Expect a few days to a week in hospital, then around six weeks of strict confinement at home. Dogs that went into surgery still walking usually recover fastest; dogs that were paralysed can take weeks to months to regain walking, and nursing care in that window, especially bladder management, is a genuine commitment.
| Stage | Where you are | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 7 | Hospital | Pain control, wound care, bladder management, first physio |
| Weeks 1 to 2 | Home, strict crate rest | Carried out to toilet; bladder checks if function has not returned |
| Weeks 2 to 6 | Confinement continues | Short assisted standing and walking practice as advised; sling support for bigger dogs |
| Week 6 onward | Recheck and rebuild | Progressive exercise; hydrotherapy genuinely earns its keep here |
| Months 2 to 6 | The long tail | Paralysed at surgery dogs may keep improving for months |
The bladder is the sleeper issue: dogs without full nerve function cannot empty properly, and expressing a bladder several times a day is a skill the hospital should teach you before discharge, not one to discover on night one at home. Ask for the lesson. Ask twice if needed.
A recovering IVDD dog that suddenly worsens, new pain, losing function it had regained, deserves same day contact with the surgical team. Re extrusion at another disc is possible, and speed matters for the same reasons as the first time.
Send the case, hear back from a surgeon with what they can do and what it costs, and only pay if you go ahead.
Send what your vet said and quoted. A veterinary surgeon reads it and comes back to you with what they can do and what it would cost, before you pay anything. A written second opinion is from $250.
Dogs that walked into surgery often walk out within days. Dogs that were paralysed but felt deep pain mostly regain walking over weeks. Dogs that had lost deep pain are genuinely uncertain, and honest teams say so. Improvement can continue for six months or more.
The opposite. Carts keep dogs active, happy and fit, whether as a bridge during a long recovery or as a permanent solution. Dogs adapt to them far faster than their humans do.