What is a Disk Disease?
Structure of The dog’s backbone.
-The dog’s backbone, just like the human’s backbone is made up of a large number of vertebrae.
-Between to successive vertebrae are located the inter-vertebral disks; as the dog ages, the inter-vertebral disks in the dog starts to degrade, which quite obviously, results in a variety of back problems for the dog.
-The shorter the legs of the dogs the more rapid this degradation because the inter-vertebral disks cannot act as an effective shock absorber if it is supported by shorter limbs.
Symptoms of Dogs Disk Disease
Common symptoms of disk disease in dogs include:
- Reluctance of the dog to move about.
- The sensation of pain when the dog is picked up.
- Weakness in the rear legs.
- Inability to control urine or bowel movements.
- Rigid abdominal muscles.
- Inability and unwillingness of the dog to move the head up or down.
Treatment of Disk Disease in Dogs
1-Medical Care and Treatment
Treatment of this condition is largely dependent upon the extent of damage caused in the dog.
Treatment of disk disease in dogs, often involves the prescription of steroids, whose main function is to get rid of any inflammation that may have occurred.
It also helps to decrease the size of the damaged tissue and damaged disk. But pain relievers should be used with caution and only after consultation with the vet.
2-surgical Treatment
The second method of treating this condition is the surgical removal of the affected disk.
The part of the spine which is affected is removed. But this must be done within a period of 48 hours after the symptoms are first observed.
After this, a period of rehabilitation and regular medical check-ups is mandatory and soon, your dog will be healthy again!
Disk diseases are a very common phenomenon in the shorter breeds of dog, so be on the lookout for the signs and symptoms and get your dog medical assistance as rapidly as possible!