natalieandmike
Well-known member
Our Bianca has very mild symptoms, and presented with some symptoms around 8 months or so, but I did elect to watch her for a couple of months to see if it got better. I kept a log. It really didn't seem to progress, but I noticed that they weren't getting better. Frankly with her mild symptomatology I was torn. But I felt that as she was so early on presentation, she may have progressed and that was enough for me. I couldn't have stood it if I saw her yelping. I'm a 'regular MD' so I was pretty familiar with nerve injury and surgery, so it didn't really scare me. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing in my mind. Again, though, ti's a personal decision. I opted not to try medication because I thought that rX would partially 'mask' her symptoms and it would be more difficult to really assess whether she was progressing. She is 14 months now. I had the surgery done about 2 weeks ago. Basically I would have liked to do it about a month earlier, but life got in the way. And by the time you see the neurologist, followup-, other opinion, etc...and then schedule the surgery, it'll take about a month. At least that was how it worked around here.
I have PetPlan and I highly recommend it. I believe my underwriter even has a Cavalier and specifically it does NOT exclude MVD, syringomyelia, etc. which is why I went for it. It's not available in all states. Others mentioned Embrace, and PetCare--I don't know much about these, so I'd suggest reading on them if they're your other options.
Our neurologist was very pro-surgery given the fact that he feels most dogs progress without it. He has handled many cases and feels most comfortable with the surgery. By the time we got her there, she was about a year, so there wasn't any issue with 'growing', etc. I don't think he'd be averse, though, to having done it at less than a year, given his general 'pro-surgery' approach though. Again, you may find different opinions. I'm very pro-surgery myself because of my experiences. So I may be biased!
Take care. Let us know how Jack sprat does, we'll be thinking about him.
I have PetPlan and I highly recommend it. I believe my underwriter even has a Cavalier and specifically it does NOT exclude MVD, syringomyelia, etc. which is why I went for it. It's not available in all states. Others mentioned Embrace, and PetCare--I don't know much about these, so I'd suggest reading on them if they're your other options.
Our neurologist was very pro-surgery given the fact that he feels most dogs progress without it. He has handled many cases and feels most comfortable with the surgery. By the time we got her there, she was about a year, so there wasn't any issue with 'growing', etc. I don't think he'd be averse, though, to having done it at less than a year, given his general 'pro-surgery' approach though. Again, you may find different opinions. I'm very pro-surgery myself because of my experiences. So I may be biased!
Take care. Let us know how Jack sprat does, we'll be thinking about him.