Overview
There are many reasons a dog can become non-ambulatory and intervertebral disc disease is the most common
condition affecting the dog spine while exceedingly rare in the cat. However, there are many other scenarios that
can occur to make a dog “down” that do not require neurosurgical intervention. IVDD is generally treated with
surgery, but there are various scenarios where surgical intervention is not indicated or not an option. This is an
overview of how to manage such scenarios.

Objectives

• List common non-neurological causes of non-ambulatory status
• List common neurological causes of non-surgical non-ambulatory status
• List common breeds affected by each condition
• Recognize clinical signs and signalment of suspected IVDD
• List scenarios where surgical intervention for IVDD is not necessary
• List components of medical management of IVDD
• Identify scenarios where medical management of IVDD is not recommended

Recorded on 10/24/2020

1 CE Credit Hour