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Head Muscle Atrophy

Sent to Pet Experts April 27, 2006 4:26 p.m.

Our 10 year old Golden retriever as of a month ago (when we noticed) was showing signs of cranial muscle atrophy above and behind his left eye and below this area a very pronounced bony ridge along his upper jaw area running up to his ear area. He has had a thyroid condition and been on meds for this since he was about 2 years old. The vet seemed to think it stems from the thyroid condition and that there is nothing that can be done. He says the eye itself eventually may not be able to blink and therefore would need eye drops for hydrating the eye.
I investigated this theory on the internet to find another disease or two one of which is Chronic MT Myositis. There is a test ( 2M ) that is supposed to be available to test for this disease. How accurate is this test and if it should show to be negative, is there something else that could be the problem that we can have him checked for.

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Age: 10; Male; Breed: golden retriever

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Answer
April 27, 2006 4:45 p.m. (19 minutes and 4 seconds later)

ACCEPTED

This could be due to a neck issue. It might also be Masticatory myopathy which you can read about here
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dhead.html#Masticatory%20myopathy%20possible
I would suggest seeing a veterinary neurologist for your best bet in diagnosis and treatment. This site might help you find one
http://www.acvim.org/Specialist/Search.aspx
or an internal medicine specialist for small animals.
This might be an autoimmune problem (not uncommon with thyroid issues) which could be treatable with steroids.
You may want to read here about facial nerve paresis
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/facial-nerve-paresis-paralysis-in-dogs/page1.aspx
You can read about the test here
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=PRINT&A=1755
It appears there are no false positives but about 15% of dogs show a false negative.
I think a specialist would be a good idea to pursue this problem with.
Hope this helps you!

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NancyH -- Pet Health Care, Rescue,Train,Breed -- 99% Positive Feedback on 6955 Pet Accepts
30+yrs pet vet care & nursing, rescue, behavior & training, responsible breeding, small animal care

Reply
Sent October 23, 2007 12:00 p.m. (543 days and 19 hours later)

I know this reply has taken quite a while, but better late than never. We had taken our Golden Retriever Bowie to Auburn Vet School and found that he had an inoperable brain tumor. He was given about 3 months to live, but he was with us for just about 1 full year when we decided he was starting to show pain; and so with the greatest of difficulty, we let our Vetrinarian release him from any further pain. We have missed our wonderful companion very much.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Answer
October 23, 2007 1:02 p.m. (1 hour and 1 minute later)

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NancyH -- Pet Health Care, Rescue,Train,Breed -- 99% Positive Feedback on 6955 Pet Accepts
30+yrs pet vet care & nursing, rescue, behavior & training, responsible breeding, small animal care

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