herniated disks - Page 1

any experience on this what was the out come what was the cause

I had an oversized GSD in the late 80's that herniated a lumbar disk. I had surgery to fuse the two surrounding vertebra at University of CA, Davis. He recovered very well with careful rehabilitation (mostly swimming) but I never allowed him to jump any higher than needed to hop in my van, never did bite work again, worried that he might be re-injured. At just three years, and easily controlled during recovery (compliant with my instruction not bouncing around) he was an excellent candidate for the procedure. My dear Pallo herniated two disks in a freak accident (lost his balance and fell getting out of the van) at age 11 1/2. Surgery was not an option. When non-invasive treatment with steroids and anti-infammatory agents failed to be effective after a couple of months and he finally began to lose control of his rear and and bodily functions last May I knew it was his time to go on ahead to Rainbow Bridge. It wouldn't have been fair to put such an old dog through the pain of surgery, let alone a lengthy, possibly unsuccessful recovery period. It was a very painful decision, but in retrospect, I'm sure it was the right one. SS