few hours at home, but ultimately I decided to take him back later that day to be put down.

I still feel a lot of regret and guilt and resentment for how everything went down. I wonder how differently he would have progressed if he had been given steroids (or even the NSAID) sooner, or if I had ignored the last ER vet's conclusion and tried the steroid for a few more days to see if he could at least temporarily improve. I wish I could make it up to him and had given him a better last couple of months instead of making them worse with crate rest. I'm grateful he was at least able to walk around for the last few days. He was 16 years old.

I really wish I had insisted on getting an x-ray sooner. A lot of pain could have been avoided. If you have a breed that is susceptible to ivdd or they have symptoms consistent with ivdd preceded by an obvious injury, then you might able to safely assume and go without. But otherwise, please try to confirm an ivdd diagnosis before committing to long-term crate rest.

I'm sorry for anyone else who has lost their dog and good luck to those out there who are currently in recovery with their dogs.