Health
How is this different from arthritis?
It does not hurt. An arthritic dog is unwilling; a myelopathic dog is willing but unable, and does not object to its legs being handled.
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Degenerative Myelopathy in Chow Chows: Weakness Without Pain
Quick answer
How is this different from arthritis?
It does not hurt. An arthritic dog is unwilling; a myelopathic dog is willing but unable, and does not object to its legs being handled.
That painlessness is the whole diagnostic key. A Chow Chow with documented hip dysplasia and arthritis will be reluctant to move because moving is uncomfortable. A dog with degenerative myelopathy is entirely willing to move and simply cannot organise its back legs to do it. Willingness without ability is the distinction that matters.
Owners of older Chows whose hind end is deteriorating and who are being told it is arthritis, when the pattern does not quite fit. It is also for owners weighing whether a genetic test is worth running, and for anyone facing the practical realities of caring for a dog that is gradually losing the use of its back half.
Important reminder
This guide is not medical advice. If your dog shows pain, sudden behavior change, or worsening symptoms, consult a licensed veterinarian.
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What this problem looks like
Degenerative myelopathy is a progressive, non-painful degeneration of the spinal cord causing gradual loss of hind limb coordination and then function, eventually affecting continence and the front limbs. It cannot be halted. It is diagnosed by excluding other causes, and it is not among the Chow Chow's documented conditions, which makes accurate differentiation from the breed's documented joint disease especially important.
Common triggers
- Genetic predisposition, in the breeds where the variant is established
- Advancing age, with onset typically in later life
- No environmental or dietary trigger has been identified
- Nothing an owner does causes or accelerates the disease itself
- Concurrent arthritis, which does not cause it but masks and complicates it
Common in a small number of specific breeds and not documented in the Chow Chow. For a Chow owner the realistic scenario is that hind limb decline turns out to be arthritis from documented hip disease, and the value of understanding this condition is being able to recognise the pattern that does not fit and to ask for it to be excluded properly.
Why this happens
Breed factors
No Chow-specific predisposition has been established, and the breed's documented profile points elsewhere entirely - to hip and elbow dysplasia as the reason a Chow's hind end fails. Where the breed's characteristics genuinely matter is in confusing the picture. The Chow's naturally stilted, minimally angulated rear gait removes the visual baseline against which neurological gait change would normally stand out. Its dense double coat hides muscle wasting, so the thigh atrophy that accompanies the disease must be felt rather than seen. And its independent, undemonstrative temperament means the dog does not communicate distress either way, which removes the pain signal that would otherwise help you differentiate.
Environment factors
Nothing in the environment causes this disease, and owners should be sceptical of anything claiming otherwise. Environment matters enormously for quality of life once it exists: flooring determines whether a weakening dog can stand at all, bedding determines whether pressure sores develop, and the layout of the home determines how much of its life the dog can still access. Access to a physiotherapy programme is the single environmental factor with real evidence behind it.
What you can do at home (once it is not an emergency)
When to talk to your vet
Book an appointment for any hind limb weakness, scuffing, knuckling or crossing of the back legs, and specifically ask whether the dog appears painful, because that answer directs everything else. Go the same day, treating it as urgent, if weakness appears suddenly or worsens sharply over hours, if the dog cannot stand at all, if there is sudden loss of bladder or bowel control, or if the dog is in evident pain - all of those point to compressive spinal disease rather than this condition, and with cord compression the speed of treatment determines how much function survives.
At home, alongside your vet's plan
- Film your dog walking away from you on a hard floor every few weeks, so progression is documented objectively rather than argued from memory.
- Check nail wear monthly - asymmetric flattening on one side of a hind nail is often the earliest physical evidence.
- Test willingness against ability: does the dog try enthusiastically and fail, or decline to try? Note which.
- Cover every hard floor the dog uses with grippy matting, since traction becomes the limiting factor long before strength does.
- Get a properly fitted support harness with a rear handle early, before you need it, and learn to use it without hurting your own back on a seventy pound dog.
More Chow Chow health & behavior issues
- Chow Chow ARVC: Fainting, Rhythm Disorders & What It Really Is
- Chow Chow Heart Disease: Is DCM Really a Risk for This Breed?
- Chow Chow Liver Shunts: What Owners Actually Pay
- Chow Chow Pancreatitis and Diabetes: One Organ, Two Failures
- Chow Chow Pancreatitis: The Praying Position and the Holiday Trigger
- Chow Chow Allergic Reactions: Warning Signs & Emergency Steps
- Chow Chow Genetic Obesity Risk: When Hunger Itself Is the Problem
- Chow Chow Hip Dysplasia Prevalence: What Screening Numbers Mean
- Chow Chow Immune-Mediated Thyroiditis: The Stage Before Symptoms
- Chow Chow Luxating Patellas: The Skip Step and What Grades Mean
- Chow Chow Obesity: You Cannot See It Under That Coat
- Chow Chow Patellar Luxation Surgery: Deciding and Recovering
- Chow Chow Separation Anxiety: Or Is It Boredom, Heat or Territory?
- Chow Chow Skin Allergies: Finding the Itch Under the Coat
- Chow Chow Skin Infections: What the Mane Traps Against the Skin
Degenerative Myelopathy DM in other breeds
- Jack Russell Terrier Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs
- Labradoodle Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs & What to Do
- Maltese Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs, Causes & What to Do
- Miniature Schnauzer Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs
- Poodle Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs, Causes & What to Do
- Rottweiler Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs & What to Do
- Schnauzer Standard Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs
- Yorkshire Terrier Degenerative Myelopathy: Signs
- Akita Degenerative Myelopathy (DM): Signs, Testing & Outlook
- Australian Shepherd Degenerative Myelopathy: Early Signs
See all Chow Chow health problems, which breeds are prone to degenerative myelopathy dm, or the full Chow Chow breed guide for temperament, exercise needs and ownership costs.
What to expect, and how you know it is working
From the first noticeable scuffing to loss of hind limb function typically takes six months to three years. Continence is usually affected in the later part of that range, and front limb involvement later still. Physiotherapy appears to lengthen the mobile phase but does not alter the endpoint. There is no plateau to hope for.
Success here has to be defined honestly, because the disease does not stop. It means a dog that stays mobile and comfortable for as long as possible, skin that stays intact, a household that is not overwhelmed, and a decision about the end that is made thoughtfully and in advance rather than in an emergency at two in the morning. Owners who set their own thresholds early tend to look back on the process with less regret than those who do not.
Separating It From the Breed's Documented Joint Disease
Hip and elbow dysplasia are both documented in the Chow Chow, so any older dog of this breed with a failing hind end has an obvious and likely explanation already available. Distinguishing the two matters because the management, the outlook and the conversations you need to have are completely different.
Arthritic dogs are stiff, especially after rest, and warm up as they move. They resent having the painful joint manipulated. They are reluctant to attempt things. Their difficulty fluctuates with weather and activity.
Dogs with degenerative myelopathy do not improve with warming up. They are indifferent to having their limbs handled, because nothing hurts. They try things enthusiastically and fail at them. Their difficulty gets slowly and relentlessly worse without good days and bad days. And crucially, they lose their sense of where their feet are - the toes drag, the nails wear flat on one edge, and the dog will stand on the top of a paw without seeming to notice.
The Chow's naturally stilted gait complicates the picture, which is why the pain question is worth leaning on so heavily. Watch how your dog reacts to having a hind leg gently flexed. Indifference is meaningful.
How It Progresses
The typical course from first signs to loss of hind limb function runs over roughly six months to three years, varying considerably between individuals.
- Early: subtle scuffing of one hind paw, uneven nail wear, and occasional crossing of the back legs while turning. Owners often notice the sound before the sight.
- Early to middle: swaying at the hindquarters, difficulty on smooth floors, and a dog that sits down mid-walk without appearing distressed.
- Middle: obvious weakness, knuckling that the dog does not correct, and difficulty rising without assistance.
- Middle to late: inability to bear weight on the hind limbs, requiring a support harness or a cart for mobility.
- Late: loss of bladder and bowel control, and eventually weakness affecting the front limbs as the disease ascends.
- Throughout: no evidence of pain at any stage, which is the single most consistent feature.
What to do next about degenerative myelopathy (dm) in Chows
If you think your Chow has degenerative myelopathy (dm), the plan is three steps: write down what you have seen and when it started, book a veterinary appointment rather than waiting for the next flare, and take video of the behaviour or symptom before you go — the thing you are worried about rarely happens in the consulting room. Screening in the parents covers hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, entropion.
What the vet visit should produce is a diagnosis and a written plan, not just reassurance: what is being ruled out, what the monitoring interval is, and which signs mean you come back sooner. Ask what the treatment costs across a year rather than per visit, because that is the number that decides whether you are managing this condition or reacting to it.
Between appointments, keep a short log — dates, what you saw, what changed. It is the single most useful thing an owner brings to a follow-up, and for degenerative myelopathy (dm) it is often what separates a clear pattern from a guess.
The Dog Who Kept Trying
Kip was eleven and had been on arthritis medication for two years. His owner, Josef, kept saying the same thing at every recheck: the tablets did not seem to make any difference, and Kip did not seem sore, he just kept falling over. The vet who saw them that autumn picked up on the phrasing. She flexed and extended both hips fully and Kip did not react at all, which for a dog with radiographic arthritis was odd. She turned a hind paw over and he left it knuckled. And Josef mentioned that Kip still tried to jump into the boot every single time, and simply did not get there. Kip was referred for imaging, which found no compression of the spinal cord and no other explanation. The working diagnosis was degenerative myelopathy. Josef found this both worse and better than what he had been imagining, and he said the most useful thing he was told was that Kip was not in pain and never had been. They started physiotherapy, put matting through the house, and had eighteen more months.
Key takeaway: If arthritis medication makes no difference and the dog does not object to its joints being handled, the diagnosis deserves revisiting. In this breed, where painful hip disease is documented and expected, a painless hind end is the finding that should prompt a different question entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Do Chow Chows get degenerative myelopathy?
It is not among this breed's documented conditions, and the genetic variant most associated with it has been studied principally in other breeds. Any dog can in principle be affected, but a Chow with hind limb difficulty is far more likely to have arthritis secondary to its documented hip and elbow dysplasia.
Is there a genetic test?
A test exists for a variant associated with the disease, but interpretation is more complicated than owners expect. Many dogs carrying two copies never develop clinical disease, and the variant's significance has not been established in every breed. A positive result is a risk factor, not a diagnosis.
How is it actually diagnosed?
By exclusion. There is no definitive test in a living dog, so the diagnosis is reached by ruling out compressive spinal disease, joint disease and other neurological causes, usually with advanced imaging. That means an MRI showing nothing compressing the cord is a meaningful part of the picture rather than a wasted expense.
Is there any treatment?
There is no treatment that halts or reverses it, and any product marketed as doing so should be treated with real suspicion. What genuinely helps is structured physiotherapy, which appears to extend the period of mobility, along with environmental adaptation and good nursing care.
Does it hurt?
No, and this is both diagnostically important and a genuine comfort. Dogs with this condition are not suffering pain from it. What they can develop is discomfort from secondary problems - pressure sores, urine scalding, and strain on the front limbs doing all the work - and preventing those becomes the focus of care.
How do I know when it is time?
There is no single answer, but useful markers include the dog's ability to move about with assistance, its continence, its enjoyment of food and interaction, and whether the household can realistically provide the care required. Discuss it with your vet early rather than in crisis, and write down what your own threshold is while you are calm.
Quick answers
View more answersHealth
Is it a documented Chow Chow condition?
No. Hip and elbow dysplasia are, and they explain most hind end decline in this breed.
Health
Does the genetic test give a diagnosis?
No. It identifies a risk variant. Plenty of dogs carrying two copies never develop the disease.
Costs
What does care cost over time?
Physiotherapy, a support harness or cart, and increasing nursing time make this an expensive and demanding condition to manage long term.
Related DogBreedCompass guides
- Chow Chow arthritis – Arthritis is the far more likely explanation for hind end decline in this breed.
- Chow Chow spinal problems – Compressive spinal disease must be excluded and is urgent when present.
- Chow Chow hip dysplasia – Hip dysplasia is documented in the breed and produces overlapping signs.
- Chow Chow obesity – Weight management becomes critical as the hind limbs weaken.
- Chow Chow cost of ownership – Long-term mobility care is a substantial financial commitment.
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