# Polymicrogyria



## Kimmie (Feb 23, 2014)

My nearly 4 month old standard puppy, Murphy has been diagnosed with polymicrogyria. I had suspected from day one that he was blind (I posted about that about 3 weeks ago), but the breeder assured me that puppies that age had underdeveloped vision and my vet said his eyes looked fine. A few weeks later I began to doubt what she had told me and made an appointment with an ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, it took me 3 weeks to get an appointment. She ran the full gamut of tests and said his eyes looked normal; therefore, his blindness was neurological. The neurologist said that without doing an MRI and a spinal tap, costing around $3,000, there was no way to say with 100% certainty that he had it, but he was fairly sure based on his breed (this disease is almost exclusively found in standard poodles), age, and symptoms (blindness, incorrect gait, difficult to train) that is was polymicrogyria. He said that the prognosis is poor. There's no treatment and dogs often get worse as they age. My husband an I are willing to do a lot for our dogs. We spent nearly $5,000 on our last one in a 3 month period and we never took vacations because he had such bad separation anxiety. However, we are not martyrs and don't want our lives taken over caring for a dog that may not be able to go up and down stairs, cannot be housebroken, etc.
Does anyone have any experience dealing with this disease? We are trying to decide whether to keep him or return to the breeder. We were willing to keep him if he was just blind, but this is a whole different thing. I don't trust the breeder because of her original false statement, and many other things she has done that are questionable, so when she tells me that she will find a home for him if we return him, I'm really skeptical. I don't want to return him if she will euthanize him.


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## jfo (Nov 19, 2010)

First of all, I am so sorry. You are probably under contract to return him to the breeder and, she may, in fact, euthanize him. 

I found a statement from Poodle Club of America regarding this terrible disease. http://www.poodleclubofamerica.org/files/pcaf/Research_Update.pdf
At the very least your breeder needs to acknowledge that this has turned up in her lines. Unfortunately it sounds like alot is still unknown about this disease and its progression. 

If you decide to not give it a go (and no one would blame you), I can think of one rescue in particular (Carolina Poodle Rescue) that may take Murphy in if discussions don't go well with your breeder. 

I can't remember is this is your first standard but, please don't let this disuade you from the breed. We lost our first standard poodle at 4 mos old to an auto-immune disorder. It was heartbreaking. We were very scared and nervous but we got another standard and couldn't be happier.

Again, I am so, so, sorry.


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

Oh I am so sorry to hear this. I knew you had a feeling something was quite wrong from your earlier post about it, but this is a whole different ball game.

Sorry, but I have to say it - given the prognosis, do you not think euthanasia would be the kindest thing?

Good luck with however you decide to deal with this awful thing.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

I am so sorry for your situation. I don't have any advise but I just wanted you to know I feel for you. 

Rick


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## Beaches (Jan 25, 2014)

My heart aches for you. We fall in love with our pets so quickly. You must be heartbroken. I think you need to return him to the breeder. She must accept responsibility.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

My heart breaks for you! What an awful decision!!! I have been faced with similar and there is just no good answer. Whatever you decide, know that you have my support.


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## Rusty (Jun 13, 2012)

I'm so sorry to hear about your news. I think we all have such high hopes and so many positive expectations when getting a puppy that it can be especially difficult to face this kind of problem. "Ending up with" a special needs dog is different than choosing to take one on. I don't think that anyone would fault you if you choose to return the puppy to the breeder; having a perfectly healthy puppy is a big responsibility and lots of work on its own, and it's reasonable to want to have a life outside that caregiving role. 

Our last mini poodle had a totally different kind of special need related to his throat (problems eating/drinking). The byb didn't disclose that when we bought him. When we figured it out (less than a few days into owning him), the "breeder" offered to take him back and give us another puppy, but we, too, suspected that he'd be euthanised if we returned him. To make a long story short, we chose to keep him in the end. He lived for 17.5 wonderful, happy, largely healthy years, but for all of those 17.5 years he required significant time investments to help him eat. I never regretted the decision to keep him - he brought so much to our lives - but at the same time, when he passed away I knew I didn't want to take on another special needs dog.

The point of sharing the story is not to persuade you one way or the other what the "right" thing is for you and Murphy, but rather to share a somewhat similar experience and hopefully help you feel like you're not alone with your special needs puppy and a tough decision.


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

Manxcat said:


> Oh I am so sorry to hear this. I knew you had a feeling something was quite wrong from your earlier post about it, but this is a whole different ball game.
> 
> Sorry, but I have to say it - given the prognosis, do you not think euthanasia would be the kindest thing?
> 
> Good luck with however you decide to deal with this awful thing.


thank you, manxcat, for having the courage to say this. i don't think any of us knows what we would do till we came to the crossroads, but it's important for the op to understand that we all sympathize and are not here to condemn, no matter what the decision is. 

kimmie - i am 100% sure you have the heartfelt sympathy and support of everyone at pf.


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Kimmie, so sorry to hear about Murphy. It truly is heartbreaking. We're all with you in this.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I wish there were an easy answer - my heart breaks for you. Do you have an idea of the prognosis, and of what sort of care he is likely to need? What sort of quality of life does he have, and how is it likely to change in the future? I think I would want to learn about other's experiences of coping with this condition before making a decision, and perhaps, if euthanasia should prove the kindest answer, be there with him to hold him and reassure him. What a sad outcome to what should have been a joyous time.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Kimmie, I am so very sorry. I sent you a PM.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Such a heartbreaker to hear his diagnosis! Thank you for making all of us aware of this terrible genetic disease......we learn from posts like this! No matter what decision you make, we will be with you! Weighing the pros and cons of keeping your pup, only you know what you are capable of dealing with and the quality of life you can give this little guy ...................not an easy decision at all!
My thoughts and prayers are with you!


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

I am so sorry you are going through this. You both are in my prayers and I hope for the best. 


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## pandj (Jun 12, 2013)

Kimmie, I am heartbroken for you! I cannot imagine having to deal with what you are going through. I am very glad for Murphy that he has such a wonderful home with people who care so much about him. Whatever you decide I know will be with love and what is best for Murphy. 

Yahoo has a ton of groups for people with Special Needs dogs. Perhaps they have one for Polymicrogyria and it would be helpful to you in making your decision.

You will be in my thoughts.


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## Kimmie (Feb 23, 2014)

*Thank you*

Thanks for all of your support, love, and information (and no judgement). We decided to return Murphy to the breeder, who assures us that he will get a good home. Not that I trust her, but I have to hope that she's telling the truth so I'm not plagued with guilt.
My husband is returning him today. I could not bear the thought of the nearly 4 hour ride with a crying puppy, and I may have had a scene with the breeder.
I may be crazy, but we will be looking for another puppy soon. Of course, it will be a spoo. Thanks, again to all who have written


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

Ah bless you. This must have been so hard for you, but you have made the right decision for you and your family and must absolutely not beat yourself up about it. 

For myself, I could not have coped with a pup with a neurological condition like this - you go through life dealing with whatever it throws at you, pretty much, and none of us can say what will come up with our pets through the years, but to set yourself up for such work and heartache and expense right from the start... well, I could not have done it.

I hope you find a fabulous pup soon, and sending you big hugs in the meantime :hug:


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## Beaches (Jan 25, 2014)

No guilt allowed girl - you've done all you could. Of course you'll get another Spoo and we'll surround you with love and support.


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

I don't think that you should feel guilt. But, I know that you will have a few pangs. You are human... humans love and you loved Murphy. But, he needs a different home than you can provide. It is ok for you to go through a grieving process similar to losing a beloved pet to death. It's a natural process.

You did absolutely the best you could for Murphy. And he knew it. There will be a special family for him.... :grouphug:


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## pandj (Jun 12, 2013)

You made a very brave decision and I am sending you an email hug ! My wish for ever puppy is that they are loved and Murphy was and always will be loved by you.

Your puppy is out there and will find you ! Keeping fingers and paws crossed it will be very soon. I hope to see pictures soon.


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## Feelingdoc (Feb 18, 2014)

I too am so sorry you are facing this tragic news. I don't know how I would handle the situation...and I assume many of us would handle it in our own unique way. Just know we are here for you and hopefully to also give good suggestions and options. I don't think ending pain is ever wrong...when it comes to quality of life...it is more personal and private. Only you can "see" and know your dogs overall potential and feel committed to the type of care needed. My thoughts are with you as you decide.


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## Dolly's Mom (Feb 14, 2014)

I commend you in having the strength, to make what is surly a heartbreaking choice. There's lots of stories of animals who end up with babysitters maybe he'll have one of those lucky tales. I've said since having Dolly that this is the only breed for me. Everyone who knows me says they suit my personality. It hurts to try again but the reward could be lovely.


Dolly's Mom


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Kimmie said:


> Thanks for all of your support, love, and information (and no judgement). We decided to return Murphy to the breeder, who assures us that he will get a good home. Not that I trust her, but I have to hope that she's telling the truth so I'm not plagued with guilt.
> My husband is returning him today. I could not bear the thought of the nearly 4 hour ride with a crying puppy, and I may have had a scene with the breeder.
> I may be crazy, but we will be looking for another puppy soon. Of course, it will be a spoo. Thanks, again to all who have written


We are cyber strangers, but I could not feel more for you if we were lifelong friends. I am _truly_ sorry for the wretched ordeal you are going through. You have my total support, understanding and admiration for doing what you have. I wish you the comfort and pleasure of a healthy spoo companion in the very near future. And I hope, hard as it may be, you will try to release yourself from the grasp of guilt. Though it shows your goodness that it's hit you as it has, you have been unfairly burdened and you are doing what you feel is best. Believe in the wisdom of your decision, and your right to go on and be happy. I wish you better days ahead. :hug:


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Thinking of you, I know you must be devastated! I admire your strength, it is the decision I would have made, and I can only imagine how painful it is!


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## janet6567 (Mar 11, 2014)

It is so hard to know that our pets have issues that we cannot fix. I'm sure you will make the right decision about what to do, and no one has the right to criticize you for whatever you decide. It's easy to give advice when it's not your pet, but none of us knows for sure what we would do until faced with the decision. I am truly sorry that you are having to go through this.


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## Beaches (Jan 25, 2014)

Beautifully said Chagall's mom. Thanks


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

I have nothing inspirational or beautiful to say, I just wanted to let you know I am thinking of you and your family and wish I could offer some sort of comfort to you all.

Take care.


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Kimmie...could you please pm the registered names of the parents? There is a woman on FB who has a four month old red Spoo with suspected polymicrogyria, and apparently two siblings are also suspected as having it. These are the parents:

Mother: PHR Pedigree Database

Father: PHR Pedigree Database

Was your pup from this litter?

While there is nothing definitive yet about this being genetic, and I hope it is not, if all of the pups are from the same litter, it might help begin to explain things.

I have to say, I have never, ever heard of this before, but seems odd to me that possibly four Spoo pups nearly the same age are expressing symptoms. I am so sorry for your heartache.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Chagall's mom said:


> We are cyber strangers, but I could not feel more for you if we were lifelong friends. I am _truly_ sorry for the wretched ordeal you are going through. You have my total support, understanding and admiration for doing what you have. I wish you the comfort and pleasure of a healthy spoo companion in the very near future. And I hope, hard as it may be, you will try to release yourself from the grasp of guilt. Though it shows your goodness that it's hit you as it has, you have been unfairly burdened and you are doing what you feel is best. Believe in the wisdom of your decision, and your right to go on and be happy. I wish you better days ahead. :hug:


Chagall's Mom I think you have said what all of us feel about this situation. Kimmie, I hope that you can feel comfort in having us as "company" in your transition. I also hope you are able to find a beautiful healthy puppy to fill your home with happy times soon.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I know it was so very hard for you and your husband to make this decision and your heartbreak is truly felt by all here. I really really hope you find your next Spoo to be all you ever hoped for!
Thank You sooo much for bringing this terrible disease to our attention...I'm sure many Googled it and got educated and I know that knowledge of anything that affects this breed is throughly appreciated. Again..... THANK YOU!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

MollyMuiMa said:


> Thank You sooo much for bringing this terrible disease to our attention...I'm sure many Googled it and got educated and I know that knowledge of anything that affects this breed is throughly appreciated. Again..... THANK YOU!


Molly, you are so on target thanking Kimmie for helping to educate us at a time when she was going through such a hard time. She was very generous to us in ways I hope she will appreciate when she gets to a better poodley place in her life.


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## CBro (Sep 18, 2016)

Kimmie, I just read about Murphy. I realize it was 2014 but I have a dog diagnosed with polymicrogyria and was wondering what happened with Murphy.


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## Kimmie (Feb 23, 2014)

Hi CBro,
I am so sorry about your dog. Is he a puppy or older dog? Standard?
It's been a long time since I've visited this website. When I got your inquiry I was going to ignore it since it brought back so many bad memories. After a lot of crying and guilt, we returned Murphy to the breeder after the diagnosis. Obviously, if we had him for years and discovered the disease later, we would have kept him, but we decided not to keep him because we didn't know what physical, emotional, and financial hardship having a dog with that condition might bring. The neurologist didn't hold out much hope. I emailed the breeder several times to see what happened to him, but she never responded. She swore she wouldn't euthanize him ,but I don't know whether to believe her since I think she lied from the beginning. I called her a day after we brought him home and said I thought he was blind and she said puppies had bad vision. Even our vet said she couldn't test for visual acuity (she is no longer our vet). It must be a very rare disease because I only found one mention of a resin with a dog with the disease. Maybe if there would have been more people giving their experiences, and some were positive (or, at least, not dire) I would have kept him, but the one person I found with a dog with the disease wrote about a dog that could not be trained, destroyed her house, and nearly her sanity. So,unfortunately, I don't have any advice for you. We wound up adopting another standard poodle just months after. His name is a Riley. I still have 2 pictures of Murphy and will not delete them off my phone.. I don't want to pretend like he never existed. If he's still alive, I hope he's not in any pain. Let me know if you have any questions. Sorry that I could not give you any words of wisdom or encouragement, but maybe you have more courage than me and can cope with it.


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## CBro (Sep 18, 2016)

*Response to Kimmie about polymicrogyria*

Kimmie, Thank you for your response about Murphy. My Jeaux Jeaux is 3 1/2 years old and was diagnosed at age 6 mos with polymicrogyria. We did have many frustrations with him during his first 5 months -- he just didn't act like any blind dogs we had been around. We rescued him at age 10 weeks. Our vet called his actions "startle aggression" and sent us to an eye specialist where we found out his eyes and nerves worked perfectly -- it was his brain not interrupting what he was seeing. The specialist felt we were wasting money doing an MRI but we knew we had to find out if something could be done for Jeaux. The vets at LSU Vet School did not know about PMG but thank God the radiologist did! Unfortunately there is no cure and nothing that can be done. There is not much out there about PMG but I did find Dr. O'Brien who was doing the research on this. He told me Jeaux was his 6th known case. Jeaux was about 9 mos at the time. Dr O'Brien told me he had tested 4 under 4 mo olds (and they had all been euthanized) and 1 female who lived to age 10 (but had to be put down because of really bad seizures.) Dr O'Brien said the research shows PMG affects humans, cattle, and STANDARD POODLES but blind dogs are usually euthanized so they don't have much to work with. I was just in touch with him after a year and he said the research continues and they think they are getting close to finding out which genes cause it.  If they can, they will have a test that breeders will be able to use to try to stop dogs who carry the bad gene from passing it on to their young. From our conversations, he seems to think that Jeaux has a mild case. We have learned what "sets him off" and we also discipline him. He is one smart cookie! He gets around very well and he surprises us with things he does -- we don't know if he memorizes things or what. We travel alot and he loves it. We will be in a campground that he has never been in, we will go walking, and then I tell him to find our camper and he takes me right to it! He's done this since his first camping trip at 3 mos old! Now saying all of this about him, I will say if I knew what I know now, I don't know if I would have rescued him. I can't leave him with just anyone so he has changed our lives tremendously. We are retired so we have the time to devote to him and we do love him and would not give him up now. We will have trials with him as long as he lives and with no one to get advice from, we don't know how long we will have him and what the future looks like. You probably did the right thing in giving him up before you became attached to him. I have people who ask me all the time if it wouldn't have been better to euthanize Jeaux -- I don't know the answer -- I just know that he does make us smile most of the time and he loves us unconditionally!


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## Katherine Kimes (Aug 18, 2021)

Kimmie said:


> My nearly 4 month old standard puppy, Murphy has been diagnosed with polymicrogyria. I had suspected from day one that he was blind (I posted about that about 3 weeks ago), but the breeder assured me that puppies that age had underdeveloped vision and my vet said his eyes looked fine. A few weeks later I began to doubt what she had told me and made an appointment with an ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, it took me 3 weeks to get an appointment. She ran the full gamut of tests and said his eyes looked normal; therefore, his blindness was neurological. The neurologist said that without doing an MRI and a spinal tap, costing around $3,000, there was no way to say with 100% certainty that he had it, but he was fairly sure based on his breed (this disease is almost exclusively found in standard poodles), age, and symptoms (blindness, incorrect gait, difficult to train) that is was polymicrogyria. He said that the prognosis is poor. There's no treatment and dogs often get worse as they age. My husband an I are willing to do a lot for our dogs. We spent nearly $5,000 on our last one in a 3 month period and we never took vacations because he had such bad separation anxiety. However, we are not martyrs and don't want our lives taken over caring for a dog that may not be able to go up and down stairs, cannot be housebroken, etc.
> Does anyone have any experience dealing with this disease? We are trying to decide whether to keep him or return to the breeder. We were willing to keep him if he was just blind, but this is a whole different thing. I don't trust the breeder because of her original false statement, and many other things she has done that are questionable, so when she tells me that she will find a home for him if we return him, I'm really skeptical. I don't want to return him if she will euthanize him.





Kimmie said:


> My nearly 4 month old standard puppy, Murphy has been diagnosed with polymicrogyria. I had suspected from day one that he was blind (I posted about that about 3 weeks ago), but the breeder assured me that puppies that age had underdeveloped vision and my vet said his eyes looked fine. A few weeks later I began to doubt what she had told me and made an appointment with an ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, it took me 3 weeks to get an appointment. She ran the full gamut of tests and said his eyes looked normal; therefore, his blindness was neurological. The neurologist said that without doing an MRI and a spinal tap, costing around $3,000, there was no way to say with 100% certainty that he had it, but he was fairly sure based on his breed (this disease is almost exclusively found in standard poodles), age, and symptoms (blindness, incorrect gait, difficult to train) that is was polymicrogyria. He said that the prognosis is poor. There's no treatment and dogs often get worse as they age. My husband an I are willing to do a lot for our dogs. We spent nearly $5,000 on our last one in a 3 month period and we never took vacations because he had such bad separation anxiety. However, we are not martyrs and don't want our lives taken over caring for a dog that may not be able to go up and down stairs, cannot be housebroken, etc.
> Does anyone have any experience dealing with this disease? We are trying to decide whether to keep him or return to the breeder. We were willing to keep him if he was just blind, but this is a whole different thing. I don't trust the breeder because of her original false statement, and many other things she has done that are questionable, so when she tells me that she will find a home for him if we return him, I'm really skeptical. I don't want to return him if she will euthanize him.





Kimmie said:


> My nearly 4 month old standard puppy, Murphy has been diagnosed with polymicrogyria. I had suspected from day one that he was blind (I posted about that about 3 weeks ago), but the breeder assured me that puppies that age had underdeveloped vision and my vet said his eyes looked fine. A few weeks later I began to doubt what she had told me and made an appointment with an ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, it took me 3 weeks to get an appointment. She ran the full gamut of tests and said his eyes looked normal; therefore, his blindness was neurological. The neurologist said that without doing an MRI and a spinal tap, costing around $3,000, there was no way to say with 100% certainty that he had it, but he was fairly sure based on his breed (this disease is almost exclusively found in standard poodles), age, and symptoms (blindness, incorrect gait, difficult to train) that is was polymicrogyria. He said that the prognosis is poor. There's no treatment and dogs often get worse as they age. My husband an I are willing to do a lot for our dogs. We spent nearly $5,000 on our last one in a 3 month period and we never took vacations because he had such bad separation anxiety. However, we are not martyrs and don't want our lives taken over caring for a dog that may not be able to go up and down stairs, cannot be housebroken, etc.
> Does anyone have any experience dealing with this disease? We are trying to decide whether to keep him or return to the breeder. We were willing to keep him if he was just blind, but this is a whole different thing. I don't trust the breeder because of her original false statement, and many other things she has done that are questionable, so when she tells me that she will find a home for him if we return him, I'm really skeptical. I don't want to return him if she will euthanize him.


My standard poodle, Cash, who is now 6 years old. He had a grand mal seizure on May 20, 2021 and I took him to the emergency vet. He had an MRI done and was diagnoised with polymicrogyria at 5 years 10 months of age. He was put on Keppra to manage his seizures, but unfortunatley he had another seizure on August 13 (so we almost made it 3 month without having a seizure). Cash did not seem to have any eyesight issues -- if he did I mistakenly identified as being overly rambunctious, but I just thought that was because he was a puppy. I worry every day that Cash will die from this disease.


CBro said:


> *Response to Kimmie about polymicrogyria*
> 
> Kimmie, Thank you for your response about Murphy. My Jeaux Jeaux is 3 1/2 years old and was diagnosed at age 6 mos with polymicrogyria. We did have many frustrations with him during his first 5 months -- he just didn't act like any blind dogs we had been around. We rescued him at age 10 weeks. Our vet called his actions "startle aggression" and sent us to an eye specialist where we found out his eyes and nerves worked perfectly -- it was his brain not interrupting what he was seeing. The specialist felt we were wasting money doing an MRI but we knew we had to find out if something could be done for Jeaux. The vets at LSU Vet School did not know about PMG but thank God the radiologist did! Unfortunately there is no cure and nothing that can be done. There is not much out there about PMG but I did find Dr. O'Brien who was doing the research on this. He told me Jeaux was his 6th known case. Jeaux was about 9 mos at the time. Dr O'Brien told me he had tested 4 under 4 mo olds (and they had all been euthanized) and 1 female who lived to age 10 (but had to be put down because of really bad seizures.) Dr O'Brien said the research shows PMG affects humans, cattle, and STANDARD POODLES but blind dogs are usually euthanized so they don't have much to work with. I was just in touch with him after a year and he said the research continues and they think they are getting close to finding out which genes cause it. If they can, they will have a test that breeders will be able to use to try to stop dogs who carry the bad gene from passing it on to their young. From our conversations, he seems to think that Jeaux has a mild case. We have learned what "sets him off" and we also discipline him. He is one smart cookie! He gets around very well and he surprises us with things he does -- we don't know if he memorizes things or what. We travel alot and he loves it. We will be in a campground that he has never been in, we will go walking, and then I tell him to find our camper and he takes me right to it! He's done this since his first camping trip at 3 mos old! Now saying all of this about him, I will say if I knew what I know now, I don't know if I would have rescued him. I can't leave him with just anyone so he has changed our lives tremendously. We are retired so we have the time to devote to him and we do love him and would not give him up now. We will have trials with him as long as he lives and with no one to get advice from, we don't know how long we will have him and what the future looks like. You probably did the right thing in giving him up before you became attached to him. I have people who ask me all the time if it wouldn't have been better to euthanize Jeaux -- I don't know the answer -- I just know that he does make us smile most of the time and he loves us unconditionally!


My standard poodle, Cash, who is now 6 years old. He had a grand mal seizure on May 20, 2021 and I took him to the emergency vet. He had an MRI done and was diagnoised with polymicrogyria at 5 years 10 months of age. He was put on Keppra to manage his seizures, but unfortunatley he had another seizure on August 13 (so we almost made it 3 month without having a seizure). Cash did not seem to have any eyesight issues -- if he did I mistakenly identified as being overly rambunctious, but I just thought that was because he was a puppy. I worry every day that Cash will die from this disease.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Katherine Kimes said:


> My standard poodle, Cash, who is now 6 years old. He had a grand mal seizure on May 20, 2021 and I took him to the emergency vet. He had an MRI done and was diagnoised with polymicrogyria at 5 years 10 months of age. He was put on Keppra to manage his seizures, but unfortunatley he had another seizure on August 13 (so we almost made it 3 month without having a seizure). Cash did not seem to have any eyesight issues -- if he did I mistakenly identified as being overly rambunctious, but I just thought that was because he was a puppy. I worry every day that Cash will die from this disease.
> 
> 
> My standard poodle, Cash, who is now 6 years old. He had a grand mal seizure on May 20, 2021 and I took him to the emergency vet. He had an MRI done and was diagnoised with polymicrogyria at 5 years 10 months of age. He was put on Keppra to manage his seizures, but unfortunatley he had another seizure on August 13 (so we almost made it 3 month without having a seizure). Cash did not seem to have any eyesight issues -- if he did I mistakenly identified as being overly rambunctious, but I just thought that was because he was a puppy. I worry every day that Cash will die from this disease.


Welcome Katherine!

As an FYI, this is an older thread; many of the original participants haven't posted in a few years. 

I am curious to hear more about how you are managing Cash. What a heartbreaking disease.


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## Raven's Mom (Mar 18, 2014)

I am a teacher of the visually impaired and I deal with human children with this condition. It causes a brain based visual impairment where the eyes are fine but the brain doesn’t always interpret images correctly. Dogs, I would assume, will rely more on the nose for identification than vision. It could cause them to misjudge distances and drop offs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Katherine Kimes (Aug 18, 2021)

cowpony said:


> Welcome Katherine!
> 
> As an FYI, this is an older thread; many of the original participants haven't posted in a few years.
> 
> I am curious to hear more about how you are managing Cash. What a heartbreaking disease.


Thank you cowpony for the welcome. I saw the comments were from 2012, but I thought I would comment since I am looking for information on the longevity of life that I can expect Cash to have. I am worried that he will die from this. Cash is a love bug. All he wants to do is to cuddle and be loved. He has his Canine Good Citizenship and Therapy Dog Internation certification. So he is one smart fella.

However, now that I know that he has this disease, his puppy behavior makes more sense. He had a lot of troulble staying focused during his training and I really, really had to work with him. One trainer even made the comment that she thought he was blind (by his inabilty to focus/concentrate). Which makes more sense now that I know he has limited vision in his left eye. 

He is my first dog and will be the only Standard Poodle I will ever get as this has caused a lot of emotional uphevel for me. If you know of any other owner's who have dogs with Polymicrogryia, I would appreciate the connection. 

Cash is a love and a truly lovely companion. He is a wonderful furry son. I have inserted a video of him from when he was a puppy via Google Drive. The first picture is with his litter mates and if you look in the background you will see him sitting behlnd all by himself. He was the first born, but I was told that he used to be a humping post for his brothers. Thanks for the connection. 

Katherine Kimes

Meet Google Drive – One place for all your files


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Looks like the link doesn't work. You can insert a picture by clicking on the







button. Videos usually need to be uploaded to a public location such as Youtube; then you can insert the link.


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## Zahariam (Aug 27, 2021)

I'm reading this post as I am a breeder and have a litter born 12 of June 2021. The star and pick puppy of the litter was diagnosed at 9 wks old..just 2 days before he was to go to his to his forever home. It was heartbreaking to have to tell my friend her puppy was affected. We both had a good cry and then hubby and I had to sort out what we were going to do and euth. Was never on the books. We are in the UK but I am American. We thought we would keep him but I'm 65 and still suffering with long covid so I just knew we could not give him what he needs although he is mildly affected 
. After his diagnosis we found out there were 2'boys affected, out of a full sister to my bitch bred to the same dog . I was originally told those puppies had an adverse affects from vaccine s .I wish they had been more forth coming as I would not have used Thier dog for stud.
I discussed our Odin with another much loved Poodle lover . And she put me in touch with some one experienced with blind puppies and she is going to give him his forever home..going to try and get blood samples to the college in America because I hope we could be helpful in finding the link to breed away from this disorder.
Also my dogs are particoloured


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## Katherine Kimes (Aug 18, 2021)

Zahariam said:


> I'm reading this post as I am a breeder and have a litter born 12 of June 2021. The star and pick puppy of the litter was diagnosed at 9 wks old..just 2 days before he was to go to his to his forever home. It was heartbreaking to have to tell my friend her puppy was affected. We both had a good cry and then hubby and I had to sort out what we were going to do and euth. Was never on the books. We are in the UK but I am American. We thought we would keep him but I'm 65 and still suffering with long covid so I just knew we could not give him what he needs although he is mildly affected
> . After his diagnosis we found out there were 2'boys affected, out of a full sister to my bitch bred to the same dog . I was originally told those puppies had an adverse affects from vaccine s .I wish they had been more forth coming as I would not have used Thier dog for stud.
> I discussed our Odin with another much loved Poodle lover . And she put me in touch with some one experienced with blind puppies and she is going to give him his forever home..going to try and get blood samples to the college in America because I hope we could be helpful in finding the link to breed away from this disorder.
> Also my dogs are particoloured


Zahariam,

I'm so sorry to hear about this. My dog, Cash also has polymicrogyra.He wasn't born blind, but had a seizure on May 20, 2021 at almost 6 years of age. That is how I found out about his polymicrogyria. I was put into contact with the veternaian department at the University of Pennsyvania in Philadelphia. They are trying to locate a gentic marker to eradicate this disease. They asked me to send Cash's MRI and blood sample. You might want to contact the University of Pennsylvania before you decide to enutinize your puppy. I had an email exchange with a Gus Aguirre, who can be contacted @ [email protected]. You might be able to help to find the gentic marker for this awful disease through your pups. I know it doesn't help or solve the issue you are having now, but any information you might be able to give them could help the Poodle population at large. Again, I'm so sorry that this has happened to your pups. I'm still trying to get over Cash's diagnosis since I found out. But it is difficult. I wish you the best.


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