Gentle help for Degenerative Myelopathy

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have a Dobermann cross, who has been my best friend for 13 years. She has just recovered from a stroke, and has now been diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy, which is so heartbreaking.

I have read about three biological therapies – Coenzyme Compositum, Psorinoheel, and Galium Heel. Could any of these help with this awful condition?

Also, would hydrotherapy help?

I will do anything to help my dog, to make it easier for her to cope with this debilitating disease.

Any advice at all would be very much appreciated.

Miss M. Huggins, Sunderland


Richard Allport, vet, advises...

Degenerative Myelopathy, known as DM for short, is a slowly progressive degenerative disease of the nerves in the spinal cord which is generally believed to be caused by an auto immune condition. The affected dog becomes weak and wobbly in the hind legs and as the disease progresses can also lose control of bowels. Dogs with DM usually appear perfectly fit and well in other respects, which is why it is indeed so heartbreaking. Eventually more or less complete loss of use of the hindquarters occurs and the affected dog can no longer stand or walk. DM is painless, but is naturally distressing for dogs that have the condition.

There are no drugs that help this problem, but natural medicines and therapies can often help slow down progression, sometimes give periods of stability, and occasionally give short term improvement.

I find acupuncture very beneficial, and high doses of Vitamin E seem to help (1000 iu per day for large dogs). Supplements of Zinc and Selenium can be of benefit for some patients, and the amino acid Dimethylglycine (DMG) can be helpful too.

Homoeopathic medicines often give good results. Of the ones you mention, Psorinoheel is more useful for skin disease and liver problems, Coenzyme Compositum is more effective for chronic fatigue type illnesses where total energy levels are low, as opposed to DM, where general energy is normal, and only one small part of the body is physically affected. Galium Heel may give some benefit – it is used for auto immune and other immune system diseases, but I find Dimethylglycine more effective. The two homoeopathic medicines I have found most useful are Conium maculatum and Lathyrus, and these will work particularly well if given alongside the dog’s personal constitutional homoeopathic medicine (which you would need a qualified ho0moeopathic vet to prescribe).

A good diet is also important – good quality ingredients, no preservatives or additives, and as much fresh food as possible.

And finally support therapies such as hydrotherapy, massage and physiotherapy can be of benefit too.

Good luck with your canine best friend, I hope she still has a long and happy time with you.

For more information on any of the treatments detailed above do contact the Natural Medicine Centre on 01707 662058 or e mail info@naturalmedicinecentre.net (giving a phone number we can call you on if possible)

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Please can anyone help?

I have two dogs who, while not being the most well trained dogs on the block, will come back when called and are fine around other dogs.

However I have recently gained a second hand Ray - too male to be a Rose - who was 18 months when I got him. He had never been allowed off a lead and had never been socialised with any other dog or many humans either. The excuse I was given was that his previous owners had taken him to a puppy socialisation class but he had been attacked by another dog so they never went back, and their answer was to not let him near other dogs, so now he thinks that all other dogs are frightening creatures that he must bark at to make them go away.

When I said I would be prepared to take him on I stressed it was subject to him getting on with my original two, and I agreed to meet on neutral territory and walk them all together to make sure they got on. However when the dog turned up - who has now been renamed Buddy - I was informed that this was the first time he had been in a car, this was all his stuff, good luck on the walk and they had to go.

It took us about three days before he stopped barking at the other two dogs indoors. Thank heavens for understanding neighbours. I called in a behaviourist who got us to join her class by at first walking him round the outside of the field that she was holding her training classes in and gradually moving him nearer until we were able to join the group, and he did calm down considerably but then she lost her training ground and gradually all Buddy’s old habits started creeping in.

After about three months I contacted another behaviourist who came out and walked Buddy with me and gave his recommendations, which were to take him to a park and let him 'bark it out' until he stops of his own accord and looks back at me and then to praise him. This trainer thought he would be bored of barking within two weeks. Unfortunately he never gets bored. I even enrolled him in a six week growl class which really doesn't seem to have done him much good back in the real world.

I now even have to take him out on his lead to go into the back garden as he barks out there. I still cannot walk him with my other two dogs and am at my wits end as to what I can do now with him.

Can anyone offer any help/suggestions?

Rebecca and Buddy, by email

Neighbourhood watch

Hi, can someone suggest a solution to this problem, please.

Someone down my back alley has a young dog that they seem to put out in the back yard an awful lot. When they do this, he barks and yelps, sometimes for hours. It is absolutely heart-rending to hear. I've worked out which house it is and would like to call round and tell them. However, I would like to turn up with some kind of solution, not just a complaint. I was thinking maybe if they put him (her) out with a stuffed Kong? I live in a rough area and have no idea if this family will be a drug-dealing, gun-toting family, but if I call the RSPCA I know they'll do nothing at all because there have been worse cases of cruelty round here and they haven't bothered.

Ideally if someone could point me to a website where I could print out a list of suggestions about separation anxiety that the family could follow. Maybe I could chicken out and just shove it through their letterbox and run!

Tracy Neil, via Facebook





Dave Griffiths, Senior Policy Adviser, National Dog Warden Association, advises...

Dear Tracey,

I think every organisation or individual involved with dogs would agree that this is not an ideal scenario. However, unless the dog is left out without any water or shelter, this is not strictly a matter for the RSPCA. Remember that their officers are inundated with cases of cruelty and mistreatment so they can’t often deal with calls that are outside their remit.

Your local District/Borough/City Councils have Environmental Health departments that contain both Dog Wardens and officers who investigate noise complaints. If the noise is unreasonable, excessive and is adversely affecting your enjoyment of your own home, it can be investigated by that department for you under sections 79 to 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Although this does not directly benefit the welfare of the dog, the dog owners will be informed that a complaint has been made and will be offered help and advice if they ask for it. Why not give your local Council a ring and chat through the options with them?

However, you are quite right in that it is always better if neighbours communicate and try to resolve problems amicably before bringing in the authorities. The dog owners may be a little defensive at first but usually come to appreciate that you haven’t reported them and will value the help you are offering.

Separation anxiety is a difficult problem to solve and there isn’t usually a quick fix solution. There is a lot of advice out there but the RSPCA and Dogs Trust both have sections on their website that may help and that I have used myself in the past;

http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/dogs/company/separationrelatedbehaviour/prevention

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/_resources/resources/factsheets09/factsheetcopingalone10.pdf

However, working through these problems take a lot of time and patience and, even then, there are times when the solution is a recognised dog behaviourist or trainer.


Dave Griffiths

(Senior Policy Adviser, National Dog Warden Association)