Degenerative Myelopathy Symptoms - Page 5

Everyone talks about betterment for the Breed. Well if every puppy sold was given the address to the "Betterment site" and requested to register his or her pups health as it grew. WOW. would the GSD be improved! NO back bitting allowed on the site, just good ole verified information.

>>Has anyone here has seen the earlier stages and if it can start out just affecting one leg. Yes, DM can affect one or both sides of the body.. It does not have to attack both sides...DM dogs do wobble, because they arent sure of their foot placement :( Marjorie Founder of the Degenertaive Myelopathy Support Group Active member of the GSDCA Health and Genetics Committe Liaison to DM Research

The treatment for DM disease is not bad- I dont know how you got that impression? The pills can be put right into the food of a dog with a healthy appetite, and they will be scarfed right down. (Thats how Missie T takes her pills- she doesnt even know they are in there!) Some of the supplements also come in a powdered form, and can be mixed right in with the food. If the dog is picky, a bit of soft cheese with the pills stuffed inside the cheese... well, Jack Flash always thought he was getting a treat :) >>DM doesn't show up on spinal fluid, at least that's what I was told when my now almost 11 year old was diagnosed at 4. There are elevated proteins in the CSF of dogs with DM, which indicate inflammation. Perhaps they didnt know as much then, as they know now.. >>But I live with a DM dog that is walking/slowly running today in a huge part to Dr. Clemmons research. So do I.. I am on my second DM dog, and I know many who have had 3 and 4 DM dogs :( Research money is desperately needed. I ran some raffles, last winter, when the GSDCA was offering matching funds for DM research. We raised over $6000, which was matched by the GSDCA Charitable Foundation.

I am sorry to have to make so many posts. I cannot post one long post, because the long post would not go through to this board. Therefore, I have to divide my post into sections... >>i have seen this more often presently in GSDs tyhan i have seen hip dysplasia --- does anyone have any statics as to how this disease compares to HD prevelence As the Liaison to DM research for the GSDCA Health and Genetics Committee, I can tell you that this is precisely what DR Clemmons is now working on. He has applied to the AKCCHF for a grant, in which he hopes to be able to determine the percentage of the GSD population that is carrying the DM marker. He feels it can be anywhere from 1% - 40%. As the Founder of the DM Support Group, my opinion is that the number will turn out to be a high number. An outcross breeding, IMHO, can cause as much damage, if people dont open up and discuss this disease openly. Its a horrid, heartbreaking disease that just tears one's soul apart. It is incredibly expensive to treat, sometimes running as high as $1500 a month, if the entire program is followed- vitamins, supplements, herbs, acupuncture and swimming. Swim sessions are very expensive- I know around where I live, they ran about $90 a session! A DM dog should swim at least 3 times a week to stop the muscles from atrophying! Then there are the special beds, the rear end harnesses and the carts. Many I know will no longer consider owning a GSD ever again, due to all the health problems in the breed. A good friend of mine who has had 2 DM dogs, and her newer dog has IBD, EPI, Pannus and a whole host of other problems. She spent over $200,000 in the past 5 years, just on medical treatments for her dogs!! No more GSDS for her, needless to say. She feels totally betrayed..

>> for the most part, DM tends to be a disease of the older dog. Unfortunately, this is NOT the case, anymore :( Once upon a time- like 8 years ago, DM WAS an older dog disease. However, the age of DM onset has been dropping like a heavy stone, over the past 8 years. It is not unusual now to see a 6 or 7 yr old, with the disease. My Missie T was just 4 yrs old when I noticed the earliest symptoms. I would have easily missed it, if I didnt already walk that DM path with Jack Flash. As soon as i noticed teh early symptoms,I sent off a DM Flash Test for her, and sure enough, she had the marker. (Thank God, Joss, my male, does not have the marker- I had him tested, as well.) I put Missie T on Dr Clemmons program immediately, and she has gone into complete remission. Last year I didnt know if she would be here, this summer, as the progression of DM in younger dogs can be much quicker than the progression in older dogs. DM in young dogs is usually a very bad scenario, with rapid progression. >>I have always wondered if these degenerative neuronal diseases have anything to do with the vaccination practices in the United states (too many, too frequent vaccines IMO). Over-vaccination can be a culprit in a lot of health problems. No doubt about it, dogs are being over-vaccinated. However, I learned my lesson with Jack Flash! Missie T received her puppy vaccinations- SINGLY- one month apart from each other. She never received Bordatella, Corona, Lymes or Lepto. She got her 1 yr boosters- again- singly, spaced one month apart. She received her Rabies vaccination, which was required by law. After that- she was titered- I never vaccinated her again, yet, she developed DM...She was fed only the finest of foods- all natural, and believe me, having lived through DM with one dog, I made damn well sure I would never have to walk that path again. I did everything right, yet... that tell tale occassional swish on the carpet/floor appeared....the sound of scraping nails on a sudden turn.... the loss of balance..the worn rear nails...my nightmare once again reappeared... This disease definitely has a major foothold in this breed, and things will not get better unless people decide to share information!

>>Marg has spent so much time on this project. She really is a remarkable person, isn't she? Thank you for the compliment, but she is not a remarkable person ;) She is just someone who truly loves this breed, and is keeping a death bed promise to the other half of her soul, which is to see this disease gone from the breed, in her lifetime!

>>Unfortunately, the vet neurologist informed me that other veterinary school studies attempting to confirm Dr. Clemmons' claims that his regimen could slow the progression of the disease and lead to an increased life span had failed to do so. In all honesty, I laughed at myself when I began Dr Clemmons program. Jack Flash's neurologist totally dismissed Dr Clemmons. However, Jack Flash was the other half of my soul, so I would leave no stone unturned. I thought if I chanted, sprinkled fairy dust over Jack's head while waving a cantelope at the same time, the results would be the same. The truth is that Dr Clemmons program did wonders for Jack Flash. He had been given a 3 month prognosis. Jack lived another 16 months, with quality of life, not going down until the last month of his lfe! At the time of diagnosis, he was late stage DM, falling over, crossing his legs under his body, yet he went into remission, after 3 weeks on DR C's program. I called Jack's neuro Dr to tell him about this program, and he refused to even listen. As the Founder of the DM Support Group, I get a really good look at thesuccess rate of the program, and I would say that if DM is caught at a reasonable stage, the program will slow the progression of DM in about 8o% of the cases. It will not slow the progression if the dog doesnt have DM! It MIGHT or MIGHT NOT slow the progression if DM is caught at the latter stages of the disease. An early catch is very, very important, if the program is to work! I have to say that perhaps some professional jealousy might be involved in those who dismiss Dr Clemmons work. There is politics in everything- even Veterinary Medicine :(

>> He also stated that no other vet neurologists had been able to confirm the reliability of the "flash" test.<< >>But I do believe that it is significant that no one else has been able to duplicate the results he claims, and that one should be in possession of all the facts before annointing him a savior whose regimen is guaranteed to help dogs with DM.<< Thats because DR Clemmons discovered the marker, and the procedure in which he looks for the marker has not been released, so, therefore, it would be impossible for his work to be duplicated, at the present time. In order to duplicate his findings, others would need to know the methodology utilized by DR Clemmons. Dr Clemmons has just shared his methodology with the AKCCHF, in his grant request. In his grant request, he, for the first time, has described how to test for the DNA marker. This has just been submitted to the AKCCHF a few DAYS ago! Since no one but the AKCCHF has this information, at the present time, no one could possibly be able to duplicate his findings. Dr Clemmons could copyright this prodcure, but he has no intention of doing so. He doesnt play politics or games, and he only wants what is best for the dogs. He doesnt harbor that desire to climb the political ladder, which makes him a very special person. He does what he does from the heart, because he cares! He is one of a kind, and deserving of my utmost respect. He even funded 300 dna cards, himself, to send out to people who volunteered to take part in a dna drive. I have seen how this brilliant man conducts himself, having worked closely with him for the past 8 years. I know many who have studied under Dr Clemmons, and they have all proclaimed him to have an incredible intelligence- above and beyond what they had ever seen in their lifetime. My own vet studied under him and said the man is nothing short of a genius intellect. I just cannot discount politics and professional jealousy as at least a very part of what is happening with Dr Clemmons and the neuro community.

Well, now that I have written a *book* here, if you want to learn more about DM, in a lay person's language, you can visit my website "The Home of the Degenerative Myelopathy Support Group" at http://mzjf.com There, you will find the articles "Two Hearts: Our Battle with Degenerative Myelopathy" and "Two Hearts....the Final Chapter", housed on the site. Be warned- this has brought grown men to tears.. The German Shepherd Dog Breed Betterment Registry http://www.gsdbbr.org

Marj, I still think you are a remarkable person. I don't mean to embarass you, I just think you deserve credit for what you are doing for the breed.