question about jerking movements and SM

hello everyone

a while back i posted about a couple of episodes indy had of yelping in pain at night. we've started the process of elimination to see if this is SM related.....going slowly at the moment which is fine. he's had blood tests (clear), is due to be x-rayed in a couple of weeks, and is on metacalm to see how that affects him and we've had no problems since.

i've noticed that indy twitches his head a lot---he has always done this and it is only recently that i have started to wonder if it could be associated with SM.

the thing is that indy does a little head twitch quite often, but it is almost always accompanied with a little sniff and often a little sneeze. it is exactly what humans do if they have an itchy nose. he usually does it first thing after coming out of his crate or xpen. i'd come to associate is as part of his waking up routine-----stretches, couple of sneezes/head twitches and sneezes and tail wags.

my dad sneezes everytime he goes outside into the bright sunlight and my husband sneezes everytime he has an xtra strong mint so i had always thought of this as one of indy's cute little quirks, but i just wanted to make sure that i am not ignoring a serious sign that something is wrong. apart from the little sniffs he doesn't seem to have allergies???

i watched the SM videos and didn't see anything like this. do any of you have thoughts on this or does it look/sound familiar?

thanks!
kim

I had a very young (6 month old) severely affected Cavalier that "shook" her head alot, nearly every step that she walked when outside on a lead, but not the "twitch" like you discribe with a sniff and a sneeze.
Our neurologist told us that hers was due to the hydrocephalus which showed in a large mass under the MRI scan. Obviously along with the SM it caused her great dis-comfort.

hope this helps,

Alison.

Kim,

I've never noticed any head twitching with Friday either. She's been diagnosed with severe SM. She does yawn, lick and swallow (like she's just eaten peanut butter or something sticky) quite a bit. She also shakes her head too. Only her back leg twitches right before she starts into a scratching fit. Hope this helps!

thanks alison and friday's mommy!

that makes me feel better----since the possibility of SM came into the picture i have become hyper-sensitive to everything that indy does and that's great to hear that the weird head/twitch sneezing might have nothing to do with it! i'm going to mention it to the vet next time we go and she'll probably see it if i keep him crated in the waiting room and let him out in front of her.

indy does do a lot of yawning but i think it's just normal dog stuff...i guess it will all become clear as we get the x-rays and scans.

thanks

k