Syringomyelia in CKCS

My little Cavalier saw the vet yesterday, and they think she may have Syringomyelia. She is only 2 years old. I am heartbroken. :-(

How awful, are they doing tests on her to make sure?
I have just bought the November issue of Dogs Today and they have a large article about cavaliers and syringomyelia.

I am so sorry x

I'm so sorry xx

Sorry I have only just seen your post. I can imagine your heartbroken having heard this news from your vet :-(

Please let us know how Maisy is, and any update from the vet.

There is so much information available on this and hopefully your vet will have provided you with some.

Tracy x

thats awful is hse having tests?

hope she is feeling ok

Again so Sorry for you and her

So sorry to hear this, hon xxx

Hi what symptoms has maisy been having?
I am so sorry to hear Maisy may have SM.
To find out if Maisy has SM is to have an MRI scan.
There is lots of infomation and list of clinics on the main CKCS website's.
This can be exspensive. Are you insured?

As a mum of CKCS please PM me if you want someone to talk too.

I get dogs today as well, and they have got a section in about syringomielia im so sorry to here that your baby has it, my ZAK has epilepsy and was in the prog about pedigrre dogs exposed , when i saw the cavalier my heart broke as before i had boxers I had a cavalier who passed with a heart attack, have you had the MRI scanyet?

Hi all,

Thankyou all so much for your support I really appreciate it. My little Maisy means the world to me, so as you can imagine I can't bear the thought of her being in pain. I am lucky in that I work at a big animal teaching hospital, and Maisy comes to work with me, so all the vets know her and she has the best possible care team.

It has all come about quite suddenly really. A few weeks ago she had a funny turn in the park, then she was scratching non stop at her neck and yelping. The vets did a thorough examiniation and agreed that the symptoms sound like SM, and also her neck was very tender to touch.

At the moment I am doing practical things like getting her a harness rather than a collar to take pressure off her neck, and also getting little steps for her to use to get up on sofas rather then jumping up and down, again to reduce pressure on her spine.

We have discussed an MRI, but I have decided to give it a bit of time first, as I guess I am still hoping in some way that it could just be a passing thing, and she will be okay.

I was so shocked though, as I was so careful where I got her from, she has 5 generations of heart healthy relatives so I was pretty confident she would be okay. I think that SM is far more wide spread than we think, and it terrifies me what may lay ahead for Maisy.

Once again thankyou for the replies, I was feeling so alone with it last night, but knew that other dog owners would understand. I will keep you all updated on what happens. We have another assessment in 2 weeks time.

Thanks again.

I am sorry to hear . the only way of finding out for sure is to MRI please don;t hold it off you and your vet need to know what your dealing with , there are meds on the market than can greatly help the symptoms but as you probably know there is no cure .

as for being wide spread yes it is and had been for many years its not a new illness its just sadly been ignored.
you live in London I see ?? Claire Rusbridge can scan your dog in Wimbledon I would reconsider getting an MRI done asap so you can proceed with medication sadly i feel this will not pass but get worse unless treated

best wishes

this is so awful and you tried your best to get a healthy dog as well

i hope that she doesnt have too much pain

*big hugs* to you and maisy x

Just caught up with this. So sorry. Comforting hugs to you both .

Hello there

So sorry about your news - I have just joined the forum today and know how you feel as my little cavalier was diagnosed with SM after being scanned only in September.I am now attempting to raise awareness about this disorder as much as I can because I'm sure it's more common than the breeders let on. If they had more honest abot this disease we would be further on with effective treatments I'm sure. Anyway hope your vet is as good as mine with regard to available treatment and monitoring etc

I'm so sorry to hear this,poor baby,xxxxxxx

I hope maisiesmum and ginny can find comfort and support from each other, welcome ginny, nice to ee you made it, good luck to both you and maisesmum. x

I am so so sorry to hear your news. You really shoudln't put off having the MRI scan as it will constantly be in the back of your mind.
Breeders still breed their dogs even when they know they have problems, sad isn't it??
I remember watching a programme not so long ago where a lady who owned a CKCS had her dog tested for SM and it was positive, she was told to never breed again from that dog. She had breed from that dog 27 times after when she knew (she was suppose to be a genuine breeder) even when people are aware of these faults they still do for the money! They do it out of greed than love! I think its cruel...its those type of people who shouldn't be allowed to own dogs!

Keep us updated...I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you x

Hi there I am in exactly that situation - where I feel that the breeder of my little dog knew about SM , continued to breed irresponsibly (without screening her breeding stock that is) and my dog was confirmed with it last month. I knew nothing of SM prior to the TV programme in August. Anyway the breeder who has the Elmlin line of cavs by the way appears to be in denial that there is a problem - surprise surprise ! although I'm sure she's still gladly taking money for pups from poor unsuspecting buyers. I totally agree these people are greedy and not genuine dog lovers and there should be more regulation regarding these people continuing to breed- infact I'm going to cite the link for the NO 10 Petition to sign if people want reference kennel club reform

Ginny, I am sorry to hear of your news too.
I love CKCS to pieces, luckily our's was free of SM, she was a lovely dog, she passed away 2 years ago.

I wish you good luck with your awareness approach and hope it makes a difference.

A breeder should have certificates of screenings, scans etc to show all buyers that there dogs are spot on - well a reputable one would/should have those things.

If a breeder doesn't get there dog scanned for SM, they are neglecting the fact that the dog could possibly have problems.

All I can say is, if anyone plans to buy a CKCS in the future ask for proof that the dog has been tested for SM - look at the papers to make sure its genuine. If the breeder declines - they obviously have something to hide.

It really is such a sad sad shame for this breed.