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The Dreaded Symptoms Have Appeared

-leah-

Well-known member
Ever since I joined this site and became aware of the prevalence of SM and MVD in Cavaliers, I made my self aware of all symptoms and I am always looking out for them to appear.

It is Holly that I am worried about as she is ticking one too many boxes of the symptoms of SM. She has always been a bit of a scratcher like if she was lying on my bed or the sofa and we called her to get up she'd always have a little scratch before she jumped down, this we put down to habit. Other things which have been happening more and more often are tail-chasing, scratching aroung her ears/neck area, she has never yelped though. She also licks everything, always has except in the last few weeks she has been licking her paws more than usual.

I am off on Easter Holidays next week so I'm going to take her to the vet then. The reason why I haven't gona sooner is because I have my Leaaving Cert this year and have Irish and French oral exams going on at the moment.

I don't think my vet is very clued up on SM, what do you reccommend I print off to bring into her? I have been trying to get videos of her scratching but by the time I have the camera ready she has stopped, I'll keep trying though!
 
Could be SM, but could also be seasonal allergies (the paw licking). If they seem to have more problems at certain times of the year, that's always something to consider.

For most dogs with SM, the scratching, licking and/ or other symptoms are very noticeable (annoying scratching that keeps you awake, constant licking, or obvious bunny hopping/ air scratching, yelping, etc).

Remember, all dogs DO scratch and lick...it's really the amount or level of scratching that's important. It would almost seem obsessive if it is SM.

Keep a journal for your own sanity- how many times a day does she scratch and for how long? How many times does she lick, what does she lick, and for how long? You also want to keep notes about how many hours a day she is actually awake so you can get an idea of the % of awake time she is actually licking or scratching. That should help you gauge the level of obsessive licking/ scratching.
 
I echo Chloe above, however my Molly did not show any classic signs, limping was her symptom, she has been unfortunately diagnosed with sm. Dougall however scratches and licks, he is clear but has allergies. The have both had MRIs.
 
Like Molly, Riley didn't show any of the classic symptoms of SM except the head tilt - no scratching, no licking, no yelping, no apparent pain. Riley had imbalance issues and what I thought were very mild seizures which is why she had an MRI that confirmed SM. This is a very frustrating disorder, with so many other things that can mimic it. It's probably best to rule out other things first (allergies, etc) before asking for a referral to a neurologist. But do print out the info sheet from the link Pauline provided. It opened on my computer (not a Mac). Good luck
 
Hi,
We went through a really rough time a few weeks ago with our boy Leo. He did show classic sign of SM. Eventually he was admitted to RVC in Cambridge where after keeing him in for a week they finally gave him an MRI. It didnt show SM!!:rah: I dont know who was more surprised me or the neurologist!! We are so lucky, although I know it could develop later on.
Its horrible to have to go through this and all you can do is get it checked out and be aware of what you are looking for.
I saw three vets before one of them said she thought it was SM.....check out all possibilities, there is an incredible amount of support here I found it wonderful...
Good Luck

Mel:xfngr:
 
If like me ( i watch harley all the time now, looking for symptoms) i would get her tested just to put your mind at rest, otherwise you will send yourself crazy.
 
Thanks for all of your replies. I know it may seem like I'm jumping to conclusions here but I just have a feeling it's sm I hope I'm proven wrong though! It would be great if it was just allergies but I really don't think it is, she's almost four and hasn't had a change in her food, environment, grooming prouducts or anything else I can think of, but you never know. I am going to make an appointment for next tuesday and I will print off that info that you reccommmended Pauline.

I havn't been too well myself lately, I'm going to get bloods done on Friday so hopefuly Holly and I wil both get good results!

Thanks again,
Leah :lotsaluv:
 
I have an appointment made for the vet on Monday, i will be sure to let you all know how we get on (y)
 
Well I'm just back from the vet and we came out with a whole lot more than we went in for!

When I described Holly's symptoms to the vet she knew straight away that it was SM that I suspected she had. She gave her an all over examination checked for fleas and dosed her for ear mites just in case that was causing the scratching. When she was checking the hinds, I knew there was something up from her expression. Turns out Holly has a luxating patella but it's so slight that she wouldn't even give it a grade.

Good news is that she has lost one kg in the past month and her heart is brilliant. We were sent home with Metacam and Arthri Aid, she's on the Arthri Aid for the patella and the Metacam is kind of an experiment, she will be in it for two weeks and if her SM like symptoms decrease with the pain-killer than she will be sent for an MRI. She also is on ear drops as she has a tiny ear infection.

I am quite happy to wait another two weeks and see how she reacts to the meds.
What do you all think of my vet's approach?


I have some news about Bailey also but I'll put that in a seperate thread to avoid confusion.
 
Well done your vet, i think shes brilliant, i wonder if its worth getting a list of vets, county by county that are up on sm conditions, i guess they have to rule out the obvious first, good luck let us know how she does over the next few days, di
 
That's a good, sensible approach. (y) It is heartening when vets are aware of the condition and can take a step by step approach with the owner who is concerned. :)
 
Thanks everyone, I will keep you updated over the next few days it will be interesting if the symptoms start to disappear.. :-?
 
will be keeping :xfngr: for you leah & looking out for your updates as im just about to unfortunatly post one very similar to yours. Good luck
 
will be keeping :xfngr: for you leah & looking out for your updates as im just about to unfortunatly post one very similar to yours. Good luck

Wow! Me too! This is very, very disturbing. It seems like there are new cases of "i think my dog might have SM" popping up every week!! I think we should make a poll just to see how many of us have dogs that have diagnosed SM and how many really believe their dogs might have it.
 
On a recent trip to the neurologist with Abbey, her neurologist told me he had a patient that had 4 cavaliers and all 4 of them had sm. Boy if thats not a downer I don't know what is. It might be an interesting poll though. As alot of you know, I have a blog in regards to my experience with Abbey and my feelings etc. ALOT of people have contacted me so again there are people on the net searching for answers. I remember when I used to search for Abbey but unfortunately I was searching for stuff like:

licking feet
scratching etc.

Unfortunately, I never came anything in regards to the sm. Cavalier Talk is the place that smartened me up. I wonder how many people before getting any kind of purebread dog do a search for health on the breed. We didn't but believe me we will certainly do it it in the future. I've learned alot with my experience on this. If I had known about sm even before getting Abbey I don't know if that would have stopped me or not. I also love this breed soooooooooo much that I don't know if it will truly stop me in the future either. Thats a tough call and fortunately I don't have to deal with that for a very long time. 4 dogs is ENOUGH lol.
 
Wow! Me too! This is very, very disturbing. It seems like there are new cases of "i think my dog might have SM" popping up every week!! I think we should make a poll just to see how many of us have dogs that have diagnosed SM and how many really believe their dogs might have it.


I only hope that we are all proven wrong. I must admit if I didn't have the info that I gained form this site I would have passed off Holly's symptoms as plain strange doggy behavior.

The only way I can describe her since we started her on pain-killers is 'frisky', she runs places that she'd usualy walk to and is keeping up with Bailey, however the scratching and other sm like symptoms don't seem to have decreased.

Maybe she is experiencing relief form the luxating patella even though I would have thought that a grade 1 wouldnt be causing her any discomfort? Any thoughts?

Here's the beautiful girl today:
3424519342_76040ec79a.jpg
 
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AW Holly you cutie! This is a funny one cos i said to a friend today i'd love to know how many people on here are dealing with sm! or does it just seem that way as this is the only place to find the right info? add me to your poll anyway! my friend said "youll have to get a different breed next time", i said No!theres none as good as our Rubes or prettier. So im with you there linderbelle, knowing what i know now im not sure it would put me off in the future either.
Without CT i would have put this stuff down to just odd behaviour too. i wish i didnt have to know about any of it, if you know what i mean but im glad to be able to find out.
im glad Hollys running about, its early days yet to have made a difference to her scratching, maybe tomorrow:xfngr:
 
they're seems to be so many people worried about their dogs having SM including myself! Im making an appointment with the vet as scarlett has been excessivly scratching,ear and paw chewing,tail chasing etc and I cant help but be worried!I hope my vet takes the same approach as yours as im not sure he knows a lot about it either..
 
they're seems to be so many people worried about their dogs having SM including myself! Im making an appointment with the vet as scarlett has been excessivly scratching,ear and paw chewing,tail chasing etc and I cant help but be worried!I hope my vet takes the same approach as yours as im not sure he knows a lot about it either..

Good luck :xfngr::xfngr:
 
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