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Abstract Background Intervertebral disc herniation is widely recognized as the most common cause of myelopathy in dogs older than 2 years; however, the prevalence of various causes of myelopathy in younger dogs has not been reported. Hypothesis/Objectives To describe the prevalence, clinical presentation, and etiology of myelopathy in dogs aged 18 months or less. Secondarily, to investigate which clinical features were associated with each of the most common etiologies. Animals Two hundred twenty‐four dogs aged 18 months or less with myelopathy were included in the study. Methods Retrospective review of clinical records from 4 referral institutions. Multivariable logistic regression analyses assessed which clinical features were associated with each diagnosis. Results French bulldogs (n = 51, 22.8%), pugs (n = 18, 8.0%), crossbreeds (n = 12, 5.4%), and English bulldogs (n = 11, 4.9%) were the most frequently affected breeds. Overall, 31 diagnoses were reached. The 5 most frequent diagnoses were vertebral malformation (VM; n = 42, 18.8%), spinal arachnoid diverticulum (SAD; n = 28, 12.5%), traumatic fracture of the vertebral column (n = 22, 9.8%), atlantoaxial instability (n = 18, 8.0%), and osseous‐associated cervical spondylomyelopathy (n = 17, 7.6%). Intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE) accounted for 4.5% of cases (n = 10). A final diagnosis of VM was associated with younger, screw‐tailed, and pug breeds with chronic signs of T3‐L3 myelopathy. SAD was associated with screw‐tailed and pug breeds with nonpainful clinical signs. Intervertebral disc extrusion was associated with older, screw‐tailed, and pug breeds with shorter duration of clinical signs. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Prioritization of differential diagnoses for dogs presenting with signs of myelopathy when aged 18 months or less should differ to those for older dogs, with IVDE not the most common cause in the former.

Objectives: Tick‐borne encephalitis virus and louping ill virus are neurotropic flaviviruses transmitted by ticks. Epidemiologically, tick‐borne encephalitis is endemic in Europe whereas louping ill's predominant geographical distribution is the UK. Rarely, these flaviviruses affect dogs causing neurological signs. This case series aimed to describe the clinical, clinicopathological, and imaging findings, as well as the outcomes in six dogs with meningoencephalitis and/or meningomyelitis caused by a flavivirus in the UK in 2021. Materials and Methods: Observational retrospective case‐series study. Clinical data were retrieved from medical records of dogs with positive serological or immunohistochemical results from three different institutions from spring to winter 2021. Results: Six dogs were included in the study. All dogs presented an initial phase of pyrexia and/or lethargy followed by progressive signs of spinal cord and/or intracranial disease. Magnetic resonance imaging showed bilateral and symmetrical lesions affecting the grey matter of the thalamus, pons, medulla oblongata, and thoracic or lumbar intumescences with none or mild parenchymal and meningeal contrast enhancement. Serology for tick‐borne encephalitis virus was positive in five dogs with the presence of seroconversion in two dogs. The viral distinction between flaviviruses was not achieved. One dog with negative serology presented positive immunohistochemistry at post‐mortem examination. Three dogs survived but presented neurological sequelae. Three dogs were euthanased due to the rapid progression of the clinical signs or static neurological signs. Clinical Significance: These cases raise awareness of the presence of tick‐borne encephalitis as an emergent disease or the increased prevalence of louping ill virus affecting dogs in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 3-year-old male entire boxer presented with a 3-week history of lethargy, hyporexia, hypersalivation, low-head carriage, pelvic limb tremors and intermittent vestibular ataxia. (B) T2-weighted transverse sequence showing diffuse T2W hyperintensity of the cerebellum more evident on the ventrolateral left hemisphere/flocculus (green arrowhead). MRI demonstrated non-enhancing mild T2W and FLAIR hyperintensity and swelling of the whole cerebellum with more marked hyperintensity on the ventrolateral left hemisphere/flocculus (Fig. [Extracted from the article]