[bosco146]

Our four year old neutered male has been suffering from masticatory muscle mytosis/polymytosis for over a year now. The disease locked his jaw and deteriorated all of the muscle from his head in about 2 days. He was on a heavy dose of prednisone for the first 6 months, and then it was slowly dialed back. He put on a lot of weight during that time which gave him some major joint problems. He can barely run anymore and is out of breath after walking 10 ft. I keep thinking he is going to get better but it seems like everything we read says it is irreversible, it just can be stopped. Today my wife was outside with him and our 1 year old daughter when he attacked one of our other dogs. My wife went to step in and he turned to attack her, and our daughter. He did not get either one, but for me it was too close.

Some people say this is a disease a dog can live with, but i'm not sure. He is not the same dog obviously and just seems miserable. I cant decide if I want to keep trying to wait it out, or put him out of his misery. Its a hard decision to make so I want to see what other would do.

 

[arycrest]

Gosh, so sorry this happened.

You don't say if he's still on pred or not. One of the side effects of pred is behavioral changes. I'd get the dog to the vet ASAP for an evaluation and talk to him/her about the incident.
http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/prednisone.asp

But IMHO the welfare of your human family and the well being of your other dogs is of utmost importance.

 

[elsie]

oh how awful !!
i was going to suggest what gayle said, to inquire about pred & it's side effects.
wishing you all the best........

 

[dd]

Is it possible he also has thyroid issues?

 

[bosco146]

He is still on the pred 20 mg's every other day. We are going to call the vet tomorrow and see what she has to say.