This section of the site is dedicated to personal stories of health problems within the Springer breed, hopefully by using personal experiences it will help you understand some of the problems, and enable you to make to recognise symptoms and also see what sort of treatments etc were successful
If you would like to contribute to this page please feel free to get in contact, any health issues welcome, from cuts to coughs, and injuries to itches, just e-mail.
Case Notes on this Page
Steroid Responsive Meningitis-Arteritis (SRMA)
Vestibular Disease
Incontinence
Allergies - dust mites
Steroid Responsive Meningitis-Arteritis (SRMA) Written by Annie, after she nearly lost Springer Megan to this
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Megan is very lucky to have survived this rare but potentially deadly condition |
Meningitis means inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover
the central nervous system. In humans, it is usually caused by bacterial or
viral infection, but in dogs, meningitis is generally auto-immune.
Autoimmune problems occur when the body sees its own cells as foreign and
mounts a reaction. SRMA, or steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis, is a
particular form of meningitis which affects the arteries in many body system
tissues as well as the meninges, but as its name suggests, it can be treated
successfully with steroids that suppress the immune system. SRMA is not
contagious.
The symptoms of SRMA include stiffness and pain in the neck, lethargy,
reluctance to move, loss of appetite and a very high temperature. It can be
acute and rapid in onset or chronic, with symptoms developing slowly over
several days or weeks. As a result, it is very difficult to diagnose. SRMA
(also known as aseptic meningitis) responds very well to steroid treatment,
although in severe cases it can cause permanent damage such as deafness or
blindness if not treated promptly. The causes of SRMA are unclear, but there
is strong evidence for a genetic factor in the development of autoimmune
disease, and in susceptible dogs, such reactions can be triggered by
over-vaccination, general anaesthetics and chemical flea treatments. Often,
though, no cause or trigger can be identified.
Megan suffered from SRMA at the beginning of 2004, six weeks after a
general anaesthetic for treatment of a broken tooth. In early January, her
appetite started to decline noticeably over a period of several days. She’s
never been a very food-motivated dog and she was her normal active self, so
we weren’t overly concerned for the first day or two, but then she woke up
very subdued one morning and didn't want to move from the sofa all day. We'd
been for quite a long walk the previous day, so we thought she might just be
overtired, but when she still wasn't her usual bouncy self the next day and
her gait seemed stiff and stumbly, we took her to the vet. Her temperature
was normal at this stage and there was no physical sign of anything being
wrong except for a sore neck, so a pulled muscle was diagnosed and she was
sent home with anti-inflammatory tablets (Metacam). This seemed to solve the
problem, and after a few days' rest she was back to normal. The first time
she went out for a short walk, though, she started to go downhill again. We
took her to the vet's the next morning, and her temperature was 105.4
degrees F. 101 is considered normal, so there was obviously something wrong!
The most common cause of a high temperature is infection, so Megan was
given an antibiotic injection. The vet warned us that because she had a sore
neck, it there was a chance that it might be steroid-responsive meningitis,
but that it was very rare and she’d only ever seen one other case of it, so
she didn’t think it was very likely.
Megan’s illness didn’t respond to the antibiotics. Her temperature went up
even more over the next 48 hours (peaking at 105.9 degrees), she was very
reluctant to move and she wasn’t eating or drinking at all. Our vet took
some bloods to test for an autoimmune reaction and was initially reluctant
to give her steroids until the results had come back from the lab, but her
temperature was now so high that the decision was made to proceed without
the test results. Megan was initially given was a low-dose
(anti-inflammatory rather than immune-suppressant) injection of a steroid
medication (dexamethasone), and her temperature started coming down almost
immediately. She had two further steroid injections at 48-hour intervals,
and then started on steroid tablets (prednisolone). Prednisolone can
irritate the stomach lining and cause ulcers, so she also took
gastroprotectant tablets, and because steroids suppress the immune system,
she was also given a short course of antibiotics to protect her against
infections. The dose of steroids was gradually tapered off after a week, and
stopped after two weeks.
Megan’s response to the steroids was dramatic. Her appetite returned
very quickly, and by the time she finished the treatment she was back to her
old self. Some dogs with SRMA suffer relapses, but fortunately this hasn’t
happened to Megan - six months on, she’s fully recovered, with no long-term
damage and no sign that she’s ever been ill. This is largely due to the fact
that her symptoms were recognised and her treatment was started promptly.
Many vets have never come across SRMA and are very conservative in their
treatment, delaying steroid treatment until it’s too late, which is why it’s
so important to increase awareness of this rare, treatable but potentially
devastating disease.
VESTIBULAR SYNDROME - Written by me, Gizmo 13 years old
One afternoon Gizmo got up to go to the toilet and couldn't walk properly, she staggered towards the door and nearly fell down the 2 small steps into the garden. My husband called in a panic, he thought that Gizmo had just had a stroke. When we looked at Gizmo's eyes they were flicking from side to side very quickly and she seemed totally unable to stand still or walk in a straight line. She was vomiting and her head was not straight, she seemed to hold it to one side.
I took Gizmo to the vets imagining the worst, I had said my goodbyes in the car and carried her in. The young vet on duty looked at her eyes and was surprised, she hadn't seen eyes flicking so quickly for a long time, but she didn't seem that concerned. She explained that Gizmo was suffering from something called Vestibular Disease/Syndrome whereby the vestibule area of her brain was inflamed or infected. The vestibular sense is one of the least known of the senses. It, along with visual and tactile information, allow an animal to balance. It also is important in stabilizing eye position and in allowing smooth vision during head movements. The structures responsible for vestibular sensation are located in the inner ear adjacent to the cochlea. In essence it is a form of inner ear imbalance with dramatic symptoms. It can be mistaken for a stroke or poisoning, but the flickering eyes and head tilt are the main guide to a diagnosis.
Gizmo was given a large dose of steroids and antibiotics, and we had a horrid couple of days as she constantly vomited and we had to watch her like a hawk in case she hurt herself trying to go up or down stairs etc After another steroid injection a few days later she started to settle and within the week she was back to her old self.
Most dogs with this syndrome are elderly, but not all, so if your dog suddenly appears to lose its balance and have a strange head tilt, with flickering eyes, don't assume the worst, this strange disease is treatable and though frightening will very rarely have long term consequences.
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Gizmo recovered very quickly, but we got a terrible fright when she couldn't walk or balance, and her eyes flicked from side to side |
ALLERGIES - DUST MITES - Ailsa and Scampi
I have a
six year old Springer with allergies to house dust mite and storage mite.
The problems started a month or so after he came to live with us, aged 16
months.
He became very itchy and scratched
enough to develop sore patches. These sore patches become infected, as a
result of treatment stopped the problem returned. At the end of the day, we
were not treating the cause, just the symptoms. (I now understand this, but
was very naive in the early days). We then went down the route of 'maybe
it’s a flea allergy/mange' etc.
Eventually diet was suggested as a potential source of the problem and he
was put on a prescription diet to the exclusion of everything else (Catfish
and rice I think it was). Three months later, we were no further forwards.
More steroids and antibiotics were prescribed. Then the Vet suggested taking
blood for allergy testing. I didn’t even ask what allergens were being
tested for, in my ignorance. The results came back negative. I felt as
though I was getting nowhere.
I decided to change Vets, although it had already been explained to me that
skin problems were one of the most common problems Vets see and also one of
the most frustrating and difficult problems to get to the bottom of.
At the new Vets we carried on with steroids (trying to reduce the dose) and
flare ups being treated with antibiotics. My new Vet finally persuaded me to
have more allergy testing done, and we got a positive result for house dust
mite and storage mite. It seems my first lot of allergy tests was probably
testing for outdoor allergens (the old Vet lost the test results when I
changed to the new Vet).
Well now we had a result, what could
we do about it?
There was the option to have desensitising injections (this could take as
long as a year and with no guarantee that it would ‘cure’ him). My Vet had
tried this approach with a couple of dogs and each still needed steroid
treatment on and off. The alternative was to change his environment as much
as possible to reduce the dust mite/storage mite population.
We chose the second option and the following are some of the things we have
tried.
Removal of carpets in all the living areas where he had access (fortunately
we found nice maple floors under the old carpet).
For bedding, we use anti-allergy duvets (available at Debenhams/BHS etc.)
Single duvet covers can be bought very cheaply and as it doesn’t matter what
they look like I wash them at 60o (this is the temperature needed to kill
the dust mite).
Anything that cannot be washed at a high temperature has to go in the
freezer for a couple of hours instead, before washing. The freezing before
washing method is the one I use for curtains.
We also replaced the upholstery sofas with leather ones.
I found a very informative book with lots of tips called Allergy free
living, by Dr Peter Howarth and Anita Reid. ISBN 1 84000 233 6
I also found a useful web site
http://www.housedustmite.org
We now have a Springer who still needs to take steroids, but is now on a
maintenance dose, and he hasn’t had any flare ups requiring antibiotics for
a very long time. Although it is not ideal, I would rather have a dog who
has a ‘comfortable’ life even if it means he may lead a shorter life as a
result of the medication, than a dog continually scratching and on and off
antibiotics.
Eliminating dust mite form the environment is impossible, but with a bit of
effort you can take steps to reduce the mite population by making the
environment less hospitable to them. If you suspect your dog has allergies,
read as much as you possibly can so that you are in a position to ask lots
of questions of your Vet.
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Scampi - much happier since the source of his itching has been discovered |
INCONTINENCE - me and Willow
Willow will not be impressed that I am writing about her embarrassing problems for all to see, but hopefully it may be of help to those of you with similar problems.
Willow was always a piddley puppy, she would wet herself every time someone came into the house, it is very common with alot of young Springer's and most will grow out of it. However Willow's problems continued and sometimes she would wake up from a deep sleep in her bed and have wet herself in her sleep, she also had a few accidents while sleeping on the arm of the chair (favourite spot keeping her dad company). Most of the time she was in deep sleep after returning from a walk, and it was worst in the summer when I took her swimming every day, simply because she swallowed alot of water diving about in the river. I did not want to start Willow on any medication as she was only young, 1-2 years old, so I decided to treat her using some more natural remedies. I did some research and decided to put her on Causticum which is used to strengthen bladder muscles. I combined this with a general herbal kidney tablet from Dene's to maintain healthy kidney function.
She improved considerably and would only have the odd accident, which was easy to manage as I had made her a waterproof cover for her bed so it was easy to clean. However I was always on the look out for something better. I heard about a new product being produced by Ceri at CSJ, it was a herbal mix called "Hold It", which was designed to help dogs with bladder problems. I contacted Ceri and put Willow onto it straight away, it took a good month for the herb mix to start working but she has had no accidents since and I have been really impressed. It is always nice to be able to treat your dog using something completely natural if you can. Incontinence is common in Springer bitches, especially after they have been neutered, it is always advisable to speak to your vet if you notice a problem because sudden onsets of incontinence can be caused by a kidney infection, and severe cases of incontinence may need some hormone therapy to correct it. (for info on CSJ www.csjk9.com
Update - Willow has been on Hold It for nearly 2 years without any problems and I don't have the worries of long term medication useage. CSJ now has a points scheme if anyone buys a product which has been referred, so if you are trying any of the CSJ products please put Freya Kennedy down as a referee as it then allows me to save money on future Hold It purchases - thanks
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I didn't mean those type of puddles Willow! |