Youngest known age for Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) ?

Hi, I have a 4 year old Corgi whose rear legs occasionally slip or 'kick out' when he walks, only on slippery surfaces like hardwood floors. This started right after a two week period of intense exercise. Prior to that he had no problems. I've been to our vet, and another for a 2nd opinion. I now have another appointment set up with a neurologist about an hour away, and may do an MRI if he feels it is needed.

What bothers me is that both my vet and the neurologist (via phone) both said "this could very well be DM". I'm actually hoping it is "only" a disc problem.

He had just turned 4 when these problems started. If it is DM isn't that a very young age to get it? Or has anyone heard of a Corgi getting DM at this early age?

The other problem that is really scaring me is that when we palpate his spine from head to rump he really doesn't react with a pain response. I thought that if he had a disc problem he would show obvious signs of pain when his back was manipulated. Or, has anyone had a Corgi with a disc problem that had hind leg weakness/slipping -- with no obvious signs of pain? I do have him on gluclosamine/MSM which is an anti-inflammatory (and may be helping?)

I haven't gotten a good night sleep in weeks; I'm really worried. Any shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

-Chris

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on August 18, 2009 at 2:38pm

Good news! Hope it continues!

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Permalink Reply by Butter on September 2, 2009 at 10:46am

Hi, I have a 10 year old with a similar problem except in his front legs. They buckle under him when he walks. He, also, doesn't show any signs of pain when his spine is palpated. His problem really kicked in after we got a puppy and he played with her intensely. By day 3 he literally couldn't move. Vet x-rayed his front legs and there was no arthritis but a lot of damage from being a dwarf dog (10 years of pounding on his front legs). He also had extra bone growing from his wrist to elbow which causes inflammation. He is on Previcox and doing much better but because of his age he can't play or walk much because he could risk flaring it up again.

My point is....maybe it is something totally unrelated to DM. Has he had x-rays of his rear legs? Has the vet ruled out other things before they label him with a heavy diagnosis like DM.

One other thing...when we adopted Butter at age 9 I told the vet that we were giving him lots of long walks...45 minute walks. the vet looked concerned and said that Corgis aren't built for long walks. Turned out he was right. The long walks over the years ended up doing a lot of damage to him. I wonder if you put him on bedrest for a few weeks, like we had to and put him on an anit-inflammatory like Previcox if you would see a major differerence. Then after he is well, cut out intense exercises...get advice from vet on increasing exercise gradually. If he does go on Previcox as a trial, you see the difference in pain relief and personality improvement within a pill or 2.

Take care and good luck! Last thought...why would they do an MRI before x-rays....aren't MRI's very expensive? Joy and Butter

By the way, when we play with Butter on hardwood floors, he often ends up sliding and his back legs kick out, although he is is running.