Intervertebral disc disease is unfortunately a common disease seen in certain dog breeds (chondrodystrophic breeds such as the Dachshund). IVDD is caused by accelerated disc degeneration at an early age which can lead to extrusion or protrusion of the degenerated disc into the spinal canal, causing bruising and compression of the spinal cord. This can occur in the cervical spine (neck), thoracolumbar spine (middle back) and lumbar spine (lower back). IVDD occurs most commonly in the thoracolumbar region.

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