Thanks for the well wishes.

Paula, you were right. Baxter's regular vet was more optimistic than the ER. 

I did have them do X-Rays. They showed he does have a narrow disc in his back. For now, his vet wants to treat it conservatively with rest, anti-inflammatories and pain meds. No stairs, no jumping on furniture and the vet specifically said "no chasing squirrels." 

It's probably something we'll just have to deal with from time to time. If Baxter twists or torques this back just right, it's liable to flare up. If it becomes a bigger issue, we'll look into a CT scan and possibly surgery down the line. But his vet said he's not ready to go down that path yet.

As an aside, the specialist who would do the hypothetical scan/surgery is the same one who did Rocky's biopsy/amputation. So we'd be in good hands if it did get that far. 

His vet just called it a narrow disc, but in doing some Google research it looks like it's probably Degenerative Lumbosacral Stenosis. It's fairly common in German Shepherds, and Baxter definitely has some sort of Shepherd in him. 

This is an X-ray from the link and not from Baxter, but his X-ray looks somewhat similar to this. You can see where the arrow is pointing is narrower than the other discs. 

In addition to the back pain, it can cause lameness in the rear legs. Fortunately, Baxter hasn't had any issues walking. His vet said he'd be more concerned if Baxter was having trouble walking. I think that's part of the reason we're taking a conservative approach. 

We didn't talk about pet steps, although Baxter would probably just ignore them if I did get some. I'll probably need to limit his jumping on/off the bed going forward, but I think most activities can be resumed in a couple of weeks. We go back to the vet then just to make sure everything is going well. 

I did find a supplement for discs that people raved about in the reviews. I forwarded it to his vet to see if that's something that maybe can help Baxter avoid issues going forward. 

I’ve got good news and bad news. 

Good news: Baxter is clearly feeling much better. 

Bad news: Baxter is clearly feeling much better. And he has some pent-up energy. He’s confined to the living/dining rooms, but I’ve already had to stop him from running laps twice. 

And I just made the mistake of letting him out in the backyard without a leash. As soon as I opened the door, he took off running and did laps around the yard. He stopped, pooped and ran back in before I could get out there with his leash. 

He’s clearly feeling good, but I don’t need him overdoing it. I did set up the crate if needed.