Why is my dog's head muscle wasting, causing jaw and eating issues?

There are a couple of things that come to mind when you mention Shrek's symptoms, and I have personal experience with it. Last year, my 12 year old Golden started having trouble opening her jaw, and the muscles around her head and skull atrophied (shrunken and wasted away). She had an inflammatory disorder called masticatory myositis (MM). This is when the immune system attacks the masticatory muscles, leading to pain with opening the mouth and wastage of the muscles of the head. It is a disease that mainly affects large breed dogs. It can be treated with a course of steroids, but prognosis depends on the severity of the disease. In my dog's case, the steroids helped, but it turned out she had cancer as well, and a large lump grew on the back of her head. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do for her, so I had to let her go peacefully. When you mentioned the growth on Shrek's face, my immediate thought was that he may have a cancerous growth as well as MM. This is a hard decision to make, whether to let him go or not, but my advice would be to have the lump diagnosed first. If it is cancerous, that will help your decision. I would have an appointment made with your vet for Shrek first thing tomorrow so you can discuss the chances he has MM and have the lump diagnosed. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would be glad to consult with you further on this issue. I work for a home euthanasia service, and face these types of decisions all the time. In addition, having had personal experience with similar symptoms in my dog, I may be able to help you further beyond this answer. If you'd like to consult with me, simply click on the "consult online" button under my answer. I'm sorry Shrek is so sick and you have such a tough decision in front of you :-(

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ludo. I am not sure about what you mean that your dog has lost 7 legs. As far as his head though, he appears to have significant muscle wasting. This can occur secondary to longterm steroid use, generalized muscle loss due to aging or an inflammatory muscle disorder known as myositis. When the last condition occurs, the dog can have difficulty opening it's jaw. Unfortunately, he will need testing to know for sure. I hope this information helps!

Poor Marley! It sounds like he may be suffering from an autoimmune disease called masticatory muscle myositis (MMM). This inflammatory disease affects the chewing muscles in the dog, and causes the muscle around the mouth to atrophy. It becomes painful for the dog to open their mouth. This can be treated with high dose steroids, which can be prescribed by your vet. This condition can cause dogs to not eat and lose weight, so I would take Marley into your vet as soon as you can.

With signs of muscle weakness, I would definitely have her tested for a condition called Myasthenia Gravis. This is an immune mediated disorder that can cause a multitude of symptoms including facial weakness, regurgitation, neck weakness and exercise intolerance. It can be tested through your vet and also treated for. The only other possible cause that comes to mind for a pet with muscle weakness and a tight jaw, would be tetanus, but you would expect a multitude of other symptoms including vomiting, fever, severe lethargy and inappetence. I hope that they can find out the cause soon! If she still comes up negative for anything after the additional test, then I would consider an MRI or CT scan on Xena moving forward. Best wishes and take care.

Facial drooping suggests that there may be facial paralysis (due to a lesion on the nerve that innervated the facial muscles) or a stroke event has occurred. Rubbing of the ear could indicate an ear infection or allergies. I would recommend having Sully examined by your vet to find out the underlying cause for sure. Once you know what is causing this, then appropriate treatment can be implemented for Sully. Best of luck.

It appears that Hunter is losing his temporal muscles, which is giving that caved-in head appearance. Considering he is also sensitive to the area, I am suscipicious of a condition known as masticatory myositis https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/masticatory-myositis-in-dogs However, this could be due to general muscle wasting. It's expected that some muscle wasting will occur as they age, but if he seems to be losing a lot of muscle, then this could indicate a chronic disease from an infection or cancer. I don't want you to worry about Hunter having a terrible disease, but it's best to have him evaluated by a veterinarian. They will be able to tell if there are any potential major problems and can help narrow-down the cause of this. I hope that helps and Hunter gets better soon.

I'm wondering if Mopar is suffering from masticatory muscle myositis. This is an immune system disorder in which the dog's immune system identifies the dog's own muscle tissue as foreign and attacks it. This causes the sunken in appearance on the face. Because he has a good appetite, I think it's fine to wait until Monday to have him seen but do not wait any longer than that. I hope this helps!