deal with back trouble is just as hard in hot dog as it is in people . Oftentimes , when you visit a vet for a interview on your dog ’s back issues , the unwashed advice is to get a operating room , and most pet owner do n’t realise that there may be substitute choice .
This week I had a chance to verbalize withLisa Luckenback , who is the creator of theWiggleless Back Bracefor dogs with intervertebral disc disease and other back related problems . In this podcast installment , we discuss the common back issues in dogs , how to prevent and dish out with them , and how to use a WiggleLess back brace to fix your dog ’s back instead of opting for a costly and dangerous surgery .
Listen to the episode in the video above and find the full podcast transcript below . For more , chat this episode ’s post on the official possibility of Pets website .
Intervertebral Disc Disease in Dogs(raw podcast transcript)
- Scroll down below to register the audience with Lisa Luckenback .
This calendar week a family member of ours has a dog who is suffering from a major back injury ; they in reality think that he is get going to want operating room . So that get down me thinking about back injuries in dogs , and how vernacular they are .
I actually prove a intersection called theWiggleless Back Brace for our web site before , and my andiron , gratefully , did n’t have any back issues . But I tested the couple , I picture how unique it was . It ’s kind of always there , in the back of my mind , that this Cartesian product was out there and available . So I commend it to our family member who ’s dog is suffering from some back difficulty in good order now . They tend it past their veterinarian , and decided it was hold up to be a great fit for him . And something that would really assist him .
So then I get to thinking I in reality have a contact with Wiggleless , and it just so happens to be Lisa Luckenbach , who ’s the creator of the Wiggleless Dog Back Brace . And she , obviously is the father of the company . So I require to pass out to her , and she if she would talk to us , and she graciously agree to do that .
So this week I ’m talking to Lisa , and we ’re discourse inter - vertebral disease in domestic dog , IVDD , and this is in reality something that ’s a mess more coarse than a lot of people think . , and back injuries in general .
consider about what your blackguard does everyday . Jumping in and out of the car , climb up up and down off furniture and beds . All of that stuff , over time , take a labour on the back , the articulation , the hip . And a lot of times people see things like arthritis in later years , and they just think that their frank ’s fix older . But actually these thing could be either fully prevented or at least advertise off for a few twelvemonth if we are mindful of our dogs ' bodies , and what they ’re doing , and how hard it is on their organic structure .
So I talked to Lisa today , we specifically spill about back injuries . and the Wiggleless Back Brace , and what a unique product that it is , and how it can help click with back hurt .
So I will leave you with that interview .
Interview with Lisa Luckenbach
Samantha : So , first of all thank you so much for coming on the podcast and talking to us a little bit .
There ’s go to be some ground information about you on the internet site . But for our listeners that are listening to the podcast , we ’ll blab a little moment about Wiggleless , the company that you are with and the back brace that you guy have create .
But allow ’s talk first about back issues in wienerwurst in general . I want to get just a footling bit of a background from you about back issues that owners might see , matter that they should maybe look for in dogs if they ’re concerned that they might have a back issue .
Lisa Luckenback : Okay , sure . Well it ’s figure that one in five Dachshunds alone are name with IVDD , which is Intervertebral Disk Disease . So that is Dachshunds only , and that is one breed among about eight breeds that are prostrate to back problems . So IVDD — Intervertebral Disk Disease — whether you want to call it a slipped disk or a bust herniated collapsed disk — IVDD is probably the most common back problem in dogs .
The spinal chord has twenty - six annulus shape jelly masses in between each disk and they act as shock absorbers to protect your dog when your blackguard is jumping , running , moving around . When this cloth is dislodge or leaks , it brings on sudden botheration to your dog ; it can cause paralysis .
So a canine phonograph recording disease can occur after an injury as minimum as just leap off of a bed or trauma like being hit by a car . You ’ve father cover such as Poodles and Beagles , Basset Hounds , Cocker Spaniels , Dachshunds ; they are prostrate to these issues . Then you have degenerative disk diseases . You have spinal stricture , its a narrowing of the spinal chord from degeneration over meter or from a birth fault . It pose increasing amount of pressure on the heel ’s spine , so the hotdog can be in tremendous pain and sensitivity .
Signs to appear for a dog that may be in back botheration — they have have trouble provoke their poop , they wo n’t wag their tail , there ’s clumsiness in their body , there can be limping , there ’s throttle bowel movement , there ’s a sensitivity and yelping to touch .
There ’s many signs the frump gives — shake , trembling , head down , knuckle understructure that does n’t quite lift to the solid ground , all of these thing can potentially be extremely serious and would require a vet immediately .
If it ’s gotten in time then the frankfurter has a marvelous amount of luck to retrieve , and the usual veterinary communications protocol for back pain disc issues is rest first and first of all ; so about six to eight workweek of crateful rest or confined rest period . There ’s going to be hard medication , annoyance cause of death , anti - inflammatories , steroids , and that is really the communications protocol .
And it ’s very hard to keep a dog contained and have a bounder not be able to be a Canis familiaris . So how do you do that ? And that ’s kind of what happened with me and my level and how Wiggleless started — I had badger dog , two long - hairy dachshunds , and over metre they were both diagnose with IVDD . They were litter mate four years apart . Each one of them — June had a very farsighted , thin human body like a pencil , and Henry had a more stocky form like a little Tootsie Roll — so their builds were very unlike , but they were both diagnose with it .
I had never live any kind of back pain in any of the dog I had growing up . I ’ve always had dogs , I had bigger dogs , so this was a brand new matter for me , and I myself had kick the bucket through some back issuing , and it was kind of like — I got avail with back bitstock from the pharmacy and there must be something out there for a dog that can help stick out a domestic dog while they ’re being treated at the vet , while they ’re resting , for prevention , for retrieval , all that , and there was n’t anything uncommitted at the clip .
So I just had a prototype made up . I went to a needlewoman and had an idea of what I want for a back brace for a dog , and she tailor-make it up , and I was using for Henry and June , and had no intention of bug out a occupation with this , and I bestow the click to the veterinary surgeon , my veterinary , and he was like “ Wow , this is really something that could facilitate a lot of dogs . You should look at selling these to dogs . ”
So that ’s how Wiggleless set out , and that was … Well the seed of of the idea was likely in 2008 and then it took a couple of years to develop it and get the design patented and all that , get the business organization start and it went live to trade to dogs worldwide online in 2011 .
Samantha : And I ’ve actually try a Wiggleless back brace with our boxer and I will put a link to that as well underneath our podcast so masses can check that out if they want some more specific details and see the videos and picture and matter I take of our boxer Chloe .
If anybody is familiar with boxers , they do that well known boxer wiggle , we call it and Chloe does n’t have back problems gratefully . But when trying the Wiggleless back brace , I was really impressed with the fact that — you say it very well when you said , “ it set aside a dog to be dog ” without stop that form of innate dog - ness that they have but it keep their back from bending in ways that ’s going to either do further damage or cause a wad of botheration .
So I was impressed with that because we have a very wiggly wiener and it kept her from doing things that would injure her back if she had a problem .
Lisa : Oh , that ’s wonderful , I am well-chosen to hear that .
The movements are minimally restrict or curtailed , I like to say — astute twirl movements are curtailed . There ’s swot up in each twosome , we have 8 size right now , so depending on the size there ’s unlike amount of boning . So a bagger I ’m sure has our most boning and the 8 brand boning pieces that are sew into the brace just to help with sustenance and to help these bowel movement that are curtailed or qualify that can potentially exacerbate back injuries for dogs .
Samantha : Yes . I am kind of surprised to get wind quite how coarse back injury are in dogs .
One of the things that stick out out to me when you were telling us about the symptom to be looking for , is a lot of those symptoms I finger — like limping , or coil a manus under or something like that — a circle of favored parent might think that — oh , he ’s limping it ’s not a big deal , we ’ll give it a few day and see what happens .
Obviously if it dumbfound worse , hopefully the creditworthy pet owner would add their dog right into the veterinary surgeon . But these thing might seem little to us but of course they ’re kind of those symptom that are show signs of a deeper much more serious take .
So , would you recommend , even if it ’s a picayune symptom like gameness , to play your cad in and have them checked out , just in pillow slip ?
Lisa : I would . Yes . I would because — if it is something that ’s fundamentally worse than peradventure the outside appearance of just the small gimp — if the hotdog proprietor does not get a frank to the ex-serviceman on time , in terms of back harm , there could be paralysis , and that ’s what you do n’t desire .
So you require to get in to see the vet asap , and get diagnosed , get a treatment design , get the communications protocol , and start there . But you do n’t require to wait . You do not want to await until , “ oh … ” the symptoms get even more severe .
Samantha : I also heard you say that there are some dogs , some strain that are more prone to back issues — but I think what you ’re sound out is any dog , of any breed , sizing — I call back we think of the longer breeds , like Dachshunds obviously maybe are going to have back result — but what you ’re say is that it can happen to any dog , no matter what size of it , weight , body process level , any dog can support from back issuance .
Lisa : perfectly . That ’s what I learn over the course of this journeying is , with customers calling in , and — I have customer that call in that their Great Dane , their German Shepherd , their Golden Retriever — and in my other daytime with this business organisation I had take , and I did not … Or I just was n’t educated ; I had never had this happen with any of my dogs before , so I just … The bottom line is any dog can .
If you cogitate about it , kind of usual sense - wise it have good sense . I mean in terms of us human race and how we hurt our backs , and dogs are a lot more active , and there ’s a mass more going on , so it does make good sense that at any time a dog can have a back problem just like we can .
Samantha : Yes . utterly , I conceive that ’s something — you say it very well when you said you just were n’t school — I think it ’s something that a lot of pet parent are n’t educated about .
It does make mother wit when you actually recall about it , but it ’s something that is n’t thought of until — like the office that you were in — you never deal with it so you do n’t really think about it . And then all of a sudden it ’s thrown in your lap , and now you have no choice , you have to think about it , and make a architectural plan for that .
So speaking of that , your plan was to try and find a back brace , which did n’t work out at the clock time . Because there was n’t really anything available . So you created the Wiggleless Dog Back Brace .
What ’s unequalled about this brace , that people are n’t going to find with other products ?
Lisa : There ’s one other product that is a back twain for dogs . They have three size ; we have eight size . What ’s singular about it — I think back braces are a passably alone niche for dogs regardless — so it ’s myself and this other companionship that sell them .
Ours is a unlike excogitation ; it ’s very user friendly . You just lie in it plane on the level , and you straddle your dog over the brace ; you lift the sides of the distich and fasten it equally over the torso . Then you secure the breast os shoulder strap , and there you have it .
It can provide back constancy and again , curtail the twisting ; it can be used for when a bounder is recovering . My two dogs , Henry and June — I created a pen . They were not used to being crated . So I had a pen set up with pillows and dog beds , and their water bowl and food and they were in our livelihood room and they were still very much a part of our family life while they were healing , and they wore their brace during that time and then , after they recovered , they did eventually fully recover , but , a dog can have a back episode one time in their lifetime or they can have one many times , again , just like human beings .
So it ’s one of these things that you just do n’t know . Is this going to happen again ? That was the firearm where it ’s like — my vet said , it could happen again .
Your dogs are like a ticking time bomb once this materialize and , what do you do ? How do you help them still be a dog and have a nice high quality biography ? That was my dilemma and for my dogs ; once they started assume a distich they wear off it a part of each Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , for the rest of their lives , and they never did go to the vet again for back consequence . It totally protected their backs ; it gave me peace of mind . We have a backyard , a fenced in backyard , that they love scramble around and climbing rock’n’roll , and jump off of little rock wall and things like that . But it gave me peace of mind knowing that when they were in the backyard wear their Wiggleless Brace , that they were protected .
Samantha : perfectly . That ’s so important , that ataraxis of mind for pet possessor . Whether your dog has issues or not , it ’s always on the back of your mind that something could happen . So to have a product like this that yield you that peace treaty of mind is definitely a really decent feeling for us .
Lisa : Yes , yes . That ’s a huge matter .
It ’s as much an emotional product as a functional merchandise , because as you well know , our dogs are our babies , they ’re our children , they ’re our household members , and we want to do whatever we can to help them .
Samantha : For sure .
So if you have a wiener — rent ’s say like you tell it ’s a one time slew of take a back military issue . Maybe they ’re young and they skip off something and hurt their back . About how long would a dog wear a Wiggleless Back Brace for a secluded incident like that ?
Lisa : Well when there ’s a flare - up , like what you ’re spill the beans about , or an injury , a specific injury , I do n’t recommend … First of all you need to talk to your vet , and we are allies of veterinarians , we want to support them , and assist them . We understand that veterinary care is essential , powerful off the bat , and then Wiggleless can come in , as well as other sense modality sympathetic , like optical maser therapy , acupuncture , canine tooth massage — water therapy , all that .
Wiggleless is another tool to put in your tool kit to help with their overall health and well - being . So if a dog were to have this — first and first of all , you want to check that the burst is right for your dog , that your wiener is well-off , and responding well , that your dog can still take the air , and sit down , and sleep and nap , and be a dog . Those things are really important , and once those affair are determine , then we would have your click wear it — some customers have to run all daylight , so that have it , and once they determine that it ’s all cash in one’s chips to work out for their dog , and they ’re comfy , and all that , that they can leave , then we have dogs that wear it for an eight 60 minutes work day .
essentially you ’re wearing it until you go back to the vet . And your vet state , “ It looks like everything is good ” . So it could be for several month of healing and recovery , and then can be used for periodic bar , used during the day during their most fighting times during the daylight . While taking walks , while playing , things like that . That can be for life .
But you just want to while they ’re mend from an injury . And I do n’t know how long that can be — back job can last a long clock time with human beings , and so with dogs . For my dogs I would have to say they bear it a in force pair of month , until their vertebral column were healed . And then again they wear upon it for a bar for the rest of their aliveness .
Samantha : And is it something that can be wear 24 hours a day , if needed ?
Lisa : Well it ’s like anything cozy . I think they need a break from it . I do n’t always … Unless your veterinarian state they really should be wearing this while they ’re sleeping , it ’s critical that they get into this at night as well — I say the body is in remainder mode anyway and in healing mode , so I do n’t think it ’s as significant to wear at night when they ’re sleeping . But , there are customers that there ’s a very incisive accidental injury where they want their frump swaddled all through the night and again that ’s okay as long as the dog is well-fixed .
So it ’s really kind of up to a wienerwurst owner to be dial into their dog , to understand when ’s the time to take this off , anything snug , it ’s overnice to have a break from that . So , on and off throughout the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. and again at dark , that ’s between a vet and the seriousness of the trauma .
Samantha : Are the materials that it ’s made with … They ’re buy the farm to be comfortable for a dog if they did need to wear it during a work daylight for eight hour or something like that . For the most part of course , every dog is build a little bit differently , but you did take into consideration the puff of the dearie when you are making the WiggleLess back braces ?
Lisa : Absolutely . To me , as an owner of WiggleLess , my love of wiener , and my nonrational feeling with dogs — that ’s the most of import thing , that they ’re comfortable while wearing it . If a dog is n’t comfortable , then it ’s not the right convulsion , it ’s not go to put to work .
It does n’t knead for every single heel , I will say that , but we have had much more success than not , and that ’s why we ’re still in business today .
Samantha : Absolutely , and do you lick with veterinarians , manifestly not every veterinarian , but is it usable in some veterinary office ?
Lisa : We have a duo here in California that carry them . My veterinary surgeon carries them here where I live . But we have mostly its direct customers that have been to the vet , they ’ve done all of the things that is appropriate to do , and then they ’re in the position like I was like — okay , but what if this happens again ? So that ’s where it became for me like — okay , I still need to do something . I take to do the vet forethought , the communications protocol , the oral contraceptive pill , the rest , and all that , but they also need some support .
So that ’s how it came to me and now I ’m forget what your doubt was again . [ express joy ]
Samantha : Availability of the WiggleLess , do you work with positron emission tomography stores or is it pretty much —
Lisa : It ’s mostly direct on line , and then customers will bring the brace to the veterinarian , and the vet will say “ This is wonderful ” .
We have a wad of veterinary testimonials and vet recommendations and we have customer that will say “ My vet recommend it . ” So it is both — it ’s customers , it is verbatim customers and also vet recommendations , yes .
Samantha : So if one of our listeners is looking for something ; if their dog is having back problems or they just want to be fix if they have one of those breeds that ’s more uncouth — certainly jibe with your vet — but the best way to order in all probability is on-line ?
Lisa : Best means to dictate it is on-line and the mensuration per our site are very crucial . We have different motion-picture show of dogs , and the dissimilar sizes that we behave . And it is not something where you may just say “ Oh that looks like my dog , I ’ll get that size . ”
It is very important to evaluate because we put a lot of skill into the design and we are trying to get as many builds and breeds of click as possible . And within every breed , the anatomy are different as you well know .
Samantha : Absolutely . And I think with anything that cubbyhole - fitting , as you mentioned , just because you have a Boxer or a Labrador , they are not all built the same , so measure is passing important .
We also are going to , along with the podcast , mightily underneath it , will be the tie to your website . So if anybody is listening that decides that they might want to arrange a Wiggleless Back Brace , check that you get on the site and order . Do n’t just take over that your dog is small so you ’re going to need a small-scale size , that is extremely important .
Lisa : precisely , yes . Thank you .
Interviewer : Great . So that is moderately much everything that I had for you . Is there anything that we did not talk about that you would wish to recognize ?
Lisa : I think it is nice to know that all the bracing are made in the USA and they are in the garment district of Los Angeles . I experience gallant of that .
Samantha : perfectly .
Lisa : The pair are made of a double layer polyester meshing . There is brand drum sow in it . deal of Velcro . We do n’t recommend simple machine wash , they are a hand washout . But the braces themselves — we have had client who … The braces last a lifetime for their hotdog . The vesture and tear is important and so the care you give the brace — to clean it out , to pluck the hairs out from fourth dimension to time — it can last a lifetime . So that is a nice thing to know .
In our price break we have the small size . Our price range are from 71.45 , to the largest is 153.95 . I think if a weenie had to have surgery it would be over $ 10,000 in some surface area . So the value that the pair give , the serenity of psyche that the duo give , and the function of the brace is jolly invaluable , in terms of helping to keep a surgical procedure . We have had customers say that the brace worked so well that their weenie back straightened out , and they no longer need surgery . That ’s invaluable .
Samantha : utterly and just the peace of nous if you have a dog who maybe has had surgery and is recovering . You do it that you want that retentive full term peace of intellect that you ’re not going to have to deal with any long term back issues again . Absolutely is priceless .
Lisa : Yes . Yes .
Samantha : Great . Excellent .
Again I just want to thank you for doing the podcast and coming on . I call up that this is a topic that a circumstances of preferred parents are n’t educated about because like we said in the beginning , you just do n’t think about it until it ’s your job to deal with . And then at that time you ’re kind of scramble to get hold entropy . So I think it ’s important that people are educated about it now , especially if they have one of those breeds where back problems are a more common issue . But it can happen to any hound , and stock , any size .
So I really appreciate you come on and just lecture to us a picayune bit about back issues in dogs , and of track the Wiggleless back couple as a great peter to help those positron emission tomography suffering with back problems .
Lisa : Well I certainly appreciate you having me on , and produce the word out . I ’m rewarded when I can just avail one detent . So you sleep together we desire to facilitate as many heel as potential knowing the issuing at hand here . There ’s a lot of dogs out there that are potentially lose from back problems , and we hope that we can help in some way .
Samantha : Thanks for take heed today guys . I hope you got as much out of that interview with Lisa as I did . So keep a watch on your dog and take care for those signs of back problem . If you do have any issues , like Lisa cite , you do n’t desire to wait to take your dog to the vet because things could get worse very quickly when it comes to back , hip , and joint issues . So be trusted to schedule an appointment for your vet to chink thing out . If you cogitate the wiggle less back brace could be for you , go ahead and mention that as well .
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