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My dog has a slipped disc. How to relieve pain and aid healing?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Dachshund miniature | Male | unneutered | 8 years and 8 months old | 8 lbs

My mini dachshund was at the vet this morning and its a suspected slipped disc, he's been given 8 days of pain meds and we must restrict his movement.. Is there anything further I can do to to relieve his pain? Should I expect him to improve in the coming days? Its breaking my heart to see him hurting..

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 11th, 2017

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Unfortunately, intervertebral disk disease is the bane of all long backed dogs. The key to recovery is pain medication either in the form of a steroid like prednisone, or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as rimadyl, carprofen, metacam, etc. & STRICK rest. Ace must not jump, run, or be at all active while trying to heal. It can take 3 weeks for the disk to heal. You can apply alternating treatments of heat & cold by warming a sock with rice in the microwave ( make sure it is warm & not hot ), using it on Ace for 10 minutes, then apply a bag of frozen peas for 10 minutes. You can do this twice a day, but make sure there is a towel between the heat & cold, & move the application frequently to prevent hot or too cold spots. If Ace remains painful, you can ask your vet for an appropriate additive to Ace's medication. A muscle relaxant might be appropriate, or additional pain medications in the form of tramadol or gabapentin. These things take time. Hopefully, he will feel better by tomorrow. Take care.

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    Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Typical medications used for disc problems in dogs are a muscle relaxers, an anti-inflammatory, and pain medications, as well as rest. If your vet prescribe medications then the best thing you can do is restrict his exercise and do not allow him to run and jump on things. You may see some improvement in the next few days because of the medication but it is important to still restrict his exercise even if he is feeling better. If his signs become worse then you need to have him rechecked by your vet.

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