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I've unfortunately had too much experience with Wobbler's. My first Dobe, Bishop, was diagnosed with it at 7 years old. We opted for the surgery for him, and he made an amazingly fast recovery...they sent him home 24 hours after coming out of surgery. The doctors at the vet college said they had never seen a dog up and walking (albeit weakly) so fast after that operation...normally they said it would be a minimum of 7-10 days in hospital, and it wouldn't be unusual for it to take even longer, so you need to be aware that the cost can expand greatly if they have a long recovery. When Bishop went in, there was a dog there who had been in hospital for three weeks, and was still not ready to go home. There were differences...Bishop was in tremendous condition, even with his instability, the other Dobe was older, and had been overweight, wich didn't promote recovery. Bishop was also very motivated...if he wasn't beside me with his paw on my foot, he was trying to figure out how to get there....I went in to see him the day after surgery, and he got up and walked across the enclosure to me before I could stop him.

Following the surgery, Bishop did recover, although he was never really 100% again. His mobility stopped deteriorating, but be aware that the dogs don't often recover the mobility they've lost; in fact, there may even be a bit of a decrease after surgery, although they should then stabilize. Also, we found that even after surgery, Bishop had lost a certain amount of bowel control, probably just due to loss of sensation. We were able to manage it, but it's something to consider.

We also tried acupuncture after Bishop had recovered from the surgery, and I really believe it made a difference. We went from finding poops in his kennel area about 5-6 times a week (which had never happened before the Wobbler's) to maybe once or twice a week once we started acupuncture...that's a result we can quantify, not just an impression. However, we also seemed to notice an improvement in his mobility. That could very well be just our perception, but take it for what it's worth.

Fnal note on this from me, our other Dobe, Rook, was also diagnosed with Wobbler's, but not until he was much older, over 11 years old. Honestly, the diagnosis was never completely 100%, because we didn't go through the spinal injection test to confirm it. Our vet thought it was probably a combination of degenerative myelopathy and onset of Wobbler's, along with just old age. In any case, in consultation with the vet, we decided that in Rook's case, surgery was probably not a great option...with his age, and the stress of the surgery, there was a good chance it would end up shortening his life. Added to that the likelihood that Wobbler's was, at least, not the sole cause of his decreased mobility, and the surgery just didn't seem to make sense. We managed Rook's condition as long as we could with medication and acupuncture, until he reached a point where he could no longer walk independently at all, and made the difficult decision to let him go...he was nearly 13 at the time, not a bad age for a big Dobie. So, we've gone both routes.

We had Bishop for a further two years following surgery, until another of the Dobe's common ailments, cardiomyopathy, finally caught up with him. Christmas day last year, his heart just decided to stop beating. As far as we are concerned, the surgery was well worth the price, it gave us two more years with our beloved Bishy. However, bear in mind that his results were about as good as they get. Things don't always work so well, and the decision has to be individual, based on your own personal situation in consultation with your vet. Good luck...I hope everything turns out well for you whatever you decide. No matter what, be sure to give your pup extra hugs for as long as you have him!

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Chris
"If Timmy had a Doberman, he wouldn't have gotten stuck in the well to begin with."