Think murphy has sm

Hi, im new on here and have found this forum to be a great help as three weeks ago my cavalier murphy began showing quite sudden signs of sm. I noticed that he was not walking properly on his back legs and seemed very wobbly and unsteady, he kept losing his balance when trying to cock his leg and his legs seemed to be very splayed. I also noticed that his back was very humped. I took him to my vet who said he suspected sm and would do some research and phone me in about a week. It has now been three weeks and i havent heard anything but murphy has been doing a lot of rubbing his face on the floor and furniture, a lot of scratching at his head and now has quite noticeable muscle wastage in back legs. I am trying not to panic but i am now looking at everything my other cavalier does as i suspect he may be showing very mild signs. Murphy is only 2 and a half and rudi is 3. Murphys symptoms seem to have come on so quickly and i would really appreciate any advice on how this might progress. Thanks

Hello Rudi, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with Murphy... First of all, and forgive me my bluntness, it is UNACCEPTABLE that your vet hasn't called you back in 3 weeks. I would advise you to make an appoinment with a neulogist asap. Where are you located exactly? Regular vets dont have enough epertise when it comes to SM. If it's a fastly progressing every week matters... An MRI is the only way of diagnosing so that's what would have to be done, but with those symptoms it is most likely what you suspect.

I am located in Ringwood in Hampshire. Im not sure if he is in pain or not, is the headrubbing a sign of pain. He does yelp a lot when he gets excited going out for a walk but i always just put that down to excitement and he has yelped a few times when i have picked him up, he does often have a worried expression tho and i am worried about pain. It is heartbreaking to watch him falling over as he often seems to be unaware of what his back legs are doing but his tail keeps wagging!

Blondiemonster said:

Hello Rudi, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with Murphy... First of all, and forgive me my bluntness, it is UNACCEPTABLE that your vet hasn't called you back in 3 weeks. I would advise you to make an appoinment with a neulogist asap. Where are you located exactly? Regular vets dont have enough epertise when it comes to SM. If it's a fastly progressing every week matters... An MRI is the only way of diagnosing so that's what would have to be done, but with those symptoms it is most likely what you suspect.

Click to expand...

Hi, welcome to the forum. I am sorry Murphy is unwell.
I echo the above, it is important Murphy is diagnosed and treated quickly. I am not sure where you are but if you are in the UK, I have attached a link to a list of Neurologists http://www.vetindex.co.uk/vetindex/neuro_ref.htm

re murphy

I am based in Ringwood in Hampshire and i definately need to speak to someone who is more knowleagable than my vet on sm, even today he seems to be rubbing his head more on anything handy, shaking his head and scratching a lot, is the headrubbing a sign of pain as my main worry is that he is in pain and i am unaware of it. It is heartbreaking to watch him falling over as sometimes he seems completely unaware of what his back legs are doing.

I agree you need to see a neurologist and have an MRI scan, but my Oliver's SM (diagnosed at 6 years old) was complicated by having spondylosis at the same time (damage to three of the vertebrae of the spine) - it was that that caused him to wobble on his hind legs and lose muscle tone, nothing to do with his SM. It was picked up by an X-ray and crate rest followed by gradually building up of exercise put him right and he has had no more problems with his hind legs. So your dog's hind leg problems may be SM, but could also be something else - it's one of the problems with SM, that symptoms can look like other things, and other things can look like SM! A neurologist will sort it out!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

Yes. According to my neurlogist, headrubbing is considered a sign of pain.
Not all severe SM leads to extreme pain, some also leads to limb weakness and then paralysis , hence why you do need to get him checked out asap. It ofcourse could be something else that causes it, but these are serious symptoms that need immediate care.
The yelping before you go outside could be excitement.

re murphy

Thank you so much for your advise and i went on the link to neurologists and there is one in Ringwood so i will give them a call tomorrow and hopefully get murphy some help. I will let you know how we get on. Thanks.

Please do. You are doing the right thing by scheduling an appointment! xxx