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SM: documented increasingly in affenpinschers as well

Karlin

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http://www.lovemytrooper.com/index.html

An owner's anguish that many of us will understand. I am glad to see that some breeders are beginning to take action in this breed -- and expect more and more breeds with this problem physiognomy (miniaturised breeds will flatter faces/short noses) are going to see the horror of this condition become more than a rare once-off diagnosis.

Given that researchers have consistently indicated that it is small flat/short faced breeds that seem to have something in their genetic makeup that causes SM, surely other breeds should do some large scale sample MRIing to try and establish incidence rather than wait til painful, symptomatic incidence increases to the horrible point it has in cavaliers (with a 70%+ level of incidence of SM in the breed by the time cavaliers are over 6?)? Can we really force more suffering on dogs simply because we like them to look a particular way? :(
 
I couldn't read it the whole story.. Very like Abbey's story and when I first when in there the first thing I saw was the dog's tongue hanging out--neuro damage. Again so like Abbey. I feel that woman's pain and we could be sisters as our stories are almost alike. I pray I never go through it again.
 
CavalierHealth.org recently added a section to its SM webpage -- http://cavalierhealth.org/syringomyelia.htm#SM_in_Other_Breeds -- linking to websites explaining SM in other breeds. The amazing thing is that, while there are several breeds known to have suspected genetically caused SM, very few breed clubs even mention it on their websites. Most of the links are not to breed club webpages, but to breed forums, and several of the breed names do not have any webpages at all to which to link.
 
One exception is the Griffon Club in the UK, who are really taking SM pretty seriously. Perhaps we ought to extend an invitation to them to become 'honorary Cavalier owners' on this forum, so that we could share our experience of dealing with SM dogs with them!

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
One exception is the Griffon Club in the UK, who are really taking SM pretty seriously. Perhaps we ought to extend an invitation to them to become 'honorary Cavalier owners' on this forum, so that we could share our experience of dealing with SM dogs with them!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

I think its worldwide and not just the UK club. I know that USA also had study in GA.
 
I know of a couple--UGA did it on the Brussel Griffons (spelling?) and Auburn did a long time ago at Auburn--can't remember the neurologist's name--I believe he's up in Ohio now.
 
The griffon research and awareness amongst breeders has largely been driven by breeder Lee Pieterse in Australia. :)
 
Are there any resources to find out what the prevalence of SM in other breeds are? I'm very curious to see these statistics, but haven't really been able to find them.
 
There are no statistics because there haven't been enough research projects or scanning results done by individual breeders to give any indication. However in griffons it is clear that incidence is far lower than in cavaliers and therefore the breed -- IF breeders and breed clubs truly do anything meaningful, en masse -- have a chance of avoiding the fate cavaliers are suffering at the moment. :( I know from LIVS that they see a high incidence in yorkies too but yorkie clubs seem to be in major denial. I wouldn't be surprised if incidence is far higher in yorkies than griffons from such anecdotal evidence and from the early SM lists I was on where there were a number of yorkie owners dealing with SM in their pets.
 
It's sad because the only other breeds that I've ever heard of which suffer from SM are Griffons and from this thread, Affenpinschers. I've never seen any stories, statistics or anything like that on the other breeds. On the Papillon Club website, they have an article on SM but that's it. No stories from people who have had dogs suffer from it, stats, or anything. I wonder how many pet owners out there have a dog suffering from SM but don't even know that it's SM?
 
Yes you have pinpointed exactly the concern about individual dogs, which may continue to suffer because, as with happened so long with cavaliers, they get treated for ear infections or allergies, etc. :(

Crossbreeds also get it if they have one or more of the potentially affected breeds in their background -- quite a few cavalier crosses now.

There is such a need for some MRi sample groups in other known-to-be affected breeds -- or breeders in those breeds may find they too face an increasingly devastating situation.
 
Yes, I agree with the MRI thing. However, it is still so expensive to do MRI scans around the world (outside of the UK and certain places in America) that breeders/pet owners are finding it hard to find the money to do it. For example, where I live, it's something like 1000USD to MRI scan a dog, and there is only ONE vet practice in the entire country who even has an MRI machine. In a country where the average wage is something like 500USD, that is very, very expensive.

I do wish that we could have more reduced-rate MRIs around or partial scan prices etc. That would really help a lot of people out.
 
Breed clubs should and can have a very big say and influence here. They can drive research as well as MRI programme -- and they can also work with researchers in their country to push for low cost scanning programmes. The cost for pet owners' or breeders' affected dogs isn't going to be altered however -- the machines cost millions, and the investment has to be recuperated; and in the case of MRI for treatment, they need a more involved MRi than the grading programme MRIs. It would be so much easier if another way of assessment were possible, but unfortunately the choice is pretty much an MRI.

It's also unfortunately why owners need to think whether this is the right breed for them, as diagnosing and treating the key health issues can be terribly costly. :( I wouldn;t advise anyone to get a cavalier without insuring it, and making sure the insurer covers genetic health issues such as MVD and SM.
 
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