An SRMA question

[moss]

This has been going round in my head, I hope I can make myself understood.

I have just walked Sunny for the first Time since his SRMA flare up on Wednesday.  Obviously he is back on the high dose of steroids and maybe I'm imagining it but his gait seemed a lot smoother and extended than normal and he seemed more relaxed.  This made me wonder that despite him being off steroids since last June and me assuming he was well he has in fact been suffering low level pain all the while and has just recently had a flare up making him obviously poorly.

Similarly, he was originally diagnosed with SRMA last March but he had been different since January, not ill just occasioanally a bit grumbly when being groomed.  With hindsight I wonder if it is possible the attack was "building"

Not sure if there is a definitive answer but would be grateful for opinions
Thanks
Jackie

[Penel CIMDA moderator]

Yes I think you're probably right.  Or it's a learned behaviour and he inhibits his movement because of previous pain / grooming etc.

[Jo CIMDA]

Hi

I think you could be right too.  SRMA and IMPA (polyarthritis) generally have a slow onset and it is often only when the dog is at an acute stage that a relapse is realised.  When improvement is seen, due to starting treatment, one realises that perhaps the dog has been under par for quite a while beforehand.

It is nice, and important, for us to put some logic to our suspicions, and I think you have done that.  It is brilliant that Sunny is responding to treatment and doing so well.

Jo

[moss]

It makes life very difficult tho doesn't it :-(
I wasn't aware that SRMA had a slow onset, good at least to know that my suspicions may have been right.
Sunny has had some issues with other dogs since the first SRMA crisis and since he got "well" I have been working hard to try and sort it.  Things have improved but are not perfect but then, if I think he's fine but he's feeling below par I can't expect him to behave. 
Same with training, I wouldn't want to train him if he was ill but if I don't know he's ill I may train him and put him off or put him under stress.  Really really difficult!
In the weeks leading up to this relapse I would have said that he was feeling good, loads of running around, wanting to play with me, trying to make me do heelwork etc.  Basically behaving like the young dog is is.
Looks like I have a lot to learn!
Jackie

[goldiepower]

Hi Jackie

You'll just find yourself spotting the signs and making allowances, adjusting training accordingly. I took Chad on a weekend training course and he was high as a kite the first day, but by the middle of the second day he just wasn't quite himself, no-one else noticed, it was very subtle, but I said I didn't want to train him and the following day he had all the relapse signs, pain, temperature etc.

You know your dog better than anyone, you'll be able to read him like a book and adapt to how he is feeling 

Chris & the Golden Boys

[Ros]

Hi Jacky, my golden retriever Dex has only just been diagnosed after his second attack ie. just over a week ago, but already I am realising that although he ran and bounced around the day before the acute onset, that there may have been signs earlier.  He has always been in the habit of scratching the back of his neck.  It looked behavioural because it always happens during training at some boring point of the procedings such as sit stay, but I think now it might have occured at times when I was expecting him to lift his head for whatever reason.  Also in training he has been very difficult to control at times, pulling to get to the other dogs and generally objecting to the training discipline.   More recently, he's been excited in the snow, and, even though not normally a pully dog, has been pulling me around all over in the snow and ice.  I feel very bad about this now because of the amount of neck strain he must have had.  I've now got him a no-pull harness for walks.

But as these things can also be typical dog "teenage" behaviour (he's 11 months old), it's hard to tell, in hindsight I could maybe read too much into it.  As you say, very very difficult.

As Chris says, we will no doubt in time learn to spot things much earlier and it will become easier to know when to make allowances.  Good luk. 

Ros And Dex

[Penel CIMDA moderator]

Hi Ros,
off topic slightly but do you know about the Mekuti harnesses and how to balance a dog so that they don't pull.  That might be really good for him.  They use a double ended lead with the lead attached on either side so the dog learns to balance itself.

I also found with Saffy that any high stress occasion or environment could set off a relapse with her SLE. Once a friend's dog nipped Saffy on the bum - a few days later she relapsed.  Another time was an agility demo - very low key but again it set her off.  As low stress as possible for all of these AI dogs.  Any showing, competing etc - quite honestly you should forget these activities for these dogs.  As well as being stressful (I don't mean unpleasant stressful, I just mean "aroused" in any way whatsoever stressful) remember there are loads of dogs there who may be carrying germs - and again in a high stress environment are more likely to share these germs.

[Ros]

Hi Penel, Oh yes I was looking at the Mekuti one, but decided in the end to order a Premier one..It hasn't come yet, so if you think the Mekuti one is better I can return the other.. Only reason I decided not to get the Mekuti, was it looked like you needed two hands to use it, and since I have a dog in each hand thought that might be difficult!!  But maybe I'm wrong about that?   I'll give it a try if you think it can be a one-handed job

[cracar]

Do you know, you've made me realise the same too.  My little Saff has never been a very active dog.  She never had the typical waggy spaniel tail and was always slightly 'holding' herself funny (you know, tail down straight and spine slightly curved). 
All these things have improved since she started the steroids and she now has a 'normal' waggy tail.  In fact, it hardly stops now!lol

She has always been this way and I had wrongly assumed it was just her quieter personality.  It wasn't.  It must have been this.  And to make it worse, I can't remember her being any different.  My poor baby has obviously been living in pain and I didn't notice till she had a complete epidose.