IVDD causes sudden or progressive spinal cord compression that is painful and disabling, requiring urgent diagnosis and often surgical intervention.
IVDD causes acute welfare impact through sudden severe spinal pain and rapid progression to neurological deficits that prevent normal movement. Dogs with acute disc herniation experience extreme pain localized to the affected spinal region, manifesting as hunched posture, reluctance to move, crying when touched, and inability to climb stairs or jump. Rapid neurological deterioration from paresis to paralysis and loss of bladder and bowel control adds the distress of incontinence to the pain burden. Emergency surgical decompression represents the most welfare-positive intervention for significant neurological compromise, but the timing window is narrow. Rehabilitative care after surgery including physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, bladder management, and pain control determines the quality of recovery. Dogs that do not recover full neurological function can lead good quality lives with appropriate management including mobility aids (dog wheelchairs) and dedicated nursing care.