White dog shaker syndrome (also known as idiopathic steroid responsive shaker syndrome, shaker dog syndrome and "little white shakers" syndrome; Latin name Idiopathic Cerebellitis) causes full body tremors in small dog breeds. It is most common in West Highland White Terriers, Maltese, Bichons, and Poodles, and other small dogs. There is a sudden onset of the disease at one to two years of age. It is more likely to occur, and the symptom is worse during times of stress. Nystagmus, difficulty walking, and seizures may occur in some dogs.
The cause is unknown, but it may be mediated by the immune system. One theory is that there is an autoimmune-induced generalized deficiency of neurotransmitters. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis may reveal an increased number of lymphocytes. Treatment with corticosteroids may put the dog into remission, or diazepam may control the symptoms. Typically the two drugs are used together. There is a good prognosis, and symptoms usually resolve with treatment within a week, although lifelong treatment may be necessary.
Famous quotes containing the words white, dog, shaker and/or syndrome:
“I have a dream: in my dream ... Aretha Franklin, in her fabulous black-lipstick “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” outfit, leaps from her seat at Maxim’s and, shouting “Think!,” blasts Lacan, Derrida and Foucault like dishrags against the wall, then leads thousands of freed academic white slaves in a victory parade down the Champs-Elysées.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“Sadie: How’d you get him here? He was out stiff.
Jack: Hair of the dog that bit him.
Sadie: Hair? He must have swallowed the dog.”
—Robert Rossen (1908–1966)
“Of the Shaker society, it was formerly a sort of proverb in the country, that they always sent the devil to market.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Women are taught that their main goal in life is to serve others—first men, and later, children. This prescription leads to enormous problems, for it is supposed to be carried out as if women did not have needs of their own, as if one could serve others without simultaneously attending to one’s own interests and desires. Carried to its “perfection,” it produces the martyr syndrome or the smothering wife and mother.”
—Jean Baker Miller (20th century)