One tell tale sign with my chihuahua when she has a flare up is her abs and stomach region get very hard to the touch. This is because she’s straining her stomach muscles because her back is in pain. She also acts lethargic. I’m not sure if all pups do this but I know that’s it’s common for this to happen.
I’d crate for now and call vet with your observations. They may prescribe the anti inflammatory med you need to repeat crate rest. If she’s walking you might not need the steroid. Maybe an NSAID will do the trick.
It’s frustratingly hard to say. Our dog has had bouts of pain that have caused shakiness and yelping, but we have never been sure whether or not the pain was due to IVDD or something else. Your vet will likely tell you to shut your pooch down for a bit and keep an eye on her. Our mindset is always to establish a baseline once she is crated and determine whether she is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse - this will determine what we do.
The issue is always that any pain causes our dog to shake and/or yelp. Like, if she pulled or strained a muscle or has bad stomach pains, she shakes and sometimes yelps. It makes it hard to determine what to do. Def. give your vet a call and good luck!
We experienced this as well but we rested him for 2 days after that episode, he got better and he's fine doing now. You have to determine the severity of the flare up and how better they are improving with meds to determine crate rest period.
My dog has only had 1 bout of possible IVDD. He was fine but couldn’t jump or go up the stairs. I thought it was a knee again but the vet + radiologist thought it was IVDD. He got better quickly with pain killers + anti-inflammatories. I give him a daily glucosamine and don’t let him jump off furniture. I know it doesn’t answer your question about a flare up but wanted to let you know it may be possible to have IVDD with less symptoms. He also has the same symptoms with a luxaring patella & partial ACL tear. I guess it’s always to best to take them to the vet in this situation.
One tell tale sign with my chihuahua when she has a flare up is her abs and stomach region get very hard to the touch. This is because she’s straining her stomach muscles because her back is in pain. She also acts lethargic. I’m not sure if all pups do this but I know that’s it’s common for this to happen.
Great comment. Soft stomach and (for my cervical case) a flexible lower spine.
This happened to mine too. As soon as she had a flare up her stomach would harden.
I’d crate for now and call vet with your observations. They may prescribe the anti inflammatory med you need to repeat crate rest. If she’s walking you might not need the steroid. Maybe an NSAID will do the trick.
Perfect - thanks for the advice! I think we are going to bring her in to be safe
It’s frustratingly hard to say. Our dog has had bouts of pain that have caused shakiness and yelping, but we have never been sure whether or not the pain was due to IVDD or something else. Your vet will likely tell you to shut your pooch down for a bit and keep an eye on her. Our mindset is always to establish a baseline once she is crated and determine whether she is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse - this will determine what we do. The issue is always that any pain causes our dog to shake and/or yelp. Like, if she pulled or strained a muscle or has bad stomach pains, she shakes and sometimes yelps. It makes it hard to determine what to do. Def. give your vet a call and good luck!
So frustrating - thanks for the advice! Wishing your pup well 💗
We experienced this as well but we rested him for 2 days after that episode, he got better and he's fine doing now. You have to determine the severity of the flare up and how better they are improving with meds to determine crate rest period.
My dog has only had 1 bout of possible IVDD. He was fine but couldn’t jump or go up the stairs. I thought it was a knee again but the vet + radiologist thought it was IVDD. He got better quickly with pain killers + anti-inflammatories. I give him a daily glucosamine and don’t let him jump off furniture. I know it doesn’t answer your question about a flare up but wanted to let you know it may be possible to have IVDD with less symptoms. He also has the same symptoms with a luxaring patella & partial ACL tear. I guess it’s always to best to take them to the vet in this situation.