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A Cavalier film, health related, BBC1........

I'm very sorry Karlin :( :hug: Dylan never scratches the back of his head as seen in your videos. Just a bit of air scratching. I was putting it down to his harness itching and he does stop after a minute and all the itching stops. Do I have to get a MRI or can I get meds on the evidence of air scratching?
 
Air scratching tends to only be associated with SM I am afraid -- so you might want to at least talk to your vet or else just keep an eye on things and be aware of other problems. I am sure there may be reasons he starts to scratch that could not be SM related so don't panic but if you are seeing that kind of air scratching I'd want to keep an eye out for anything else and then if other things arise or the scratching gets more frequent, talk to a vet or neurologist. You don't want to just go get an MRI. On the other hand a neurologist can do a clinical exam that can indicate whether there are problems -- a neuro will test for things that indicate signs of pain, weak limbs etc. There's a lot of info on all this in my SM site.

It helps to just get a video of the scratching you are seeing and show that to your vet.
 
I watched the midday BBC1 news & was interested to hear Caroline Kisko say that only "2%" of cavaliers have SM.
She was quoting the 2004 Report from the Kennel Club/British Small Animal Veterinary Association Scientific Committee.

This was an exercise where forms for self reporting of health problems in dogs were sent to breed club members.

The survey was done four years ago when there was little acceptance that SM was a problem among cavalier owners, the first low cost MRI centres had not long started, and very few breeders had scanned their dogs.

For cavaliers 1150 forms were sent out through the breed club & only 306 returned, representing 1253 live dogs.

There are approximately 11,000 cavalier puppies registered each year.

Not a very representative sample and the warning at the start of the report seems to indicate that........

'Warning: The results of this survey and particularly the breed-specific analyses should be interpreted with caution. The overall response rate was only 24% with breed-specific response rates from 4.5 to 64 .7%'

Cavaliers had a 26.6 % response rate ( 306/1150 )

Despite their own admission that the results of the survey should be interpreted with caution, figures from it were used to downplay the problem of SM in a recent Kennel Club article & they have often been quoted by Jeff Sampson their Genetics Coordinator.

Margaret C
 
Oh god Pauline, my heart stopped when I read your posts on this thread. :hug: :hug: to you today.

Karlin, I'm sorry to hear Leo has lost his lovely ears.

This really is such a horrid disease. I hope programme really opens peoples eyes and begins a change in the attitude of both buyers and breeders of dogs. I'll be glued to the tv while it is on.
 
Did anyone watch Richard and Judy on Channel 4 at tea time? a friend informed me a discussion was on air concerning the film tonight and I missed it :(
This film is getting ALOT of attention and coverage.

Pauline, be strong tomorrow when you start your research (((hugs))) for you x

Alison.
 
Bbc

Anger !

That's what I now feel, having sat through tonights program it never fails to surprise me the ability of some breeders to totally dismiss that our breed has problems that simply can be ignored.

I was worried that program would not represent Cavs in a fair way , but watching that poor animal suffer because of SM put all it into perspective.

Its about the dogs themselves surely they deserve better than this ? We have lost two Cavs to MVD, the pain of trying to nurse them, worrying if we were making the right decisions and finally making that awful gut wrenchng decision that will haunt me for the rest of my life when you know that the time has come to put them down.

Maybe it is time to take a fresh look at what we are looking for in our beloved Cavs. If someone asked me what i look for in my dog its simple ,a happy ,healthy Cavalier not a show piece that is doomed to a short life in pain.
 
I've set up a discussion thread on the programme in the main section that people can use if they want too. If you keep the chat here, be sure to avoid making statements about individuals that are not based on published fact, please. (y)
 
Thanks Karlin. I'll start research tomorrow, I can't face it today. :(

Have the vet check for ear mites as well. I panic an awful lot with the dogs, and Holly was scratching her ears a bit when she was a pup. So there I was, in tears thinking the absolute worst... but it turned out to be ear mites... which were duly treated, and there has been no problems since.

I havent noticed either of mine 'air scratching' at all, mind you. The thing with that programme is that it will hopefully make people, who havent researched the breed, look out for these things, which they may otherwise have put down to being 'quirks', or the like! Fingers crossed anyway. Clips I have seen are just heartbreaking! :(

Big hugs Pauline, and let us know how you get on :flwr:
 
Thanks Ashley, it's more to do with wearing the harness so I think the ears are ok but I will have the ears looked at.
 
Thanks Ashley, it's more to do with wearing the harness so I think the ears are ok but I will have the ears looked at.

Holly didnt like her harness AT ALL either... no matter how hard I tried. So you may be right. But definitely have the ears looked at too.

Please try and get a good nights sleep tonight... I hate the thought of you lying awake worrying all night! :(
 
i watched the program, woke poor Peaches up a couple of times swearing at the telly.

the one question i have is what can i do to help?

i am a bit over whelmed by it all and i want to do something but i am not sure what.

(if this is best asked elsewhere pls feel free to move it or direct me there)
 
There are many ways to help. The single most important is: be careful of where you buy your puppy! DEMAND to see cardiologist (not vet!) certs on the parents and grandparents. Personally, I will also demand that parents be MRId and that breeders be able to tell me the status of their breeding dogs. Make sure parent dogs are at least 2.5 years old and heart clear (and ideally, MRI'd). Make sure breeders are following the MVD protocol if they MRI. Do not buy from breeders who cannot explain what they are doing to help resolve these problems.

Second: you can donate directly to the international SM genome project, spearheaded by Dr Rusbridge and Penny Knowler.

Clicking here at the PayPal site and entering (copy and paste) the following email address:

[email protected]

will bring up the 'SM DNA Fund' account. Donations can be made in several currencies using a credit card or PayPal funds.
 
Please try and get a good nights sleep tonight... I hate the thought of you lying awake worrying all night! :(

I have pills for that :rolleyes: or I have anxiety attacks in my sleep. Don't worry about me just now, it hasn't sunk in yet! Thanks Ash.
 
There are many ways to help. The single most important is: be careful of where you buy your puppy! DEMAND to see cardiologist (not vet!) certs on the parents and grandparents. Personally, I will also demand that parents be MRId and that breeders be able to tell me the status of their breeding dogs. Make sure parent dogs are at least 2.5 years old and heart clear (and ideally, MRI'd). Make sure breeders are following the MVD protocol if they MRI. Do not buy from breeders who cannot explain what they are doing to help resolve these problems.

Second: you can donate directly to the international SM genome project, spearheaded by Dr Rusbridge and Penny Knowler.

Clicking here at the PayPal site and entering (copy and paste) the following email address:

[email protected]

will bring up the 'SM DNA Fund' account. Donations can be made in several currencies using a credit card or PayPal funds.

surely there is more i can do than just handing over money. i am not likely to ever buy a pup as i would prefer to rescue one. i have alot of time on my hands there must be something i can do?
 
A Cavalier Film ,health Related ,BBC 1

Yes I watched the Film but was a bit disappointed that no mention was made of the £100,000 that has just been given to Dr Blott for her SM and MVD Research work at the Animal Health Trust here in Britain by the Kennel Club

That is a Lotta Lotta Money

Thankfully Mr Lambert mentioned that information on the Radio 5 Program following the TV Film

As Ive always said , if the Cavalier Breeders are vilified,then there is every chance that they just wont co-operate with Dr Blott and her important Research which is about the only chance that the Cavalier Breed have now .

This type of Research has never been tried before ,so think about the Future of the Cavalier Breed ,or has anybody got a better suggestion

Bet
 
Bet, I am not a breeder but come from a breeding family. I very much identify with breeders (working dog breeders mind you) and am currently studying genetics in order to feel more comfortable with my decision to breed in the future.

The breeders doing right should be welcoming this information out to the public. The only breeders that SHOULD feel vilified are those doing wrong. If they do not then want to cooperate I don't feel that is a big problem. The public, being informed, will hopefully not purchase pups from them.

Of course I may not be seeing the whole picture. I think this is worth discussing as we do NEED breeders if we want the breed to go on. Most I know who are interested in breeding won't touch the Cavalier, and I have been warned over and over that it is not the wisest move and that it would be best to pick another breed . . . still, I love the Cavalier.

Arlene and her three: J P - Alaskan Husky, Missie - Cavalier x Tibetan Spaniel, Rocky - All Sporty Cavalier.:)
 
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