Concern For Lily

I'm sorry to hear that you have concerns about Lily now - it's just tragic that our wonderful breed have all these problems and we have to expect that we are going to have to deal with many of these issues especially if we have multiple Cavaliers.


I think it's really helpful that people are posting their stories about their own experiences of chronic pain and how invisible it is to everyone else - we all try to hide pain, we don't want others around us to see us suffering - as you may remember this time last year I was suffering with a severe flare up of my Trigeminal Neuralgia, which is like having electric shocks applied to my face, it is described as the worst pain in the world. Only those really close to me could see it though.

In the wild, animals have to disguise pain and hide any weakness and that can't be bred out. It has been shown that people with a positive attitude cope better with pain and with chronic disease.



As you've read before in previous threads Dr. Oyama mentioned out of all the dogs The Cavaliers are the Happiest Dogs in the World! probably because of the high levels of Serotonin.

"Healthy CKCS dogs had significantly higher serum 5HT [which is serotonin] concentrations than other healthy dogs predisposed to DMVD." Serum Serotonin Concentrations in Dogs with Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease. Arndt JW, Reynolds CA, Singletary GE, Connolly JM, Levy RJ, Oyama MA. J Vet Intern Med. Nov/Dec 2009;23(6) 1208-1213.

"Interestingly, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, which are highly predisposed to DMVD as well as macrothrombocytosis, had significantly higher serum 5HT concentrations than did other breeds of dogs." Insights into Serotonin Signaling Mechanisms Associated with Canine Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease. M.A. Oyama and R.J. Levy. J Vet Intern Med Jan/Feb 2010;24:27–36.



ANY unexplained pain needs to be investigated - dogs do not yelp for no reason.

Brian, so sorry to hear about your issues with Lily. We haven't heard back from you today, so I hope it just means you are busy. But, saying a little prayers for your sweet flower.

What did the Vet say ?

Sorry to hear about Lily Brian....do let us know how the vet goes!

Hi Brian, just checking to see how Lily got on at the vets....?

.Hi
Thanks for being concerned and showing support .
I was at my Vets at 2.55pm Friday and Lily was checked for everything Mr M could think of including eyes,ears ,discs,patella ,hips ,weight,heart,etc he also watched her walking and running and quizzed me for 25 minutes while also giving
her a very thorough physical examination. He checked and emptied her anal gland ( I wonder ??? if ) which were very full and then declared he could find nothing wrong with her ,hurrayyyyyyyy what a relief .So we continue to closely observe
as we all do with all of our beloved Cavaliers but "we must never ever forget to enjoy them for their companionship and company."

My Rosie had both patella and disc problems and was cared for by Martin D at Chestergates and Orthopedic Surgeon Ben K at N.W.Surgeons so nothing Lily did suggested to me it was these, but thankfully for Rosie no operation was needed just crate
rest. So my main concerns were either SM or CM and of course the dreaded unknown but thankfully Lily displayed no symptoms to Mr M
to indicate either of these and therefore currently no reason for a referral for an MRI ,so I abide by my Vets decision and
thankfully Lily has been "Just Lily" since Friday .

If I may quote a good trusted friend and member of C.T. who did some investigative work on Lily's parents for me .

Your Lily is the product of two MRI A parents,the sire being an older dog without central canal dilation.
I don't know what her dam's scan is other than it's an A.
This mating is one of the best that can even be done now with all the knowledge that exists.The odds are very much in her favour that it's NOT SM.

Also
Dr. Rusbridge provided these interim statistics:
● Matings of Code A CKCS to Code A CKCS have produced 75.9% offspring with no SM


So fingers crossed for the future but who knows we can only do our best when buying and of course give them
every care that's available when things go wrong .

Sincerest thanks again ,its a horrible time when any little one gives you cause for concern.

And thanks to M.C. and Nicki for directing me to her breeder and Lily when I was searching for a B&T girl from two Grade A parents
as there was only Lily about about I was searching

Really pleased to hear this news Brian - you tried so hard to find a puppy/adult from a health testing breeder and we were pleased to help you.

I know we all worry about CM/SM any time our dogs show any symptoms - but other things do have to be ruled out too.

It sounds like it might well have been her anal glands then - this is something that is extremely painful for the dog and actually if it develops into an anal gland abscess that is one of the true veterinary emergencies.


I would just monitor her and arrange to get her anal glands checked regularly if you are not checking them yourself.


I think Karlin was perhaps confusing Lily with Rosie? We have so many members now and it's very hard to keep track of everyone's dogs and we don't always have time to search through previous posts.

[QUOTE=Brian M;412742]. "we must never ever forget to enjoy them for their companionship and company."



Totally agree! Glad lily is ok:) Maybe the anal glands were bothering her...

Hi Pippa

Could be ,thanks for your support really appreciated .

Tks

Bri

So glad that you got good news at the vet and that Lily is feeling better.:)