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Cav without Malformation

Zumie05

Well-known member
Question out of curiosity: Are there any Cavaliers that have been found to not have the skull malformation?
 
I know of fewer than half a dozen, out of thousands of MRIs (three to be precise though there could be a few others of course -- but it is so rare as to be sadly almost meaningless for trying to breed away from malformation now, unlike the case with, say Griffon Bruxellois, where there are still many dogs without malformation).

Some CKCS that are claimed to be free of malformation -- especially early on when screenings first began a few years ago -- were later shown to be not, depending on who read the scan. I would not trust a reading of 'free of malformation' (especially one from a few years ago) unless the MRI has been read by one of the core researchers in the CM/SM area. I think any close look will almost always reveal that scans were not read by people involved with reading CM/SM scans routinely and involved in the study of this condition, and this can make a critical difference in interpretation.

Many people still do not understand the subtleties of the malformation and its presentation (and it can look like there isn't one, depending on the angle viewed on the MRI) and miss it.

More than once, I have seen MRIs sent me by owners that were declared free of malformation (by a neurologist or a radiologist) where even I could see there was malformation -- and a second reading by someone more familiar with reading for malformation confirmed this to be the case.
 
Thanks for the replies. The reason why I asked is because I came across a dog who had 4 generations of MRI'd parents and he was proclaimed to have little to no malformation at all, putting him in the rare category for the breed. I just wanted to know how likely that was to be true! I can post the name of the dog if it is allowed?
 
Agreed... not many but a few

In October, will will go pick up a 10-month-old male (not mentioning breeder publicly) who comes from 4 generations of MRI clear parents/grandparents, etc. None of them had the malformation. I was flabbergasted when someone told me that this existed! I was sure it did not in the USA. They also have a very good MVD history as well. This breeder started doing the MRI scans early on because she had SM on her radar very early. So this may be the dog you are talking about.... I don't know. This is a breeder who is listed on the UK scanning registry. I feel really blessed that we have a chance to support such a great breeder, knowing that there is still a small chance the dog will develop CM/SM. Never any guarantees, but our main goal here was to get a second dog and support a breeder doing the very best she can. That is all we can ask. I believe that she does know of a few other breeders in the USA that have good records, but probably not not going back 4 generations.
 
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