Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)

Thank you for the warm welcome. I knew this would be important for the Pug rescues. My own dog had this condition. I have worked with Dr. Christine Dresser, PDCA Health Effects Chair, for years on the increasing recognition of serious paralysis problems in Pugs. We were very frustrated by the inadvertent delays getting Dr. Simpson's work published. That's why you did not see a specific response previously. He retired and the work was picked up by Dr. Cory Fisher, a dedicated veterinary surgeon at Mississippi State. IMHO the majority of dogs do not have classical degenerative myelopathy, leading to total paralysis, at all. (Only 15% of the Pugs submitted for DM DNA tests, presumably for neurological signs, have test results that are "at risk"). I believe they have the condition described in the new publication. However, the big picture is still very confusing and time will tell if Cory's work is broadly accepted. In the meantime, I would love to converse with you. I think the outlook for rescued Pugs (who will only develop rear leg paralysis) could be enhanced if better information was available on their likely prognosis, and the scope of required life time care. Glad to be onboard,
Kathy

Glad to read this and thank you for posting it and joining us. My last pug (my Otto) had this issue (or one very like it). With him, the first symptoms were that he "scuffed" his front feet when he walked - but this was over ten years ago and we weren't aware of what that might have meant, nor was our vet. As this progressed, I wished that there were more answers, but everything proposed initially was experimental. By the time we had some definite answers, Otto had progressed to being very limited. Had we known what was happening when he was a young puppy, with a good prognosis for surgery, his story might have been different. This info is very valuable, so, again, thank you.

Hi there. I am brand new here, but my 11-year-old pug girl was diagnosed with "Pug dog myelopathy" about 2 months ago (as an aside, it was about a month after our boy pug died suddenly, so it's been rough). Since then, we have seen her get worse. She is on a regimen of prednisone which helped a bit but now it seems it is just making her really hungry and thirsty.

Anyway, I'd like to know if anyone has any insight as to what to expect over the next couple of months and things I should be doing to help her out. The thing that kills me here is that the Dr. said that she is perfectly happy and has no idea what is going on, so there is no pain, but her QOL is going to deteriorate rapidly.

Any tips or things I can do?

Hi, I'm sorry your dog has developed this problem. I would be interested, as I posted above, as to the details of her case and diagnosis. I have a manual planned to help these dogs with long term care and we are gathering information for everyone's use. I will post you a private email with some information. It is not in a good format yet, so I give it out as people need it. Please look at our Facebook page posted above. Remain optimistic, my Lily developed it at 8 years of age and did great until she was 13. Then as an unrelated cervical disc developed, it was finally "time". kathy

Hello, I have just joined your forum on DM in Pugs. I have a 10 year old pug, Tucker, and he has been diagnosed with this disease just 2 weeks ago. He had started dragging his back legs and was walking around most of the time with his tail unrolled. I knew then that was a sign of something not being right with him. I was told there is nothing that can be done for him but to take him walking to build his muscle tone in his back legs. Does anyone know if there is anything that will help slow the progression down or any tips that I need to know? Any information that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

It is breaking my heart to see him like this!!

Tucker's Mom