My worst fear came true - Emergency back surgery :(

Man, what a rollercoaster we have had with Stanley... We had a big snowfall in Central PA and we took Stanley out for a romp. We didn't notice anything super unusual but he did take an awkward tumble at one point, but popped right back up wanting to play more. The next day, he was a little sore, not as enthusiastic, but still eating drinking normally. We thought he just tweaked one of his knees, gave him some rimadyl to help with inflammation, and let him rest. Then Saturday night, he woke up in the middle of the night whimpering, fidgeting, couldn't get back to sleep. This continued for another day of restless sleep and pain.

Monday morning we got up and he really didn't want to move. Every movement to sit or stand was very labored. For the first time, he wasn't interested in getting up for breakfast. But one moment, he went to stand, and his back legs collapsed. We knew immediately we were in serious trouble.

The emergency vet referred us to a neurologist in Pittsburgh so we rushed in the car and got him over there. The quickness of his progression made the neurologist nervous, so a surgery was bumped for him, and Stanley had emergency surgery last night to repair a badly herniated disc.

He has come through the surgery well, now we just take day by day and hope we can recover his ability to walk. If anyone else has been through this and can offer advice on recovery, it would be much appreciated. We love our little "bowling ball" as we call him and it was heartbreaking to see him like this.

One of my Frenchies had disc surgery when he was fairly young. We noticed symptoms very much like you described. He recovered fairly quickly and did not have any long term problems, although he looked a bit like Frankenstein’s monster until his hair grew back. I was definitely more cautious with him after that though. I tried to limit his jumping and for the most part became his personal elevator when he wanted up or down from a chair or a couch. Although, he would always find his own way onto couch/chair if I wasn’t there to assist him.

The surgeon that operated on him taught me a method to lift him that supported his entire spine, and I was careful to use that method whenever I picked him up. I would also make sure persons that needed to lift him (vet technicians, boarding house employees, etc.) were familiar and comfortable with lifting him that way before I would hand him over to them.

I wish a speedy and full recovery for Stanley.

Jax was diagnosed with IVDD last summer and has 3 surgeries since to repair herniated discs in his neck. He will always be at risk for herniating discs and they are all dried up and have no cushion support whatsoever.

After surgery care you will want to make sure you do strict crate rest. After surgery care, you should try to limit any jumping on/off furniture (easier said than done) and even carry him up and down stairs.

Jax gets CBD oil twice a day, green lipped mussel powder in the morning and liquid glucosamine. Bone broth is good for the joints as well. He also gets acupuncture and laser therapy about every 3-4 weeks.

Poor Stanley. Sending good wishes for fast healing. :heart:

Hoping Stanley has a speedy recovery to his usual self.

So sorry this has happened.... sending tons of positive thoughts for a successful and speedy recovery.

Oh boy...this is scary! Hoping Stanley recovers quickly! Please update when you can.

Wishing Stanley the best! Hope he recovers with no issues. Finnley plays hard and launches off the couch and bed all the time. I worry about this same thing happening to him! Keep us updated!!

Thanks everyone, it certainly is a very scary time. His vitals continue to be good, he is still at the hospital and most likely will be there until Friday. He started physical therapy yesterday but is not showing movement in his legs yet, hoping and waiting for a call from the neurologist this morning.

Stanley is such an active dog, more than I ever thought a Frenchie could be haha. He loves to play, FLIES onto chairs and couches if he hears something outside, jumps on and off things. We will be doing a lot of training in the coming months to change these patterns, so I hope others do take this as a cautionary tale!

okgrau8 said:

Thanks everyone, it certainly is a very scary time. His vitals continue to be good, he is still at the hospital and most likely will be there until Friday. He started physical therapy yesterday but is not showing movement in his legs yet, hoping and waiting for a call from the neurologist this morning.

Stanley is such an active dog, more than I ever thought a Frenchie could be haha. He loves to play, FLIES onto chairs and couches if he hears something outside, jumps on and off things. We will be doing a lot of training in the coming months to change these patterns, so I hope others do take this as a cautionary tale!

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Continued prayers and positive thoughts for a successful recovery


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I had a similar experience with my Pug. I looked down at him and all of a sudden his bottom was about two inches from the floor. His back legs could barely hold him up. We rushed him to the emergency vet. An MRI showed several bad discs. Unfortunately, he was not a candidate for surgery. But he did regain movement with physical therapy including water treadmill exercises and laser treatments. He was a jumper from puppyhood onward. There was no particular trauma just before it happened. The vet told us it was just an an accumulation of physical stress from all that jumping. My husband built ramps for him after that so he could get safely on and off our sofa and bed.

God bless for a speedy recovery. It amazes me how active frenchies can be. Not Bambi, but some of the people on the forum walk their dogs for miles. Everyone we have over is amazed at how Bambi can spring onto a chair. Our bed is high so we lift her up and off of it, and now that we've taken the rugs out of the house, we lift her up and off of the chairs and couch, too. She did hurt her back once but thankfully it only lasted several days. Have no clue how she did that. Do you have a place around you that does water PT?

Good luck and please keep us posted.

We brought Stanley home today after spending five days at the hospital. It’s time to figure out how to get him to rest and relax for 4-6 weeks. For those that went through this, how the heck did you get them in and out of the crate? We made a small space with a playpen so we could more easily pick him up.

I’m terrified of doing something wrong, but we will keep up the pt exercises. Thankfully we have a great dog rehab facility in our town so we will be taking him there as soon as the surgeon gives us the OK.

okgrau8 said:

We brought Stanley home today after spending five days at the hospital. It’s time to figure out how to get him to rest and relax for 4-6 weeks. For those that went through this, how the heck did you get them in and out of the crate? We made a small space with a playpen so we could more easily pick him up.

I’m terrified of doing something wrong, but we will keep up the pt exercises. Thankfully we have a great dog rehab facility in our town so we will be taking him there as soon as the surgeon gives us the OK.

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[MENTION=188]Cbrugs[/MENTION]



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okgrau8 said:

We brought Stanley home today after spending five days at the hospital. It’s time to figure out how to get him to rest and relax for 4-6 weeks. For those that went through this, how the heck did you get them in and out of the crate? We made a small space with a playpen so we could more easily pick him up.

I’m terrified of doing something wrong, but we will keep up the pt exercises. Thankfully we have a great dog rehab facility in our town so we will be taking him there as soon as the surgeon gives us the OK.

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Did you get any meds? Jax had pain meds plus a sedative to help keep him calm. He was fine in the crate but he is still able to walk so he would step out and then we would scoop him up.

Therapy is very, very important. I’ve seen videos of dogs who couldn’t walk and after doing therapy (water, acupuncture, laser), got movement back.

Strict crate rest is very important during this time.

Are you on Facebook? If so, there is a wonderful group French Bulldog IVDD Support. Lots of supportive people in similar situations.


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Cbrugs said:

Did you get any meds? Jax had pain meds plus a sedative to help keep him calm. He was fine in the crate but he is still able to walk so he would step out and then we would scoop him up.

Therapy is very, very important. I’ve seen videos of dogs who couldn’t walk and after doing therapy (water, acupuncture, laser), got movement back.

Are you on Facebook? If so, there is a wonderful group French Bulldog IVDD Support. Lots of supportive people in similar situations.


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Yes we got Rimadyl for inflammation, gabapentin for pain, and an antibiotic. He’s been whining a bit since we brought him home but dozing on and off. I will definitely check out that Facebook group thanks for the tip! I wanted to get him into rehab ASAP but they told us to hold off until his 2 week checkup

okgrau8 said:

Yes we got Rimadyl for inflammation, gabapentin for pain, and an antibiotic. He’s been whining a bit since we brought him home but dozing on and off. I will definitely check out that Facebook group thanks for the tip! I wanted to get him into rehab ASAP but they told us to hold off until his 2 week checkup

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Jax was on codeine, gabapentin and trazadone which is a sedative. You might want to see if you can get some as it will help. CBD oil can help with inflammation and keeping calm as well. I have started giving it as maintenance every day.

If told to hold off on therapy, might be better to do so. But maybe check with the therapist. After Jax’s last surgery, we started acupuncture the following week and she came to my house a couple of times to do it to make it easy on him.


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My frenchie had same problem. Herniated disc. Vet offered us meds first before surgery. He recovered after couple of weeks on meds and crate rest. Vet also recommended Assisi Loop for treatment. We really believe in the Assisi loop. He is walking running and playing normally. He no longer goes up and down stairs and we carry him supporting his spin by putting our whole arm underneath him so his spine is straight. I really recommend Assisi loop. You can only get it through a vet.