Eddmar

Hi my name is Ed and I have a 15 month old female ckcs named Duchess.
She has brought the greatest joy to my wife and I, with her lovely demeanor
and great personality. She is so human-like and so lovable and we can't get
enough of her running around the house and playing fetch and jumping on the sofa
and jumping in our laps. And I could go on and on.
She has the genetic abnormality that almost all of the breed has.
We had the MRI done and a slight occipital dysplasia is present and we were giving
her gabapentin 3x a day. It did not stop the scratching so we stopped it and she is
still scratching and causing us worries. The second opinion from the top neurologist
in my area (Philadelphia PA) says that he sees no reason to worry that this is treatable and to enjoy her for the next 10 or 15 years. I just am not sure if the
OD is a precursor of SM.
Dr Rushbridge wrote me an e-mail saying that she does not believe it is the cause of SM. If there is any other symptoms maybe another MRI is in the future. Hopefully
we will be free of worrying in the future. Praise God...

Anyway here are some pics of Duchess at the Komforts of Home
where we board her when we go somewhere. They take great
care of her and then post her pics...

Hi Ed & Duchess icon_welcome I haven't had experience of SM but others will be able to advise you. Poor Duchess, doesn't seem to stop her enjoying life though.

Hi and welcome. Did Clare suggest trying something like frusemide, omeprazole or cimetidine? Maybe talk to your neurologist -- I know Clare suggests trying this for dogs with CM alone. Also did PSOM (glue ear) show on the MRI? This can also cause scratching and an ear flush might help.

Duchess update

Karlin said:

Hi and welcome. Did Clare suggest trying something like frusemide, omeprazole or cimetidine? Maybe talk to your neurologist -- I know Clare suggests trying this for dogs with CM alone. Also did PSOM (glue ear) show on the MRI? This can also cause scratching and an ear flush might help.

Click to expand...

Thanks Karlin. Actually Clare sent me a schematic of possible treatment programs. We have seen 2 neurologists. One gave us 900 mg.'s of Gabapentin(!!!) and the other says that her scratching is not a symptom of pain, which we never thought she had anyway. So she scratches and then runs around and plays like a puppy. She is only 15 pounds so she is a small Cavalier. Besides the scratching there is not one other symptom we see. So we shall wait for any further developments. Like all owners of these wonderful dogs we hope the future will be bright without any other problems.
Ed W

Wow 900 mg gabapentin is a lot even if split into three doses a day! That is the very top end of dosage...

It is worth considering that Clare Rusbridge and many other neurologists consider scratching to be the sign of anything from significant discomfort to pain and irritation. Generally I know Clare thinks a dog needs medication for scratching if it is related to CM/SM.

But PSOM can cause the same kind of scratching (generally not air scratching though). It can be so difficult to pinpoint an exact cause and address it!

More on duchess

Hey Karlin. I live in Philadelphia so I have access to veterinary Doctors
from thew University of Pennsylvania, one of the tops in the country. In
fact Clare Rushbridge, in one of her e-mails to me, reflected on the time
she did an internship there.
Anyway, the doctor who recommended the high dosage of gabapentin,
taught at Penn, so he should be up on the ins and outs of this disorder
of the ckcs.
Our Duchess' MRI only showed a mild occipital dysplasia, which Clare
said if no SM was present it was a good sign. She has about 10 or so episodes of neck, shoulder, and back of her front legs scratching for about 10 or 15 seconds.
But she shows no sign of pain and no matter how we rub her down or wash her
or even grooming with the brushes, there is never a crying out.
Finally, when she goes to her private home for boarding, the owner never sees her scratching.
So time will tell as with all things. God bless...Ed