[Dailydrool] Back-trouble risks

[Pam McQuade]

Thanks, Sara, for the information on this subject.

Before Abner went down in the back, he went up stairs with no trouble, but 
balked at coming down. We were so confused. After his back surgery, the vets 
told us that going up stairs was not good for a dog with back troubles, but 
going down was even worse for them. I guess Abner was in pain all along, and 
we simply could not figure out what was going on.

We had had an X-ray taken of Abs's back, and everything seemed fine. It was 
not until we had the pricey test (an MRI? I  don't remember, after all these 
years) that we discovered he had both a blown disk and a bulging one. Since 
MRI's are really pricey, it's not something you'll do unless the dog goes 
down, probably. But don't place too much weight on that X-ray.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets