Mark Lowrie's Activities

Can you help with a case of neck pain in young Corgi?

Stigen — Thu, 25 May 2023 08:59:35 GMT

I have a case which I am curious to find out about. 11 month old intact male Corgi that came in 3 days ago with unspecific lethargy. Normal apetite and drinking, and normal urination and feces , but some dripping of smegma from prepuce that is bothering the owner(but not the dog). Blood samples then showed normal on biochemistry , but on hematology elevatet WBC , neutrophiles and monocytes and basophils (pictures).Crp is high 100(0-10) slight elevated temperature at 39,2 , but everything else on clinical exam normal. Was put on synulox and metacam .

Now 3 days later still lethargic , but still eating and drinking, but owner says not jumping into car, using stairs less, and painful on touching or manipulating around head. On palpation of neck sideways motion and upwards stretching of head without reaction , but when pushing head/snout downward dog is whincing.
today new hematology and crp shows further elevated wbc , and Crp out of range. X-rays were taken from cervical,thoracic and lumbar spine. But due to some inexperience on that area I have trouble finding any obvius defect , and consider sending them for analysis. But am posting them here to see if anyone has an idea. Possibly hyoid aparatus looks odd?
Appreciate any help

Behavioral or neurological or both?

louise Farrington — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 14:54:01 GMT

I have acquired a case of 3yr MN Springer who has started to be aggressive towards owners and family. From hx sounds like always been excitable dog, described as little bit mouthy during first year. Behavior got worse when wife was pregnant they say settled when child born but got worse over last few months again. Can have 3-4 episodes of snapping and owners having to leave the room to stop it. In between can be very nice. No known triggers as far as I can see. Clients say have been advised by behaviorist to have neuro work up done including MRI. When I spoke with them they did not have a named person they spoke with, so I'm unsure if this was a vet behaviorist or a dog trainer. Last seen by colleague before Christmas as getting worse had been started on phenobarbitone by different vets completely, owners say not made any difference, has since come off medication. Nad found on exam tolerated so far then went growly so exam stopped. Colleague referred to neurological service but have recently been advised waiting list for non urgent case indefinite.

Just wondering if neurological work up best next step or would referral to a veterinary behaviorist be better first for assessment then neurological if warranted.

Any advice appreciated as situation difficult and they would like to do something if possible not just euthanase but are aware it may come to this.

Proprioceptive deficits and pain in a greyhound

Nicola Mather — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 13:25:29 GMT

Sudden onset pain and ataxia after jumping off the bed in a 12y 6m NF greyhound 27kg. Slow proprioception on both hinds but one day left slower than right, next day left slightly improved and right slower than left (slower than it was the day before). Panniculus and patellar reflexes normal. Sent for MRI as outpatient to local clinic (as no local neuro had an appointment to be seen) and report has come back with comments of mild cervical and lump-sacral spondylosis and l7-s1 disc protruding in vertebral canal resulting in obliteration of ventral epidural fat but the cauda equina not affected. Then it’s says under conclusion “disc degenerative and mild non compressing l7-s1 disc protrusion. The cause of the clinical signs is not identified” the dog has improved on nsaid since but the owner is pushing for the actual diagnosis and how we should be managing going forward. I’m confused I thought a non compressing disc was a type 3 ? But then I also thought these were an all or nothing event not mild or severe ? Or is it a type 2 as it’s the disc as a whole that’s protruding but if it’s not causing any proprioceptive deficits should I be looking for something else ? Or would you continue nsaid and rest - If so how long ? There hasn’t been any recurrence of pain since starting nsaid and I last examined the dog a week after the scan and it was just the right hind now with a slightly slow placing reflex so overall has improved. Deep pain always been present. Hope this makes sense as I’ve got myself very confused over this report.

Thanks in advance for any advice

6 week old puppy with no anal tone

Nicola Mather — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 11:03:02 GMT

6 week old female Bull dog puppy presented for first vaccination but has no anal tone, owner has been expressing anus to express faeces and tends to leak some faeces if playing or when asleep. Also owner has not seen her urinate voluntarily but urinates when cleaning anus or with gentle palpation of her bladder. This puppy was a “swimmer” but now seems to have normal mobility after owners attempts to tape her legs up. She has grown at the same rate as the rest of the litter. She does not seem to be ataxic or weak when moving. My question is - is this possibly spina bifida ? Are there other congenital conditions I should be considering ? I am working in first opinion with only plain radiographs available. Am I likely to see anything ? Will only advanced imaging help? The owner is not keen to spend a small fortune if the likely outcome is euthanasia. Grateful for any advice. Many thanks.

Epilepsy medications, other options.

Claire Godfrey — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 14:07:52 GMT

The case is a 10 year male neutered bassett hound.

He originally started with seizures in 2015 at the age of 5. A full work up was done at this stage including MRI. He was medicated with phenobarbitone, and libromide.

Seizures appeared controlled over the next 6 months on these medications but he was displaying aggressive behaviour which coincided with starting the phenobarbitone. The owners weaned him off this by early 2017 and personality returned to normal. He has been seizure free and on no meds until around january this year. There may have been one seizure episode last year, but only with hindsight.

He started with staring episodes, and appearing to be blind/unaware of other dogs walking over them etc. before progressing to seizures

Owner understandably reluctant to start on phenobarbitone again. SO started on pexion, libromide added when not completely controlled. Behaviour has deteriorated again. This is a big concern as the owner has some disabilty and is quite unsteady on her feet. She also has a german shepherd and a very small terrier - 3kgs.

Added in levetiracetam and tried to wean off pexion however now down to 1/2 pexion twice daily and staring activity is back, owner reports around 1-2 episodes a day lasting 10-20 minutes. Behaviour has improved a little but he is still not himself.

Any other drugs we could use/ any thing else we should be doing for this dog and his family.

Referral difficult currently due to owners circumstances.

Small Animal Vet

Mark Lowrie — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 08:10:06 GMT

First Opinion Veterinary Surgeon Required

Dovecote Veterinary Hospital, East Midlands

Dovecote Veterinary Hospital provides first opinion care to the local community. The hospital itself is modern, purpose-built, and well equipped, with advanced imaging and excellent operating facilities. Dovecote is also a diploma-led multidiscipline referral centre and an associate practice for University of Nottingham Veterinary School with specialities offered in Orthopaedics, Neurology, Soft Tissue Surgery, Oncology, Dermatology and Rehabilitation.

Due to the loss of one of our first opinion vets to develop a specialist career in surgery we have an exciting opportunity for an ambitious veterinary surgeon to join our first opinion team. Dovecote Veterinary Hospital is part of the CVS Referrals Division, so you will be joining a large network of eight UK referral hospitals with some of the best known names in the UK veterinary specialist field.

We are looking for veterinary surgeon in small animal practice with both full-time and part-time work being considered. We offer a generous salary package and a rota allowing for good work/life balance with no on-call.

The practice is located in Castle Donington – a picturesque market town in Leicestershire, which is situated close to the national forest, major transport links (M1, A50) and close to East Midlands International Airport.

Benefits include:

Share Save Scheme
Pension
Gymflex
Cycle to work scheme
RCVS/VDS paid
CPD Funded
Up to 7 weeks holiday (buy and Sell holiday Scheme) plus bank holidays

Website: https://dovecoteveterinaryhospital.co.uk
For informal enquiries please contact our Practice Manager Gill Kershaw (Gillian.Kershaw@dovecoteveterinaryhospital.co.uk) or our First opinion Clinical Director Paula Wong (paula.wong@dovecoteveterinaryhospital.co.uk) at Dovecote Veterinary Hospital.

https://www.careerswithcvs.co.uk/jobs/vacancy/first-opinion-veterinary-surgeon-dov-cd0008/2325/description/

Shaking Puppy Syndrome

Mark Lowrie — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 09:52:44 GMT

I am investigating hypomyelination in Border terriers, also known as “shaking puppy syndrome”, for the purposes of genetic research.

Traditionally the diagnosis is made at post-mortem although the clinical signs are very characteristic and almost pathognomonic for this condition (see video at https://youtu.be/gbhA914T4RQ or video below if my upload has worked). Clinical signs begin between two to eight weeks old and involve a whole body high frequency action-related tremor (more severe in the pelvic limbs), with a wide-based stance and ataxia. Although post-mortem is required for absolute diagnosis, experience shows that many affected dogs will adapt and have a long-term good quality of life despite their apparent debilitation at an early age. This therefore makes a definitive ante-mortem diagnosis difficult. Genetic markers will enable simple diagnosis and allow screening to become widely practised to avoid the inadvertent inheritance of this condition to future generations.

If you have seen a suspected case in a Border terrier, whether recovered and now normal or recently diagnosed, are invited to contact me for further information via email (mark.lowrie@dovecoteveterinaryhospital.co.uk) or at the address below. Thank you!https://youtu.be/gbhA914T4RQ

Mark Lowrie, Dovecote Veterinary Hospital, 5 Delven Lane, Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 5LJ. Tel: +44 1332 810395

VetSurgeon.org

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:52:27 GMT