Noodle the seven-year-old dachshund was a loyal little fellow, always shadowing his elderly owner Maeve for household or garden-related chores regardless of the hour.

So, when Maeve awoke for a bathroom trip one night, Noodle sleepily arose to accompany her. When he jumped off the bed, however, the dog landed awkwardly and let out a shriek.

Startled, Maeve turned on the light to find Noodle sitting on the ground, shivering. Usually, he wouldn’t let her out of his sight, but on this occasion, Maeve went to the bathroom alone and came back to find Noodle still sitting miserably on the bedroom floor. When she lifted him gently back onto the bed, the dog yelped again.

Whilst Noodle was able to walk around the next morning and toilet in the garden as usual, he still seemed uncomfortable and out of sorts, so Maeve phoned her local veterinary clinic for advice. The nurse on the phone advised Maeve to bring Noodle in for an assessment later that morning.

During Noodle’s check-up, the vet found that (apart from being a little on the heavy side) Noodle appeared to be in good general health. He did, however, show some consistent pain on gentle pressing on his mid to lower spine.

The vet advised that, given Noodle’s breed, the top differential diagnosis was a bulging disc in his spine causing pain. Given he wasn’t currently demonstrating any neurological (nerve) problems to his legs or tail, the vet recommended that Noodle be managed with strict confinement (i.e. a crate or small room) for the next few weeks and pain relief.

At his recheck two weeks later. Noodle was much more comfortable and appeared to be recovering well. He was sent home with a gradual physical rehabilitation program, and polite but firm instructions for healthy weight loss.

If your pet, like Noodle, ever suffers from a sudden injury, we recommend phoning our team promptly for further advice—we’re passionate about pet pain relief!