Disease Description: Hereditary myopathy means an inherited disease of muscle.

Inherit Mode: In Labrador retriever myopathy, the mode of inheritance isautosomal recessive. The mode of inheritance is unknown in the Bouvier.

Disease Symptom: Labrador retriever myopathy: The firstthing you may noticeis that your Lab puppy has an abnormal gait (sometimes called"bunny-hopping").By around 5 months of age, your pup's growth will be stunted, and s/hewill havegeneralized weakness which may come and go, and will probably be worsewith exercise,excitement, or cold temperatures. As the condition worsens, themuscles will atrophy(shrink), making certain bones appear to protrude abnormally. Otherthan the muscleweakness, most dogs remain bright and alert, and in many, the diseasewill stabilize andclinical signs will not worsen beyond 6-8 months of age. Some dogswill show gradualimprovement. There is no specific treatment or cure for thisdisease. Dogs thatare severely affected will become very debilitated. Others who areonly mildly affectedhave a good prognosis for a quiet life. Bouvier des Flandres myopathy: Thedisorder becomes evidentin young adults (around 2 years of age), who have a peculiar gait,generalized weaknesswhich becomes worse with exercise, and muscle atrophy (shrinkage). Megaesophagus is common with this conditionin the Bouvier, causing regurgitation after eating and the potentialcomplication ofaspiration pneumonia.

Disease Cause: -

Disease Diagnose: Labrador retriever myopathy: This diseaseis one of therule-outs your veterinarian will consider if your young Labradorretriever (6 weeks-7months of age) shows signs of muscle weakness. To reach a diagnosis,your vet may measure the response of muscles to electrical stimulation(electomyography) and will takemuscle samples (muscle biopsies) from your dog for evaluation by aveterinarypathologist. Bouvier des Flandres myopathy: Diagnosisis confirmed byelectromyography.

Treat Method: There is no cure for either disease. Some of theclinical signs ofLabrador retriever myopathy may be reduced with medication such asdiazepam. There is nospecific treatment for megaesophagus, but it may be managed by feedingsmall, frequent,high-caloric meals from an elevated location so that gravity assiststhe passage of food.Different consistencies of foods can be tried to determine whichcauses the leastregurgitation.

Breeder Advice: Affected Labrador retrievers, and their parents(carriers of thetrait) and siblings (suspect carriers) should not be bred. Althoughthe inheritance inBouviers is unknown, affected animals should not be bred, and it ispreferable to avoidbreeding their parents or siblings animals as well.

Disease Description Source: Link