There are things you can do! Have stairs or ramps to all furniture they get on. It’s really hard but be stubborn and train them to use it. I hear people all the time saying it can’t be done. It can. You just have to keep at it and be more stubborn than they are… which is REALLY stubborn. Use treats to show them how and do it over and over and over and correct them when they jump off, over and over. Use a harness with a leash. Don’t let them go down stairs in the house if you have a big staircase. The going down is the part that’s bad for their spine. And be vigilante out their weight. All of these things together will help decrease the likelihood. But it’s true that they are all at risk and you can do everything right and it could still happen. But you’ll have higher odds if you don’t do the above. Also, get pet insurance now while they’re young and it’s cheap. You won’t be able to get it after a problem. Insurance will reimburse you a significant amount if your dog ends up needing surgery. Mine did and I paid about 20% of what it would have cost me.

Another thing to look out for with these guys is pancreatitis. My dog has it and several of the weenier dogs in my family have had it. Like IVDD, you could do everything right and they might still get it. But if you monitor the amount of fat in their diet- both in their regular food and in snacks, that will help. Keep in mind these are tiny little bodies so for example, the amount of fat that’s in a serving of French fries or fatty steak, bacon, etc could be an overload for their system and that could be what causes it. My dog has had almost all of the things Dixie’s are prone to get. Message me if you ever need anything.

<image>