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This last week, I learned about a disease that is mostly limited to German Shepherds. It's called Degenerative Myelopathy and is an auto-immune disease of the spinal cord. It's a doggie version of Multiple
Sclerosis and causes the dog to lose control of its hind legs. It's not painful, but ends up crippling the dog and, as a side effect in the late term, causes incontinence (both types).
There are a lot of resources and information about this if you Google the term, the best of which seem to come from the U. of Florida by a
vet/Ph.D. named Dr. R. M. Clemmons.
Unfortunately, I learned of this disease the hard way and there is no cure for it. I thought my dog was simply getting arthritis because her symptoms started with a limp. During the last couple months, her rear legs would go out from under her when doing one of her famous high-speed, chasing-the-Kong turns. Now she can't jump up into my
truck anymore and is losing muscle mass in her haunches, and walks
funny much of the time. As a side note, her hips are great, not
a trace of displasia at age 9.
Anyway, I posted this for informational purposes because I know a great many of us are dog lovers. I hope no one else's dog gets this
awful disease.
Sclerosis and causes the dog to lose control of its hind legs. It's not painful, but ends up crippling the dog and, as a side effect in the late term, causes incontinence (both types).
There are a lot of resources and information about this if you Google the term, the best of which seem to come from the U. of Florida by a
vet/Ph.D. named Dr. R. M. Clemmons.
Unfortunately, I learned of this disease the hard way and there is no cure for it. I thought my dog was simply getting arthritis because her symptoms started with a limp. During the last couple months, her rear legs would go out from under her when doing one of her famous high-speed, chasing-the-Kong turns. Now she can't jump up into my
truck anymore and is losing muscle mass in her haunches, and walks
funny much of the time. As a side note, her hips are great, not
a trace of displasia at age 9.
Anyway, I posted this for informational purposes because I know a great many of us are dog lovers. I hope no one else's dog gets this
awful disease.