Kate H
Well-known member
No, not birdwatching! Aled, my 5-year-old rescue, was diagnosed with SM last May but hasn't had any very obvious symptoms. Now he is gradually beginning to scratch occasionally - not madly but rubbing round his head and neck with his paw in a slow and reflective way as if saying 'something's odd around my head'. He's also squinting more than usual (he has dilated ventricles x 2 and a form of keratosis - not dry eye - which is controlled with medication). He often has 'dreams' when he's asleep, twitching a lot, but lately he's started having odd little jerks - almost like hiccups - both sitting and standing, and anywhere on his body. I think this may be another SM symptom, though I'm not sure why. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm going to take him to the vet's next week because I think it's time he started on Zitac or similar (I asked to start it several months ago, but my vet wanted to check out with a neurologist). I shall go armed with the latest version of Clare's algorithm, which says start them on Zitac as soon as symptoms appear, but it would help if I knew whether the twitching is an SM symptom or not - taken with the head rubbing and squinting, I thinks that's enough to justify Zitac, though Aled doesn't seem to be in sharp pain, just an occasional ache and this odd twitch. Otherwise he's a healthy, energetic, happy dog.
Kate, Oliver and Aled
Kate, Oliver and Aled