French Bulldog IVDD

I want to start this entry out on a positive note because IVDD can feel scary in the beginning. I found myself feeling stressed and overwhelmed during our recovery period, and I am sure that will come out as you read through my IVDD journey with my French Bulldog Luna.

Positive note: Please know that many dogs do recover from Intervertebral Disc Disease, or find a new normal – it is not a death sentence. My Intervertebral Disc Disease experience is with my French Bulldog Luna, and she was strong, resilient, and eager to get better the entire time. Other Frenchie parents I managed to connect with during this time felt the same way about their dogs. These dogs want to get better, and they typically can with your help!

My IVDD experience will be broken down into multiple entries. There’s so much information to cover, and I want to make sure I cover everything over our eight week recovery period. With that being said, this is my own experience. I am not an expert on Intrevertibal Disc Disease, but I know what helped Luna for her specific needs. Every IVDD case is different, it can occur in different areas of the back or neck, there are different grades of severity, and there is not a “one size fits all” treatment method. Anything I write in this entry or other IVDD entries is not intended to replace high-quality Veterinary care. Your Vet and more than likely a referral to a Neurologist is the route you will need to go to get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. Only your Vet or Neurologist can recommend whether you should pursue a surgical or conservative treatment method. I will post resources at the end of this blog entry, where you can find information about this disease. Also keep in mind that social media cannot be used to form a diagnosis or treatment plan. It is so amazing to connect with others, but please always consult with your vet before taking any recommendations from people via social media.

What is IVDD?

As a human, we probably better understand the term, slipped disc. It is often confused with an injury, but this is a genetic disorder. Symptoms can become present due to an action that we would perceive as an injury. For example, I believe Luna’s Olympic couch-jumping is what caused her IVDD to become apparent. Our MRI showed that she already had disc degeneration, so the disease has always been there, and over time it has just been waiting to show its ugly face. The discs between vertebrae that absorb shock, become dry, brittle, and this eliminates their ability to absorb shock as they did before. This will then result in a disc herniation and compression of the spine. The worst part is that you don’t know a dog has IVDD until the disease becomes very apparent. The only way you would know is if you chose to perform an MRI on a seemingly healthy dog, but even then it can become apparent at almost any age – so there’s no way to foretell if this is going to happen to your dog. Breeds that are genetically predisposed to Intrevertibal Disc Disease include but are not limited to French Bulldogs, Dachshunds, Pugs, Bulldogs, Basset Hounds, Shih Tzus, Cocker spaniels, Poodles, and Pekingese. 

Day 1 – 3 of initial diagnosis

So what did IVDD look like for us before the diagnosis was made? Nothing, it almost looked like nothing was wrong. Helpful, right? On day one, Luna was spending a little more time under our kitchen table and was acting a little timid. It wasn’t completely abnormal behavior for her. Especially if she’s upset with one of her fur-siblings, but my dog-mom senses were firing off. Something just didn’t feel right. My husband and I decided to wait because we didn’t feel like calling our vet to say, “Luna is acting kind of weird socially, she also seems totally fine, and things are relatively normal.” It seemed like a hard case to sell to our vet in regards to getting Luna seen. We also didn’t know if any of this truly warranted the cost of a vet visit. We were and still are restricted from going into the Vet due to COVID-19, and our Vet has been incredibly busy. So we decided to wait to see if things resolved on their own.

Luna played with Okja and Yoda in the evening, ate her dinner normally, and we went to bed. As I went to lay down with her, I noticed strange spasms and twitches in her hind legs. We poked, prodded, and rubbed but she gave no verbal indication she was in pain. So we decided we would wait until morning and get her into the vet right away. Luckily, our vet is awesome and was able to see her immediately. At that time, though, Luna’s spasms had mostly stopped, and she once again seemed fine. Our vet completed the exam and was also baffled. Luna was not giving us any other signs that she was in pain, and she was walking without a problem. We were told to call with any changes. So we went about our day, and everything was normal. Later that night, Luna started refusing to take the two stairs she needed to walk down to get from our porch to our backyard. We carried her up the stairs and she continued to walk normally. That night there was a lot of panting going on and she couldn’t get comfortable.

We put a call into the vet first thing the next morning and were able to get an appointment around fairly quickly. There was a drastic change in Luna’s ability to walk overnight. She was unable to support herself with her back left leg. As she was eating her breakfast she would slowly start to lean to one side and fall over, she had a “drunk walk”, and she pooped herself as she was trying to eat her breakfast. Her back legs were constantly in a criss-cross state and her belly felt really hard and bloated. These are apparently all classic IVDD symptoms. 

Our strange, misunderstood symptoms, seemed to change for the absolute worst overnight. Our Vet knew something wasn’t right as soon as she saw Luna in comparison to her abilities the day before. She did an x-ray and she could tell that something wasn’t right in a certain area of Luna’s spine. Please know that x-rays cannot diagnose IVDD, an MRI is the best way to see exactly what’s going on with the spine but we will talk about this more later. So our vet called a Specialty Neurologist and scheduled Luna for an emergency appointment. Things did not look good as our Vet felt Luna was losing or had lost deep pain sensation in her back left leg. So my husband and I started our 1 ½ hour drive to the Neurologist, with tear-filled eyes, and complete uncertainty about what was going to happen to Luna.

Our Neuro Appointment

We arrived at the Neurologists but had to wait another hour or so to be seen. People still weren’t allowed in the office due to COVID-19, so once Luna was admitted, we had to pass her off to the Vet Tech and wait to hear the news. We worked with two different Neurologists on Luna’s case. Both had that calm and amazing voice that made the situation not feel so bad even though they were delivering difficult news. The first Neurologist examined Luna and definitely felt this was a Neurological issue due to IVDD. He did the “Paw Flip Test” and Luna did not notice when her back left paw was flipped upside down. (This is referred to as knuckling when a dog drags their toes or if they leave their paw flipped while they’re standing.) Luna did notice when her other paws were flipped upside down and would correct them immediately. The basis of this test is that a dog should know when their paws are flipped the wrong way and immediately correct them. The fact that a dog does not recognize their paws are flipped is a sign that there’s a neurological issue going on. 

 Our Neurologist went over what they felt needed to be done and discussed the recovery statistics, which are really good! There were many mentions of surgery but they wanted to do an MRI and spinal tap first to determine what was going on. The MRI would show a clear picture of Luna’s spine and the spinal tap would help identify whether or not there was another underlying disease. She would have to go under anesthesia which is always scary but my husband and I agreed that we needed the MRI and spinal tap so we could move forward with confidence. So we drove back home without Luna and it was painful. For me personally, there’s nothing worse than making a drive back home without your dog.

Several hours later we received a phone call from our Neuro. Luna was still able to walk, so that was good news. She wasn’t declining further. Her spinal tap came back clear so that meant they didn’t suspect her areas of inflammation were Myelitis.

Her MRI showed mild cord compression at the level of the T-12 and T-13 intervertebral disc space and bruising of her spine. Bruising of the spinal cord is referred to as a traumatic disc rupture.  I literally couldn’t wrap my head around what all of that meant, but the Neuro was really great about helping me understand. I think my brain was just so overwhelmed and confused over what was happening that nothing made sense. The two Neurologists that consulted on Luna’s case both agreed that they didn’t feel it was necessary to put her through surgery. They even said if this were their own dog that they would pursue the conservative crate rest method. This was good news because while my husband and I were prepared for the expense, it was nice to know that we could go a more conservative route. The MRI alone was incredibly expensive so prior to the call we had to prepare our finances to absorb the cost of surgery.

Conservative Treatment

IVDD is typically treated with surgery or the conservative method. Even if you pursue surgery there will be a strict crate rest period for your dog as well. I can’t speak on the surgical option because we didn’t have to go through it. The only thing I know, is that the Surgeon will perform surgery to relieve pressure from the spine and remove a portion of the vertebrae causing the issue. That is incredibly summarized, so please make sure to do additional research if you are pursuing surgery.

Our conservative treatment plan would require daily doses of Prednisolone(steroids to help reduce inflammation) and very strict crate rest. Strict crate rest limits movement to the spine and allows the damaged discs to heal. My husband and I would be carrying Luna in and out of the house for potty breaks, limiting her steps outside, and then she would go right back in her crate or pack’n’play. We opted to start physical therapy around week four, but we will talk about that more in the next entry. I have to say, and I think many Frenchie parents will agree – crate rest is probably more mentally trying for humans than it is for dogs. Luna made our crate rest experience pretty easy because she’s always been comfortable in her crate – but I found it to be difficult. Probably because I had to go from caring for a very active dog to a dog that was limited in every aspect of her life. 

We alternated between Luna’s crate and a pack’n’play, which was suggested to us by a Facebook support group that I joined. Luna was kept in her crate at night, any time we were away from the house, and any time someone couldn’t keep a close eye on her. We went with the pack’n’play suggestion for times we could keep an eye on her. The pack’n’play could be easily moved from room to room, I could let her spend a little extra time outside in the pack’n’play, and it gave her a tiny bit more room compared to her crate. I could keep her water bowl and toys on one side and her bed on the other. I plan to do another entry showcasing the products we used to navigate and get us through the crate rest period. 

Weeks 1-3

Can I be completely honest with you? Managing IVDD is the most stressful thing I have ever dealt with. I felt if I made one wrong move, missed a dose of medication, or allowed her freedom too early that I would set her back tremendously. I feel that nothing in this world is perfect, but I felt like I had no option but to be on top of absolutely everything for Luna’s sake.  I now had to restrict Luna from all of her daily routines and limit her movement. While our dogs’ little bodies have a lot of work to do, so do we as parents. I wish this never happened, but I am lucky it happened during the beginning of COVID-19 as I was forced to work from home. This gave me the ability to keep my eye on her and do everything that needed to be done for her. 

For the first few days, I felt more overwhelmed than I can describe. I searched Instagram using the hashtag #IVDD and found another Frenchie that had also gone to the same Neurologist we had been referred to. She really put my mind at ease and referred me to a very helpful Facebook group. Connecting with other IVDD parents in this group saved my sanity. It was so hard for friends and family to understand what I was going through. Not many people know what IVDD is, and until you experience something I think it’s hard to find common ground with people on certain things. This group made it possible for me to research real experiences, talk with people that were in the same boat, or had already navigated the choppy IVDD waters.

If you search for IVDD information online, in my opinion, you’re going to find a lot of old school information. It was nice to connect with people who were experiencing this in the here and now.

So in weeks 1-3, if I wasn’t working my regular job or taking care of Luna, I was on Facebook talking to the people in this group. I was also able to connect with a lot of great people through Instagram as well.

In regards to Luna’s healing and progress, I have to be honest, we didn’t see a ton of improvement in the first three weeks. The healing seemed to be pretty linear. In the beginning, she was only prescribed two weeks of Prednisolone, but as we tapered her off we could see her regressing. Needless to say, I freaked out, but if this happens to you…IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY! Sometimes they’re not ready to come off of their medication as soon as expected. Just plan to keep a close eye as you taper the medication and contact your Neuro immediately if you notice your dog regressing. 

In our case, we started noticing weakness in her hindlimbs and a little bit of the drunk walk returning. We caught it quickly, our Neuro eased our mind and adjusted her medication, and after another two weeks of medication, we were able to successfully taper Luna off of her medication successfully.

So don’t get discouraged if in the first few weeks you don’t see big improvements. Many other Frenchie parents and I agreed that we didn’t see BIG changes until week 4 or 5. Luna was still weak, her gait was off, she was losing muscle mass – it was hard to find a positive outlook in the first few weeks. Hang in there, things are going to get better, and you’re not alone!

My next IVDD entries will include the amazing progress we saw in the final weeks of her resting period and products I used to help her throughout our conservative treatment.

IVDD Resources

Instagram: If you use Instragram try using these hashtags to connect and follow the progress of other IVDD Frenchies. #IVDD #IVDDRECOVERY #FIGHTLIKEAFRENCHIE #FLAF #IVDDSUCKS #IVDDSURVIVOR #IVDDSUPPORTGROUP #IVDDWONTSTOPME #VETERINARYNEUROLOGY #IVDDSUCKS #IVDDAWARENESS

Facebook: This is the support group that I mentioned in this entry. French Bulldog IVDD Support Group.

Websites for IVDD Info: Dodger’s List and Southeast Veterinary Neurology

Other IVDD Entries: Luna’s IVDD Recovery Weeks 4-8 & IVDD Crate Rest Guide

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Disclaimer: Any information in this blog is not meant to replace high-quality Veterinary care. IVDD can only be diagnosed by a Veterinarian follow by a proper treatment plan. Please refer to the beginning of this blog for my thoughts on proper care and how important it is to seek professional medical advice.

French Bulldog IVDD