Staging Degenerative Myelopathy

I like to divide DM into five stages. This helps when tracking how the disease is progressing and allows my clients to set objective benchmarks to use in making quality-of-life decisions . None of the stages is exact, as every patient is different and will progress...

Diagnosing Degenerative Myelopathy

When it comes to testing for degenerative myelopathy, candidates are divided into three classes:

1. At-risk (A/A homozygotes)
2. Carrier (A/N heterozygous)
3. Clear (N/N genotype)

I helped develop the two tables below to assist my clients in making breeding decisions...

Canine degenerative myelopathy (DM) has been recognized for over 35 years. It’s a spontaneously occurring, adult-onset, spinal-cord disorder affecting dogs. Degenerative myelopathy, which is also known as chronic degenerative radiculomyelopathy (CDRM), is characterized by clinical signs of...

We typically only think about bedding systems when our pet is getting older and we want to make them more comfortable in their old age. We need to be thinking about a comfortable, supportive bed when our pet is young and continue to do so all through its life.

A dog has a special relationship...

The following are the primary predisposing factors that can lead to cranial cruciate ligament disease or injury:

• Large breed
• Gender
• Early neutering
• Overweight
• Age
• Poor fitness
• Athletic
• Immune-mediated
• Synovitis
• Conformation (skeletal shape)

The cranial cruciate ligament is one of the most...

Findings from a study on hip dysplasia and elbow arthrosis in Labrador Retrievers [Sallander, Hedhammer, and Trogen: J Nutr July 2006: 136(7 suppl):2050S-2052S] support the hypothesis that high-impact exercise such as ball chasing and fetching can lead to a higher incidence of osteochondrosis...

Joint problems are unfortunately common in dogs as they grow older, especially those that were not bred by respected and capable breeders. For some dogs these issues are only a minor nuisance. For others, however, these problems can get to the point where, over time, they become nearly incapable...

One of the most common causes of conditions like osteoarthritis in pets is obesity. If your pet is overweight this includes cats as well, you are putting your pet at risk of developing joint disease later on in their lives.

There are a number of treatment options available to you, but as long as...

Most Common Indicators in Dogs:

Osteoarthritis in dogs is typically much more obvious than in cats. We see our patients limping, having difficulty walking, or there is visible stiffness in the legs when getting up. This stiffness is often resolved with mild to moderate activity and worsens after...