Discospondylitis in Dogs… What is it? And how much will it cost to fix?

Discospondylitis is spondylitis in dogs, a spinal cord problem impacting almost every moment of the dog’s life. Thankfully, it’s treatable, but it’s good to learn everything you need about diskospondylitis to help your dog ASAP.

What is Discospondylitis?

To start, the word has two spellings: discospondylitis or diskospondylitis, but of course, they mean the same thing. The soft, spongy stuff between vertebrae or the vertebrae itself swells from infection, thus causing the dog’s back to curve unnaturally.

Clinical Signs of Diskospondylitis

If your dog has a spinal cord problem that you suspect could be disco spondylitis, these are some of the symptoms you may see in your dog:

• General back pain.
• Weakness or unwillingness to walk.
• A hunched or curved back,
• Neck stiffness: Not reacting too fast to movements in peripheral vision is one way to tell.
• Uncoordinated movements.
• I was shaking or tremors.

There are a lot of variations of symptoms, but since the back impacts most movement, any change in the way your dog walks, rises, or moves could be due to this problem.

How does your dog get spondylitis?

There are two ways that this will happen: bacteria or fungus.

A bacterial infection could be caused by several bacteria types, such as:

• Brucella canis,
• Proteus spp,
• Streptococcus spp,
• Etc…

These three types of fungi could cause a fungal infection of the spinal cord:

• Scedosporium apiospermum,
• Paecilomyces variety,
• Aspergillus terreus,

But how is your dog exposed to these bacteria and fungi that invade the vertebral column?

It can happen due to contamination of wounds or as a post-operative infection. It could also occur as a result of a urinary tract infection. There are a few breeds that are more likely to get spondylitis, and they are:

• German Shepherds,
• and Great Danes.

Other than that, there isn’t usually a genetic component to this disease.

Diagnosing Discospondylitis in Dogs

If you suspect your dog has discospondylitis, then the only one who can diagnose is a vet. Usually, they will have to rule out a few other possible conditions, such as:

• Intervertebral disk disease: This is also referred to as herniated di cos thoracolumbar disc disease
• And back pain without neurologic signs could be due to this.

Tests for Diagnosis

To accurately diagnose disco spondylitis in dogs, a vet will probably use the following:

• Blood cultures and tests.
• X-rays.
• Cerebrospinal fluid analysis.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – a contrast may be injected into the disc space to give the vet a more precise look.
• Bone biopsy

Your vet will also give your dog a neurological examination to look for any neurological deficits in your dog.

During diagnosis, the vet will likely tell you which vertebrae or intervertebral space is infected. For example, they may say it involves one or more endplates.

Treatment Options

The way your vet treats your dog’s discospondylitis will depend on the cause of your dog’s discospondylitis. If it is a bacterial infection, your dog will likely get antibiotics. Antibiotic therapy will generally take weeks for your dog to recover fully.

However, a fungal infection will be fought with antifungal medications. While your dog is recovering, the vet will likely give them anti-inflammatory medicines to ease spinal pain and other discomfort. In the case of some deep wounds or lesions near the spine, surgery may be necessary.

During Recovery, it’s essential to:

• Let your dog rest as much as possible so as not to stress the back further.
• Feed your dog a healthy diet as advised by the veterinarian.
• Check any wounds for problems.

Cost of Treatment

The cost is relative to the severity. If your dog’s in a terrible state and needs surgery, it will be a few thousand dollars. Even if he needs to get a bone biopsy, that can cost hundreds of dollars just for the diagnosis; all in all, getting a diagnosis and treatment could be $300-5000!

But Remember: we at IndulgeYourPet aren’t doctors, veterinarians, or medical professionals. All we are is a bunch of folks who are passionate about animals and only want what’s best for them.

Which is why…

In addition to always recommending folks to take their pets to the vet whenever they feel that something is wrong with them, we here at IndulgeYourPet are also BIG fans of specific pet insurance policies. This way, if your pet becomes sick or injured and requires the care of a veterinarian, you will be on the “hook” for 100% of the potentially expensive care they will need.

Now, will a pet insurance policy be “right” for everyone?

No, it probably won’t. But until you know what these policies will and won’t cover, and until you know how much they cost, how will you ever know if one might be “right” for you?

For more information about who we “feel” currently offers the “best” pet insurance policies in the industry, we encourage you to check out our Best Pet Insurance Companies article.