About this episode

Dr. Marty Greer joins Laura Reeves to discuss syringomyelia and its implications for breeders of small dog breeds.

Syringomyelia in Cavaliers and Beyond: What Every Breeder Needs to Know Dr. Marty Greer joins Laura Reeves to answer a listener question and break down one of the most serious and underdiagnosed neurological conditions affecting small breed dogs. If you've never heard of syringomyelia, you're not alone — but if you breed Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Brussels Griffons, Pomeranians or other small brachycephalic breeds, this episode could change how you think about your breeding program. Dr. Marty Greer walks Laura through the difference between Chiari-like malformation and syringomyelia (SM), two conditions that often get lumped together but aren't quite the same thing. The short version: when the skull is too small for the cerebellum, fluid circulation gets disrupted and painful pockets of fluid can form along the spinal cord. The result is a dog in chronic, often invisible pain. The symptoms are easy to miss. Phantom scratching near the neck, sleeping with the head elevated, flinching when picked up or eating from a floor-level bowl — all of these can look like something minor. In Cavaliers especially, an ear condition with overlapping symptoms makes diagnosis even trickier…

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