Syringomyelia

I got my baby Lola when she was 6 weeks old as her breeder wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible because Lola's mother wasn't coping well. We were not allowed to see Lola's mother nor did we get any documents ect on Lola's family history. She was the first Pug my family had ever owned so typically we spent a fortune on Pug books from how to trim nails ect to what type of exercise they require. Life was perfect with Lola, she was house trained early and was the best puppy anyone could ever ask for! Her personality was amazing she was a nutter :) Now she is 6 and for the last year or so, we have started noticing her back leg 'spasms' and she isn't able to control it. We watched a program on BBC about the Kennel Club and it showed a variety of dogs especially King Charles Spaniels have the disease Syringomyelia . What Lola has is just the start, next comes 'screams' of agony when her leg thumps out of control then comes the dog trying to turn their head around to relieve the pain in the top of their spine and eating and sleeping with their head held up straight. She cannot physically go for walks any more as after a few steps she rolls on the floor thumping her leg, also even petting her triggers it off. It is heartbreaking to see my little angel go through this. I took Lola to the vet and he said he would advise us to put Lola to sleep if the condition gets any worse. I got Lola when i was 10, she is my first baby and i will love her forever and always. My family and I believe she still has a few more years in her, but i will never ever forgive the woman who cruelly bred Lola's mum, it physically makes me sick to think the Kennel Club allows this.

I am so sorry, my heart breaks for you. One of our members, Cathy, lost her precious Winston to this terrible disease. I am sure she will have words of support for you, as will all of us here.

I'm so sorry to hear about your Lola and what she and you are going through.

I recently lost my heart-dog, Otto, to a genetic back problem - and I'm sure it goes back to his breeder. He was our first pug, too, and I did get to see his parents and they seemed fine. He started scuffing his front feet before he was a year old - by the time he was 8 or 9, he couldn't jump, couldn't do stairs - but thankfully, he wasn't in pain. The condition was progressive, not operable and eventually resulted in total paralysis. We had to let him go this past June. Believe me, I sympathize with all of your feelings of pain, sorrow, anger -

I know you love Lola and that you will make her life as comfortable as possible for as long as possible and that when she leaves you, she'll go wrapped in the love that has always surrounded her. It won't make it easier for you, I know. Too many of us know the pain of saying goodbye to our pugs much too soon. I wish you didn't have to join our number.

Sending prayers and good thoughts to Lola and to you.

so sorry to hear what you and your family are going through.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support. It really means a lot! Much love.

Abbie, first of I want to say how sorry I am your Lola has syringomyelia. It's a horrible disease. I lost my beloved Winston to this monster 16 months ago.

You didn't say whether or not you had an MRI done on Lola. It's the only way to diagnose syringomyelia. I know they are expensive, but it's a necessary expense.

That said, you may be able to keep Lola comfortable with medications. Winston was on a routine of prednisone, tramadol, previcox, and prilosec. He did ok on this routine for about a year and a half. The last 4 months of his life were filled with more foot dragging, more falling, bowel incontience, being cathed for his urine, and towards the end partial paralysis. I don't want to frighten you, just let you be aware of what may or may not happen. However, I wouldn't have not had those last 4 months for anything.

There is a Cavalier forum that has a section on syringomyelia that was a huge help when Winston was diagnosed. If you message me, I'll send you the link. I'm not sure it's ok to post it here since it doesn't have anything to do with pugs.

If you need anymore information, please don't hesitate to PM me. I'll help as much as I can.

Once again, I'm so damn sorry you have to go through this with your girl.

It is such an ominous sign that this is showing up in the pugs.

Abbie, I'm so sorry that you and Lola are going through this. Syringomyelia appears all too often in Cavaliers here in the UK, and this situation has attracted all kinds of comments in the press and the dog papers. As Blanche says, it's tragic that this awful disease is now appearing in other breeds as well.
You have been given excellent advice by Cathy (who has sadly been there, with Winston) and although I know it's not terribly easy to get an MRI scan done on a dog here in the UK, there are an increasing number of specialist vet hospitals which do now offer this facility. I know of 2 here in East Anglia. Is Lola insured?
We all love our pugs to bits here on this forum, wherever in the world we live. So I'm sure no-one will object to my suggesting to you that you take a look at the Manchester Pug Mania page on Facebook. The majority of their members are from your neck of the woods and between them they have experienced pretty much everything that life can throw at the owner of a beloved pug.
PM me if you can't access the FB page and I'll send you the link. We are all here to offer support.

northernwitch wrote:It is such an ominous sign that this is showing up in the pugs.

I agree, Blanche. After doing a ton of reading after Winston was diagnosed, I came to the conclusion that it's because some breeders are after flatter faces. The flatter the face, the smaller the skull, the higher the chance of caudal occipital malformation sydrome (COMS) and thus syringomyelia. It's not just pugs that are increasing, it's Brussel Griffons, Yorkies, anything with a small skull. While the skull has shrunk, the brain has remained the same size. This disease runs rampant in Cavaliers. It's also called "fly catchers", because of the movement the dog makes while trying to balance out his CSF. Winston would run his head into the couch arms to try to balance out his CSF. It's a crappy disease.

Abbie, I'm not sure where in the UK you are, but there is a neurologist who has a great interest in syringomyleia by the name of Clair(e) Rushbridge. I'm not sure, but I've heard she does low cost screenings. As I said in my prior post, PM me and I'll link you to the Cavalier forum where you can get a lot of good information about meds and how to help your Lola live life to the fullest for as long as she can.

No advice, Abbie, just a ton of prayers and good wishes for you and your Lola. I so hate that some breeders are not considering the consequences of what they do.

Cathy, it's fine to post a link to another site. We're all about passing along good info, even if it's non-pug sources!

GingerSnap wrote:Cathy, it's fine to post a link to another site. We're all about passing along good info, even if it's non-pug sources!

Thanks Ginger, I'll file that away for future reference. If anyone else would like to have them, I'd be glad to post them. A good source of pug skull and spine info.