Is it Allergies

Let me start by saying I think Elton is having allergy problems but it has me wonder at what point would you say see a neurologist? Everyone knows Ella's story of me calling crying to the vet to get referral to neurologist because I knew it wasn't allergies causing her problems. I now have a cavalier, Elton, that I really do think he has allergy problems. Part of me feels that vets don't know enough about SM and we need to raise awareness. Then the other part thinks sometimes people who are aware of SM can jump to the conclusion that scratching = sm when it could be other things.

I felt like I was starting over. Elton had already had an MRI and was diagnosed with mild CM and he had some hydrocyphelous but the way he was scratching at his ears made me go back to the vet. Let’s not forget that one of the first things to do is to rule out other things with your vet. You can go here and it gives you a step by step of what to rule out and to do. http://sm.cavaliertalk.com/diagnosing/diagnosing/isthissm.html So here I was ruling out the ear infections and mites. Now we tried some allergy medicine and I am seeing a difference. I have been writing about SM for so long but Elton was diagnosed with mild CM. Do I think that he is symptomatic from this? Do I think some of his tail chasing and obsessive scratching is OCD or behavioral? It really is hard to not jump to other conclusions. I think he does have a little OCD but also allergies. I don’t think that his CM is symptomatic now. Here is what I would suggest to people. Get a journal or they even have apps on phones. Notice the frequency of symptoms and make a note of it. When did this happen, how long, what time was the last medication. I noticed that Elton was not scratching as much. He did start to scratch but it was getting close to time for his medication. I noticed that he was scratching when he got on my bed. Is he allergic to something in my comforter? All of these things are important. I am doing this for his allergies but I think those with CM or CM/SM dogs should do the same for those symptoms. I know it is hard to do but it having a dog that is not suffering is worth it.