This is an invitation to the subscribers of this Scottish Deerhound Forum to respond to a survey on "Deerhound Neck".
Please read the introduction below, and if you recognise the experience, and have had it in one or more of your Deerhounds please go to:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/deerhoundnecksurvey ,
and take the time to fill in the survey.
Thank you, on behalf of Dr David Brunarski and Dr Rachael Jones, Richard Hawkins
"Deerhound Neck" is a common name for a neck pain syndrome in Deerhounds.
Symptoms may include: GRUNTING, YELPING OR CRYING OUT when laying down, getting up, shifting positions, stretching or bending down to eat or drink. An affected dog may be reluctant to eat or drink. An affected dog may be reluctant to eat or drink at all, unless the bowl is elevated sufficiently.
RELUCTANCE OR REFUSAL TO BEND THE NECK. An affected dog often holds their neck rigidly extended straight in front, parallel to the ground. To avoid bending their neck, the dog may follow a moving object only with their eyes or turn the whole body to keep the object in view, instead of turning their head to follow the object. The dog may back out of a tight spot, instead of bending their neck or body to turn around. The dog may prefer to lie in a sphinx-like position rather than curled up nose to tail.
PAIN WHEN THE NECK IS BENT, either actively or passively. Sometimes any attempt to move the dog's head to the side or up and down elicits pain. Some dogs resist even having their head touched, their mouth opened or their ears examined. In extreme cases, affected dogs will refuse to eat because chewing is too painful.
Please complete the “surveymonkey” with the information that you have. If we have not provided enough detail or have missed something relevant; please include your comments in the OTHER section at the end of each question. If you have had more than one dog affected, please complete a SEPARATE SURVEY FOR EACH DOG. This will allow the researchers to keep the information straight about symptoms, diagnostic work, treatment, response and relapse for each dog.
This survey is completely anonymous so individual responses cannot be attributed to any individuals. However, the results will be reported on-line to the subscribers of this forum and used to prepare a paper for publication in a peer reviewed journal. Thank you very much for your help.
Forum
