Does anyone have experience of this?  We have a GSD who has been diagnosed with this recently.  He is 8 years old.  He has been prescribed Metacam.  At the moment it only appears to be affecting his back left leg, he drags his foot.  we've brought a dog boot trainer type thing to protect his foot. 

We've got the Hilton Herbs CDRM solution - does anyone have experience of this?

Also I've done some research which seems to suggest that Hydrotherapy and possibly acupuncture can help.  Again does anyone have experience of these please?

Also dare I ask - how long does this illness take to progress and to what extent?  We're really concerned as he is more like a child to us than a pet.

Thanks everyone

Tim

Oh Tim I'm sorry to hear about this diagnosis, my old GSD was 10 when she got it and sadly for her she only had 3 months from the first time I noticed her back feet dragging when I took her to the vets to the morning 3 months later I found her collapsed in her basket unable to get up to go for her morning wee, took her out to the garden and held her up so she could go but with this disease it does affect their ability to control themselves anyway and she had become incontinent for the most part, I understand the disease doesn't always affect them so quick and I'm very glad there is something to try and help your boy, I'm filling up writing this because although it was some years ago now she was a very special girl to me and I still get upset at the rapid way she went so downhill,her mind was as bright as a button but her body let her down, I really hope your boy lasts a good deal longer, give everything a try that you can and as long as your boy has a good quality of life thats all that matters, I truly wish you all the best.

So sorry about your boy, this illness is the bane of the GSD :-(

Dr. Clemmons has researching DM in the GSD and my advice to you would be to get in touch with Marjorie Zimmerman.

Marjorie is the founder of the Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group Active member of the GSDCA Health and Genetics Committee Liaison to DM Research - http://mzjf.com

And http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/DM_Web/DMofGS.htm

Also, the German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry http://www.gsdbbr.org

DM is a very hard disease to diagnose, usually a rule in when everything else has been ruled out as there are other things that can imitate it, however, there is a DNA test available now. 

Hydrotherapy and the water treadmill are good; however, I don't quite understand why your vet has prescribed Metacam for DM as it's primarily a degeneration of the myelin sheath, there is no pain associated with it, so I don't understand the role of NSAID's in DM  

We know a 6 yr old GSD with early onset DM at Hydrotherapy, has DM for a couple of years now and he is doing well so there is hope however, it can wax and wane and progression depends on a case by case basis. 

Wishing the very best to you and your boy.

Forgot to say ref... 

>We've brought a dog boot trainer type thing to protect his foot

Booties are not a good idea for DM dogs.  They cut down on the sensation to the paws, and will have a negative effect upon the nerve impulses going to the hind quarters.  You would be wise to exercise your dog on grass.  Plus swimming and the water threadmill are excellent for DM dogs, I can't stress that enough... :-)

Sorry to hear your dog has this awful disease.  I had a bitch who showed early signs at 10 years old, her disease was slow progressing and we had her until she was almost 13.  I understand that regular exercise is paramount plus accupuncture and swimming, basically anything that stimulates the nerves.  I also gave my girl homeopathic drops, you might want to consider taking her to a homeopathic vet, I know of a good one, depending on your area.

We used to help her along with a towel under her tummy, then eventually she went onto wheels, this isn't for every dog and owner but for us and her, she had a few months extra being able to whizz about.  As Spender said this may have had negative effect in that her legs didn't have an opportunity to try to work but by then she had very little sensation.

Hi - thanks ever so much for the response.  Our vet recommended a boot as he was dragging his nails and was beginning to get down to the quick and bleeding.  So really it was to try and protect his foot. 

Also I think he prescribed Metacam as he believes Jack has some arthritis also.  He certainly appears to have perked up with the Metacam.  He's trying to keep up with our Golden and it was a pitiful sight when we walked them yesterday.  Jack seems to have deteriorated so quickly - from a week ago where he was just dragging it a little to now where he is tripping up over himself, falling over and generally sliding everywhere.  It breaks my heart. 

I'm trying to get a referral to a hydrotherapy place for Jack - just waiting for the vet to arrange.  He's also suggested an MRI scan?

Hi Zajak

We're in South Yorkshire.  We're trying him on the Hilton Herbs CDRM solution as a homeopathic solution. 

We're both just numb at the moment, and astonished at the speed in which he seems to have deteriorated.  Thank you so much all of your for your replies.

Tim

Hi Papillon,

Thanks for your message of support

Sadly I think we will be in the same position as you were.  He is deteriorating very quickly, which is dreadfully upsetting.  As you say his mind is sharp and apart from his back end seeming to have a mind of its own he is his normal chirpy self. 

Tim

Tim I know exactly how your feeling, you feel kind of helpless despite doing all you can for your boy, with my Sophie I knew things were happening very fast so I took her for one last holiday, she loved the beach so much, we took her to Norfolk and carried her from the car to the beach then she walked as well as she could and we could see she was loving being there,her eyes sparkled and she was so happy, it was the most bittersweet time because although we knew we had made her happy taking her there we also knew our time together was going to be very short, I absolutely treasure the photos we took of her on that week, it was only a week or two after the holiday that she went into the state of collapse and I decided that her quality of life was not as good as it should be, she totally hated being incontinent and got so upset everytime she lost control of herself, we adored her and so made the hardest of decisions to ease her suffering,  here I am crying again and now I'm worried I'm making you sad to,  each case of CDRM is different and your boy may do better and have longer than my Sophie did, I so so hope he does.

Yvonne x

Hi There,

>Our vet recommended a boot as he was dragging his nails and was beginning to get down to the quick and bleeding.

I know, bless you, it's a catch 22 situation; we try to keep them as comfortable as possible and I fully understand it's difficult.

>Jack seems to have deteriorated so quickly - from a week ago where he was just dragging it a little now where he is tripping up over himself, falling over and generally sliding everywhere.

That is mighty quick for DM IMO, and it appears to be in 1 hind leg?   Did your vet do the neurological tests on both?    Did he try manoeuvring your boys head to flex the spine?  Not all vets do this; I went to 4 with a suspect spinal injury/disease and none of them did it.  That said, not all spinal probs manifest themselves on manual manipulation of the spine.

If there no evidence to diagnoise DM, I'd consider cage rest in case there is a disc problem in the spine.  If the disc or associated vertebrae are putting pressure on the cord, exercise can exacerbate the problem.  So if there is a suspect spinal problem putting pressure on the cord, do NOT do Hydro unless you know what it is and your vet is happy with it.   

There are so many illnesses that can mask DM, treatable illnesses for example and your boy is young at 8 yrs old for a GSD.  Mine had just entered adulthood at that age and was still daft at 12.

Our vet said our boy had DM too when he was 10 yrs old, we insisted on a referral and he had an MRI and it turned out to be a disc protrusion.  He had an op and made a terrific recovery.  It gave him 3 good years until he passed away with something completely unrelated.

I'm not knocking your vet or mine even, but there is a tendency to associate the GSD and neurological deficits in the hind quarters with DM when there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.  Whatever you decide, I wish you the very best for your boy.

Hi Tim, I'm sorry to hear about your boy. Regretably I have first hand experience of both disc problems and DM in GSDs and have to say that the advice Spender has given you is excellent. I would really urge you to speak to your Vet and ask for a referral to an orthopaedic specialist, as in your boy's case, the progression seems very quick for DM.

If you have a look on Dorothy Cullum's website (cermar.co.uk) you will find an excellent article on DM, and if you wanted to ring her she is very helpful.

Good luck.