Can anybody give me some advice?

Hi My cavalier bitch was diagnosed with SM aprox 1.5 years ago. I had her MRI'd as I was hoping to have a litter. She showed signs that she had a small syrnx and so I decided to do the responsible thing and not breed from her. I contacted her Kennel Club registered breeders to let them know. (I wasn't making any blame, or accusation of any sort I just thought it would be the most responsible thing to do.) However I did not get any response.

Up untill about 2 weeks ago she has been her lovely normal self and not really showing any signs of the sm, but now is showing deteriation and is obviously in some pain so I have begun the medication process. I was just wondering if anybody thought it would be a good idea to contact the breeders again and see if they would tell me information on her parents/ siblings. The sort of info I mean is things like, do any of her relatives show signs of sm, are they currently well or very much suffering from sm, have some had to be put down etc?

I haven't put down the breeders on purpose as I don't want to be accused of slander. But I am at a bit of a loss and would really like to know how her other litter mates are and her mummy and daddy. I think it would either re-assure me or prepare me for the worst because at the moment I can't bear the thought of losing her.

Do you think I should contact the breeders or leave well alone?

I am sorry you had this result but you took a very responsible approach.

I would indeed try to contact them again. It is hard to believe they failed to respond by accident to sincere concerns like yours, and sadly this isn't an unusual situation. However I'd want to make sure they did indeed get the letter (in case the address is wrong for example or the letter went missing) and give another chance, especially as you'd find some further information helpful in your current situation.

If again you get no response, I would send a registered letter and in that, note that you tried to contact them before and would like to make sure they have this information about a dog of their breeding. It will be important (or rather, should be!) to their decisions taken on breeding in the future. They may also wish to inform the owners of siblings (they should). I also would wish to make sure a breeder knew and that it was verified that they knew, because this may be useful to document. At the moment, there are committees weighing up whether to legislate for testing and whether to allow some matings and cavaliers are a central breed of concern. There is a committee soliciting evidence and you might wish to give your experience and thoughts. Also it may be that some documented evidence of lack of response from club/KC breeders could be helpful to later deliberations.

Have you sent the MRI report and pedigree information to Dr Sarah Blott? This is what to send and where and she wants information from pet owners as well. This is crucial information for helping the EBV scheme so would be very valuable and help the breed overall to ry and reduce incidence of this condition:

Breeders are encouraged to submit result certificates for SM and mitral valve dysplasia, together with the Kennel Club registered name and number of the dog or a 5-generation pedigree to Dr Sarah Blott, CKCS Health Breeding Programme, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7UU. PDF copies of the certificates can also be sent to [email protected]

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ldu06lhd said:

The sort of info I mean is things like, do any of her relatives show signs of sm, are they currently well or very much suffering from sm, have some had to be put down etc?

I haven't put down the breeders on purpose as I don't want to be accused of slander. But I am at a bit of a loss and would really like to know how her other litter mates are and her mummy and daddy. I think it would either re-assure me or prepare me for the worst because at the moment I can't bear the thought of losing her.

Do you think I should contact the breeders or leave well alone?

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I am so sorry. The really horrible thing about SM is not knowing what the future may bring.

I would certainly make sure that you send a registered letter telling the breeders that your little girl's condition has worsened.

There are many breeders that still seem to believe SM is not a problem for them, or that it does not matter if a cavalier has a syrinx, as long as it shows no obvious symptoms.
Unfortunately it is a deteriorating condition, and breeders need to be aware that there is a good chance that an asymptomatic cavalier will develop signs of pain at some stage.

I'm afraid you will not be able to assess your little girl's prognosis by knowing about her close relatives. SM is such a complex condition and it so depends on what mix of genes an individual dog has inherited from it's parents.
That is why you can get affected and unaffected dogs in the same litter.

You are welcome to PM me for my telephone number if you want to talk.

Margaret C