dry eye curly coat

[Karen Lowry]

hi my name is karen and i have the most beautiful cavalier King Charles called Dylan. we have just received DNA results that he has Curly coat and dry eye disorder and i wondered if anyone knew anything about the disorder and how we can help him.

thankyou
karen and dylan

[Karlin]

Hi, and welcome to the board.

Does the DNA result confirm that he has the condition, or that he carries the gene for the condition? I know that the new DNA test enables readers to identify carriers, but I am not sure whether a positive result means the dog has the condition or potentially only carries the gene for the condition.

There is a lot of information on the condition here: http://cavalierhealth.org/dry_eye.htm#Curly_Coat


Also, if you search under the condition using the search feature on the board, you will likely come across some past threads posted by owners of such dogs.

If he does have curly coat/dry eye, it would be very important to work with a vet who is knowledgeable about this condition and can help you keep your dog is comfortable as possible for as long as possible. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this, and this is an extremely difficult condition to treat. Mostly, you can try to make him comfortable as and when he develops various symptoms. We have had a couple of people who own such dogs on the board before, and I know this is hard to hear, but when they have this condition they do not tend to have a very long life span because they just become too uncomfortable with its various complications, many of which are quite painful for the dog. Perhaps someone with greater knowledge is aware of whether there are milder and more serious forms of the condition, or whether all dogs tend to end up with the same problems over time.

It is really critical to go back and inform the breeder from whom you got this puppy–most breeders actually euthanize puppies with the condition and it is very important breeding information so that that particular combination of parents is never bred again.

In the past, I know owners of such dogs here needed to treat the chronic eye conditions that develop and keep the eyes moisturized daily with drops from the vet. Some have had very light-sensitive eyes, and have had to wear goggles when out in the sunshine. Also, many of the dogs with the condition end up having very dry and cracked paws and owners will massage various creams into the paws to try to keep them as soft as possible and prevent them from cracking.

Is your dog a puppy, or an older dog? Did you do the DNA test because you are already seeing some problems?

[ByFloSin]

hi my name is karen and i have the most beautiful cavalier King Charles called Dylan. we have just received DNA results that he has Curly coat and dry eye disorder and i wondered if anyone knew anything about the disorder and how we can help him.

thankyou
karen and dylan

Hi Karen and Dylan and welcome to the Forum.

One of my girls has this condition, which is different for every dog who has it. I may be wrong, but I wonder why Dylan was diagnosed through a DNA test, as so far as I know it is usually diagnosed because of the symptoms and appearance of the dog. If you could tell me a little bit more I might be able to tel you more about it.

[Karlin]

I would guess that a genetic test was probably done because, now that there is a definitive genetic test for this and episodic falling together, a lot of vets will do a DNA test to get a definite confirmation if they see signs of either condition. I know with episodic falling, a dog might carry the gene but not actually suffer from it, so I am wondering if the genetic test was to confirm a vet's concern about symptoms? As Flo says, Some more information will enable people to be more helpful.