Is your older dog suddenly disoriented, unbalanced, and confused? A good friend of mine gave me a call today to wish me happy birthday. While catching up he told me about his thirteen year old German Shepherd. Apparently while he was on vacation in Hawaii his German Shepherd became quite ill. Fortunately, their dog was diagnosed and treated for a disease know as Canine Vestibular Disease also known as Old Dog Vestibular Symptom.
What is Canine Vestibular Disease?
Some commons symptoms of this disease are leaning toward one side, shaking of the head, and walking around in circles. Vestibular means a problem with the connections between inner/middle ear and brain causing ataxia. Dogs with ataxia stand with their limbs braced, they walk with difficulty and have a “drunk” type of motion because they have lost their sense of balance. When the vestibular nerve, which travels from the inner ear to the brain, malfunctions. It disrupts the animal’s sense of balance and orientation.
Can My Dog be Misdiagnosed?
It has been suggested that there is a correlation between old dog vestibular syndrome and hypothyroidism so blood work should be done to rule out this problem. The ears should be thoroughly examined because the same symptoms can result from a severe ear mite infection. Also certain types of antibiotics such as streptomycin and gentomicin can cause vestibular syndrome. Please note that a serious inner/middle ear infection—which can occur without the customary smelly ear—has the same severe and frightening symptoms.
Because of the sudden nature of this disease it can often be misdiagnosed as a stroke.
What Should I do?
As in the case of my friend’s dog after a couple weeks the animal learned to compensate for old dog vestibular syndrome and began moving around the house like a normal dog. Try and keep your dogs feet firmly on the ground and eyes facing the horizon to help the dog gain his/her orientation. This disease is not fatal and recovery just requires patience and tender loving care.
Story about our Lab Border Collie Mix
Back to my story…fortunately for my friend his dog received the proper diagnosis. After rushing back from Hawaii they noticed their dog’s head was cocked to the side, but after two weeks he was back to normal. Now that I think back to our old family dog, a lab border collie mix, I think that he may have suffered a similar affliction. We assumed he had a stroke (also the assumption of our vet) and he was disoriented, unbalanced, and confused. He walked around in circles, but we think this was due to part of his body being partially paralyzed. Hmmm….but then again he did recover in about two weeks…
I’d love to hear what you have to say. Have you ever encountered this situation with your dog? Is your dog currently experiencing being disoriented, unbalanced, and confused? If so, your dog may have Canine Vestibular Disease. Perhaps your dog is sick with other symptoms…if your dog is gagging and coughing then take a look at my article My Dog’s Got Kennel Cough…Now What?
Fortunately my two dogs are four and two years old so hopefully I won’t have to deal with Canine Vestibular Disease any time soon (if at all). My third dog is 1 years old and is in guide dog training (actually he’s technically not my dog he belongs to the guide dog school).
Parts of this information were summarized from http://www.peoriahs.org/vestibular.html
Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian and would advise that anytime you notice symptoms in your dogs health you should take him to your local veterinarian for treatment.
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Two nights ago my previously completely healthy 8 year old maltese was playing with his toys and suddenly cried out and fell over. As described in cases I have read, I tried to get him to stand up and he’d fall back to one side. I immediately rushed him to the 24 hr. vet hospital and they proceeded to run a day’s worth of tests on him and found nothing. They tested everything except running an MRI. They sent me home with no diagnosis and I had spent a ton of money and could spend no more. His symptoms include tilting his head, a glazed look, disoriented, not being able to stand or walk, and sometimes he will shiver for five to ten minutes after he eats or drinks. He also cries out in pain sometimes when I pick him up. The doctor sent us home with two kinds of antibiotics (thinking it might be meningitis), pain killers and muscle relaxers. I have to syringe give him water and I am giving him baby food. He has a good appetite just can’t do it on his own. Today, he finally could stand to urinate but that’s about the only improvement in two days. Do you think his condition could be vestibular disease?????
Lindsay, the same is happening to my 8 year old maltese- did you find out if this was Vestibular disease? how is your dog now? thanks Angela
My 12 year old dog is having similar problem. She was diagnosed with having stroke or slipped disk in her spine. I just dont accept those. I had her at the vet two weeks ago because she was clawing at her ear and tilting/shaking her head so I assumed ear mites. He said her ears were perfect. Bloodwork this time showed no abnormalities except for higher glucose which he said was nerves. Also just in two days has used her hind legs to support herself when she pottys. Let me know if either of you get a diagnosis.
Hi Lindsay,
I don’t have first hand experience with Canine Vestibular Disease, but I sent an email to my friend (the one from this article) and asked him to take a look at your comment and leave a response for you.
I hope your maltese is feeling better.
Colby
I have a 14 years old Terrier Mix. Yesterday when she cam into the house she was off balance and she could not stand up. Her head is tilt and she have not eating anything today. My boyfriend have to pick her up and take her down the stairs. She seem like she was very scare. She also is vomite too. Her hind legs are shaking and she keep sliding when she try to walk. She look so sad. Her eye is so sad. Please help Adrianne
Yes Adrianne! Sounds like she may have had a mini-stroke? My Springer had the same symptoms…after a few days she got better and better, a very worrying time! =( After a month she was pretty much back to her usual self, but me and the vet reckon she may have lost a little sight in her left eye and she seems to be quite deaf too, since! I wish you all the best and hope your dog recovers as well as my Booboo has!! =)
Could that be what happened to my 10 yr old beagle? 2 days ago she just started panting, shaking, and whimpering and can barely walk. I heard that whith those symptoms it could be a stroke or some type of heart problem, or they could have swallowed a toxic substance. My brother has lyme so my mum has no more money to pay for any more doctor bills or medicine and says if we want then we have to bring her in. ( Im 17 and do not have the kind of money). So do you think it could be a mini stroke? I just feel like the problem is in her hind legs. they are kind of bending inwards and you can see them tightening and muscle ( I think thats what it is) moving every time she tried to walk. She still goes up the stairs even though it looks like its painful to her, so i don’t think anythings broken. T_T it so painful to see her this way. p.s. she also smells really bad…like a fishy oder ( never has she smelled like this before). but Im afraid to give her a bath because of her condition.
Hi Lindsay,
I’m sorry to hear about your Maltese. As far as diagnosing what is happening, I can only relate what happened to our German Shepherd. The most noticeable symptom is the head tilt, which was severe at the time. Her balance was completely off, and she really hated to walk on the hard wood floors (because she didn’t have good traction on them). She had little trouble eating or drinking as long as it was nearby or if we walked her over to it.
The symptoms you described, “tilting his head, a glazed look, disoriented, not being able to stand or walk” sound exactly like what our dog had. However, these symptoms “he will shiver for five to ten minutes after he eats or drinks. He also cries out in pain sometimes when I pick him up,” lead me to believe it could be something else.
Our dog was about 95-100% back to normal in about 2 weeks. Every now and then you could still see a trace of a head tilt, but only us owners could tell… no one else would have known anything happened. I hope your dog gets better soon. Please let me know if you have any more questions that I might be able to help with.
Morgan
Hi. I have an 8 year old Italian (miniature) Greyhound. He’s always been lively and speedy and could always jump high. This morning all of a sudden, i noticed he was walking with a limp in his back legs. When ever he sits it is almost as if his lower back and bottom give way and he falls over or strains to stay upright. He doesn’t seem confused or dioriented. I think he may have hurt a nerve falling. Does any one know what could be the problem?
HI Lindsay,
The exact same thing happened to my Aussie Mix and we also took him to a 24 hour emergency with all the test and an IV. I thought he had a stroke and so did our vet. The vet gave him a steriod shot and the next day he was fine. 2 years later it happened again and the shot did not work as well …he got progressively worse and also could not walk on anything like tile as his legs would spread out and he would fall. Grass worked for him so when we took him for a walk we would lift him up from one parkway to the next…wherever there was any grass.
Our pet did not have the shivering nor did he cry when we picked him up…after the steriod shot he was able to eat and drink again.
He was about 18 human years when he became sick and passed away when he was about 20. Our pet may have had Vestibular Disease but we’ll never know. I never heard of this disease until I read the Article above. I will have to email this Article to all my friends with dog buddies.
I hope this helped and your maltese gets well soon.
Hi Everyone, My dog was just diagnosed (maybe) with Vestibular disease. He is 13 years old and for the past month or so he has been having trouble going up the stairs with his back legs. I thought it was just that he was getting old and maybe arthritis was setting in. Once he was up the staris he could run or walk fine, but the initial getting up was difficult. Wednesday evening, he wouldn’t get up at all. I put his leash on and he would take about 4 steps and fall. I couldn’t get him back into the house because he wouldn’t go near the steps. He kept pushing back and crying because he didn’t want to go down. Thursday morning was the same thing, he kept falling after only taking a few steps. His head was occasionally cocked to the right side and his eyebrow area was twitching above his left eye. When I brought him, they first tested him for Lyme, it came back negative. As the vet watched him, he noticed the head cocked and the eye movement and said it is most likely Vestibular disease. He said to give him Dramamine every 8 hours for motion sickness and see how he is by Monday. He did complete blood work and all of it came back good.
I was crying until I brought him because it breaks my heart to see him so lethargic and falling down. I see some improvement in his balancing since giving him the Dramamine (sp). If this doesn’t work, they are going to do some x-rays to see if it could be something else. I will keep post back with an update when this resolves. Does anyone else have any additional updates on their dogs with vestibular experiences?
I have been dealing with a similar situation with my dog for months. He is now 14 yrs old and in the past 11 months has had every test under the sun (which in itself is stressful) and has been tested 3 times for cushin’s disease- each time being negative. On a more recent test he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism- (i think that is what it is called) ie his thyroid glands are not producing enough hormone. He has been put on a thyroid treatment. Apparently his symptoms are very similar to what appears to be Vestibular disease. ie not being able to stand firm on hard surfaces, falling to the side, tilting head (slightly) struggling to walk, refusing to tackle stairs, off balance, Lethargic etc. He also now wets himself in his sleep which wakes him up and he starts whimpering. He has been on the thyroid treatment for some 5 weeks now and is not as Lethargic- but still off balance. I am told that the treatment takes time to adjust the hormones and for a more complete recovery. The problem is, just when he was looking a little better, yesterday I took him to the vet and whilst at the vet he started circling to his right- round & round & round- insisting on going right. I was unable to distract him at the vets but have been able to distract him from it at home. However now and again when he stresses a little he tends to want to go round and right. He is also sensitive to touch – ie can’t pick him up and this morning is unable to stand on his own (so far).
I have spent thousands of dollars on tests, which all started with a skin condition and ear infection. The last treatment was a recommendation to desex him on the basis that his problems may be hormonal, which I did, and which resulted in him becoming lethargic. Then there were more tests and finally the thyroid diagnosis. As I said, he is now on that treatment, but thousands of $ and almost 11 months later, he is not better off and is actually worse off than when we started and now walking in circles. I am hoping that with time the Thyroid treatment is the right way to go but also wonder whether the numerous treatments and antibiotics and steriods and blood tests and other tests actually do more harm than good!
Anyhow, there is no doubt that his thyroid levels were low and that this causes the same symptoms you described. Perhaps start by checking that (blood test) rather than put your poor dog through the merry-go-round of tests and medication that my dog has been through with little result.
JULIE
Hi. My dog, or puppy rather (he is aprox 5 mos.old) is experiencing the dizziness and lethargy as mentioned above..but I have read that Vestibular Syndrome is very unlikely in a puppy his age. He sways back and forth and shakes like an elderly person. Passes out the second he sits down. Besides that he still wants to catch my cats, and has his same personality. He is an English Setter. He did not get into anything in my house, but that’s not to say he didnt eat a mushroom or something harmful outdoors.
I do not believe it is an inner ear infection as he has no other symptoms(such as swollen or red ears, loss of hearing or stinky discharge).
Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Taking him to the vet on payday :/.
Hi my name is Adrienne my dog is 14 years old yesterday she came back into the house walking off balance and she also was vomiting.She is a Terrier mix dog. She scare me so bad she look so bad what can I give her. She have not eating anything today she went to the bathroom only once. Please help she have been laying around all day. Her back legs shake and her head is tilt like she have a stroke.
@Patti, I’m sorry to hear about your dog. My dogs have not had Canine Vestibular Disease, but I know others who have. I’ll have them take a look at your comment and see if they have anything they can add.
I hope you’re dog is feeling better.
Hi Patti,
Most dogs come back to about 90-95% from vestibular disease. Our German Shepherd would still have the head tilt from time to time, but not nearly as bad as the first two weeks. My suggestion is to keep your dog away from stairs, slippery surfaces, etc. It’s very scary for them since they don’t have any balance until their body adjusts, which takes about two weeks. After two weeks, our German was up and down the stairs again. Hope your pup is feeling better!
My 14-year old dog came down with vestibular disease 3 days ago and still can’t walk, poor thing. Has anyone experienced a similarly slow progress in their pooch in terms of walking? What homeopathic remedies help?
Barbara
It took our dog about two weeks before she could walk on her own. Again, I would recommend keeping your dog away from slippery surfaces as much as possible. He/she will probably need your help getting around for the next week or so.
My 13 year old australian shepherd woke up one Sunday morning, his eyes were rapidly moving from left to right continually, and he moved drunkenly. We went to the emergency vet and she diagnosed him with geriatric vestibular syndrom right away. She said there was nothing to do but give him medicine to help with the diziness. She said it gradually gets better after about a week to 10 days. He has gotten better, but it took much longer than that. Now, a few months later, he only has a small head tilt, but it left him a little paralized by his mouth. He has a much harder time eating. It was a very scary situation at first. He still has problems with depth perception, but he’s improved alot. I did have to cover hardwood floors with rugs to help him. I hope things work out for you. The vet told me it usually only happens once to a dog, and they really don’t know much about what causes it.
my dog is old and he wont eat he’s dizzy confused i fes him with a baby med,syringe some milk is this wise i have no money for a vet to look at him.what else can i do
@lee, unfortunately I’m not a veterinarian and don’t really know a whole lot about canine vestibular syndrome or your dogs symptoms. If it is canine vestibular syndrome then from what I’ve heard you will need to wait it out for about a week .
There are several people who subscribe to this thread that may be able to offer you some extra advice. I’ll also check with some of my friends from the Guide Dog organization I volunteer with and see if they have any suggestions for you.
I hope your dog starts to feel better. If I hear any other suggestions I make sure to post to this comment thread.
If anyone needs a dose of hope, here it is: Mac, the 14-year old Golden Retriever that came down with vestibular illness (see my comment from 7/28) has made a 100% recovery, and we are walking around the block again as before. We used homeopathic remedies and acupuncture. Just google canine vestibular homeopathic remedies.
@Barbara, that’s great news! I’m glad you’re Golden Retriever made a full recovery.
You mention googling homeopathic remedies. Were there any homeopathic sites you might recommend. I’ve had some people ask me if I knew of any good homeopathic remedy pet websites for other problems besides canine vestibular syndrome.
My ?13? rescued dog,Golden Retirever/Collie mix, has not been eating. Suddenly, tonight he startd tilting his head. He became totally deaf after having an ear infection and then the vet put him out and flushed out his ears. After this, he was totally deaf. He has rapidly gone downhill. Getting him to eat anything is next to impossible. He throws up someti8mes,too. We were treating him with an anti nausea pill,1 hour before meals and then a Tagamet pill at bedtime. He still did throw up a few times. He has also thrown up some since he finished the meds and I didn’t really see much diference. But, now with his head tilt and strange look in his eyes, I happened to find this website and read about Canine Vestibular Disease. I am defintely calling the vet in the morning,I just wish it wasn’t midnight now! Right now, he seems to be sleeping with his EYES OPEN! I AM VERY WORRIED! HELP,PLEASE. Thanks.
I meant to say he is probably 13 years old, but we don’t know for sure. We got him when he was 4,5 or 6 and that was 10/30/2001. Anyone have any guiding suggestions? thanks again! JoAnna
@JoAnna, I’m sorry to hear about your dog I hope he’s doing better today and the trip to the vet went well.
The only support I can offer is that when our family dog had symptoms similar to canine vestibular disease he made close to a full recovery within weeks of the initial symptoms with rest and treatment from our vet.
Unfortunately our vet won’t be in until tomorrow,so I have to wait until 10am 10/30. What did your vet’s treatment consist of? Thanks. JoAnna
@JoAnna, at the time our dog was in very bad shape and didn’t even want to stand up. The vet had him on an IV and then gave him a steroid shot. The vet did not diagnose him with canine vestibular disease, but after reading the thread on this site I’m thinking vestibular disease may have been the cause.
Thanks for your time and emails. Did your dog have the head tilt and did he/she shake their head a lot? Did they throw up or not want to eat?
@JoAnna, I hope your dog is feeling better. Unfortunately I myself have not had much experience with Canine Vestibular Disease, but I have friends and family members who’ve experienced this first hand. I’ll check with them and see if they have anything to add that may help you with your dog.
@JoAnna, he did have the head tilt and his head shaked a little. He wasn’t throwing up, but he didn’t want to eat (he was a finicky eater though).
Thanks so much for all your help. Bill,what were able to get him to eat? I am having such a hard time!!
Thanks, Colby , for taking the time to try to help!
@JoAnna, I’m not sure what you were already feeding your dog, but ours was on dry food so almost anything was a treat for him. As I mentioned earlier he was a very finicky eater, but we were able to hand feed him small amounts of wet dog food. I think the key is to give your dog soft food that is easy to chew. I also remember reading a while back that someone fed their dog whipped egg yolk, but I never tried that.
Foster used to eat dry food and then I mixed wet with dry and now he won’t even eat the canned food. I have tried mashed potatoes,boiled potatoes,ramen noodles and rice. He might eat some the frist try,but then nothing. I can get him to eat cheese or peanut butter on bread or crackers,but just a bit at a time. He also drinks a lot of water.
I’m sorry to hear about your dog. I have been through this and I know what you are going through. I would give him motion sickness meds. Dramamine works well. He is probably throwing up because he feels so dizzy. My vet best described how my dog was feeling by painting me a picture. He said, picture having way too much to drink and then your friend spins you around and around on a bar stool. How do you think you would be able to walk? Talk about feeling sick to your stomach. I would give it a try. It worked for my dog and he was much better in less than a week. I only had to give him the meds for 4 or 5 days. I think I gave him one tablet every 12 hours. I wrapped it in turkey to get him to eat it. Let us know how he is doing.
Patti
Thanks,Patti! You are so kind to take the time to send me your email! I will get some dramamine tomorrow,unless the vet detects something else. Thanks again! JoAnna
I have a sweet 13 year old shitzu named Chloe, she was my Memaws dog until my Memaw passed away two years ago. Chloe had a bad episode yesterday where she started vomiting, head tilt, loss of balance, eyes twitching, then she started rolling over and over. I thought she was having a stroke. I rushed her immediately to the vet. She was diagnosed with Canine Vestibular Disease. They did blood work, her liver enzymes were high, but the vet felt that it was not related. They gave her fluids and told me to watch her closely and help her eat and drink. I am calling the vet back today to ask for something for nausea. This website has helped me alot. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Stacy,Patti,Bill and Colby,
I did not get good news today. Foster has lost 10 pounds in 1 month and I am lucky if I can get him to eat. Some days he does fair and some days,almost nothing. She did find a bit of an ear infection and the lymph node on the same side is enlarged. She gave him an antibiotic shot and sendt home a prescription of prednisone,to make him more comfortable. He will go on oral antibiotics on Sunday when the shot has worn off. But, the bad news is, SHE FEELS HE HAS A CANCER OF SOME SORT GOING ON because even a bad tooth or ear infection would not cause a 10 pound loss of weight in a month. Since he is old,12-13,she said to suggest an ultra sound,x-ray or an MRI,would be costly and probably would not change the outcome.She knows we only have social security to live on,too! So far he can still follow me around the house and that is what makes “his quality of life.” He did eat more today after the shot and the first 2 prednisone pills. Getting him to eat to keep up his strength is important to me,but I do not want him to be in pain. He does a lots of deep sleeping and has gone totally deaf,since an ear infection and a following flushing of his ears.He is in such deep sleep that when I do gently awaken him,he is so startled and looks all around ,like he doesn’t know where he is. HE IS TRULY A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH and I can’t bear losing him! Thank you,all,for all your help and I am happy to read any emails you have time to send. God Bless! JoAnna
@JoAnna, I’m so sorry to hear about Foster’s health. You two are definitely in my thoughts and prayers.
Dear Colby,
You are so special to email me with your kind words! Thanks so much and God Bless——-JoAnna and Foster
Dear JoAnna, You and Foster are in my thoughts and prayers. I know its hard when our precious friends are so ill.
My 13 yo. Lab/Collie mix was diagnosed with Old Age Vestibular Disease back in the beginning of December. The probable cause of the nerve blockage/vertigo was a nasty combo tooth/inner ear infection. We gave her some Dramamine and some powerful antibiotics for two weeks and most of the symptoms (except for a slight head tilt) have passed. Only issue she still has is that she cannot walk on her hine-legs. She always had arthritis issues with those legs since she recovered from a bad case of Iyme disease back in 2000 when she was 5. It’s over a month now and she seems still cannot walk….although she tries all day long and a couple of times a day I try to make her support herself on her back legs, but she can only do it for about 30 seconds or so. No she is developing sores from laying down and others on her front legs from trying to get up. Things that helped in the past for arthritis like aspirin and glocosamine are no longer working and I am worried if she will ever walk again. How long should I wait? Is there any type of physical therapy I can give her. Any advise will be welcome.
@Peter, I’ve heard the symptoms usually last anywhere from a few days to about three weeks. The best thing to do is to consult your vet for advice on any supplements or physical therapy you can perform with your dog. I know a couple people who’ve had dogs with Canine Vestibular Disease. I’ll ask them if they have any advice for you.
My soon to be 14 year old Border Collie has been struggling (and me along with her) with what is more than likely Canine Vestibular Disease. It came on suddently after a long frisky walk a few weeks ago. Mollie fell over, she could not balance, and her eyes were affected as mentioned by others. After a trip to an emergency vet, followed up with her regular vet, she was treated aggressively with ear medicine, Cipro, and nausea medication to cover most bases.
She is doing better. She does well on sidewalks and driveways, has a bit of trouble on uneven grassy areas. I was told to make sure she had plenty of light.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is that Mollie is almost completely deaf as a result. I have been told that hearing is not recovered by almost 80 percent of the dogs affected – so please make sure your dog is hearing you. And of course, all of this can happen again.
We have blocked off stairways because headshaking can cause her to lose balance (although not fall over now). She is learning to adjust her stance.
@Kassy, I hope Mollie is feeling better.
Thanks for letting us know about the hearing loss that often occurs with Canine Vestibular Disease. We were lucky, our dog did not lose his hearing.
Kassy, I hope Mollie is improving, I read with interest your comment about the hearing loss. Now, looking back, Sam, my 13 year old Aussie
( August 15 post) did have some hearing loss. I attributed it to his getting older, but it did seem to start after his bout with Canine Vestibular Syndrome. I want to mention to anyone whose dog has a head tilt to keep an eye on the ear that is closer to the ground. In my dog, it needed to be cleaned much more than the higher ear.
Thank you Sally – she is doing better, although has residual problems with balance and depth perception (tries, but cannot jump up on the bed, etc).
For the first two days, I attributed her lack of response to confusion and just not feeling very good with her own canine version of vertigo. So I hope our posts will alert others to the hearing problem. It alters the way you need to communicate, and hand signals become very important (and unfortunately, a little yelling!) Like you, I have covered hardwood areas with rugs to help her because head shaking does cause Mollie to lose her balance.
I hope Sam is doing ok?
Thank you Colby. She is doing better (although her hearing does not seem to be returning).
Until this affected Mollie, I had no idea that Canine Vestibular Disease existed so I am thankful you are helping to spread the word
I have a pit-lab mix.gonna be 11 soon..I brought her to the first time on the 2nd week of dec “08..told the vet, she had problems shaking her head normally..he took blood work twice, and all was normal. I even asked my vet to check her right ear..he did a 5 second look, and claimed she`s okay.
She was prescribed Rymidal for pain.. which i did research on, its not a safe drug to give to our pets..so I bring the dog back again on the 2nd week of Jan `09, because she had severe head titlting going on, and the usual unbalacing walk..again, i asked the vet to check her right ear, and he did a quick look ( without an ontoscope )..i brought her back for a 3rd time, and I insisted to check her right ear again… he found `black tar` substance deep in her inner ear canal…We got blood work done again, because she was getting an ear flush and teeth cleaning the next day…
now its 4 days since this was done ( she also got 3 loose teeth pulled ), and she`s home with me, but still has all the same syptoms..she does eat and drink, but it appears she doesnt hear me to well, she shakes her head alot, and loses her balance from doing so..she does cry at times, keeping me awake…I really need help from everyone here..my dog went from 100 % to 0% in a matter of 2 weeks…i love her to much to not continue to get more advise from my vet ( i think I will change vets this week )…..
She also has lost depth perception..she doesnt play at all..and she was a playful dog all the time…she`s weary on the steps too…i do have ceramic tiles..i will need to buy some floor rugs…
I am desperately needing help/honest working advise on this.
Thanks in advance everyone
Paulie & Poochi
@Paulie & Poochi,
I’m sorry to hear about your dog. I hope she’s feeling better. The symptoms she’s experiencing sounds similar to the symptoms our family dog experienced. However, our dog was never diagnosed with Canine Vestibular Syndrome, but we now think that may be what he had.
This is a very active post and hopefully some of the others have some advice for you.
I was just wondering about a census of these hind leg and twirling problems. My nine year old beagle was at persons home for five days. Other dogs were there, but I don’t believe he had
adequate walks, plus the blistering heat has kept Happy in more then I’d like. I did try to bring
him into our regimen with increasingly long walks in the cooler hours. Three days later he had these symptoms I’m reading about hear for the first time. My question is, was there a five days or more of time without exercise for these pets?
On another not his brother was in the same situation, though seven pounds more trim, and does not have the symptoms. Both have onset of arthritis. Just a thought. Thanks, and Best of Luck that all of these symptoms go away and stay away from our beloved pets.
Thanks for everyones advice. Unfortunately, our dog had to be put down this weekend and we are devastated. She seemed to have full recovery from her CVD, but she never regained her ability to walk using her back legs. We took x-rays (which found nothing) and tried giving her cortisone pills, but she made only little improvement. Our best guess is (including out vet) is that the inactivity period when she had the CVD was just too devastating and her back legs could never regain the strength they needed to make her walk. My advice for older dogs with hip/arthritis issues is to try to force them to stand up and walk as their symptoms are waning to avoid having this happen to you. I can’t help but think that if we would have known sooner, we maybe could have avoided having her suffer so much and having to put her down. I cannot stress the importance of getting your older dog mobile again as quickly as possible. Best of luck to all of you and hope this helps!
Peter,
I am sorry to hear about your dog. I also had to have my dog put down last month.His back legs were never the same since his CVD, although he could walk. (Aug. 15 post)
Sally
Peter and Sally, I am so very sorry. It sadden me more because today I noticed that Mollie’s back legs were not as strong as they should be.
Does anyone know if this can happen with younger dogs? My 4 1/2 year old german shepard/great dane mix had one of these spells yesterday, symptoms included dizziness, walking into walls, confusion, leaning to one side, head tilt, and constant head shaking, he has had a reoccuring ear infection for over a year even though we have followed everything the vet has told us it keeps coming back. I rushed him to the vet when i thought with all these symptoms he must be having a stroke, the vet diagnosed him with a inner ear infections took a culture, gave us some antibiotic pills and another ointment for the inside of his ear and sent us on our way. I dont kow what to do can anyone help us please?
@Brittany, I’m not too sure about this occurring in younger dogs. The best thing to do is to consult your veterinarian.
I do know that infections in the inner ear can cause these kind of symptoms as my co-worker (human) at work has had an inner ear infection for the past week and has been experiencing a lot of dizziness. I haven’t seen him walk into any walls yet though.
I hope your dog is feeling better.
So it’s 2:00 AM here on the East Coast and I think my half Retriever/Chow mix, Rusty just contracted this Vestibular Syndrome. He was cleaning himself, sitting by my bed and when he got up, he looked like he was drunk. All the symptoms mentioned: eye twitching, loss of balance, and walking in circles (favoring one side). Though, I haven’t noticed a head tilt yet. I’m really concerned and I’m hoping to get him to the vet soon.
It’s strange because he is a brother to another dog, Dusty and it’s awful to say, but Dusty is usually the dog bad stuff happens to. He was hit by a car when he was younger (so a large portion of his hip bone is metal now), has a bad case of hip hip dysplasia, he had heart worms, a tumor removed from his leg, he’s gone partially deaf, has pretty advanced cataracts, and laser surgery on his eye to remove another tumor (which has left him partially unable to produce tears in that eye). It must sound like I’m an awful owner with all those bad things happening to him, but I love both of my dogs and I believe they are very happy as they’ve been around most of my life (I’m 20 now and they’re 15) and are still full of energy.
I’m just really scared for my dog(s) because even though they are 15, everyone says they still look like puppies and I just want them to live happily and comfortably. It would crush me to have my dog scared and confused. So I guess I’m just here to ask you guys to pray for my dogs and me. I’m in college now so I only get to see them on holidays (it’s Spring Break right now) and during summer. I know they are reaching the end of their respective ropes, but I want to hold on to them as long as I can. When they go it will literally be two of my best friends of umpteen years leaving me. Thanks guys and gals.
@Mark, I hope your dogs are doing well and hopefully Rusty is doing better now. I have three dogs a 4 year old a 2 year old and one who’s 10 months (he’s a guide dog in training and will leave me in about 6 months). I agree with you that they are my best friends and hopefully mine will live to the age of 15 and older as well.
I have been researching on the Net all afternoon as I was concerned when over the weekend and today my springer spaniel cross went off her food, threw-up, lost her balance, walked into things, tilted her head to one side and her eyebrow has started twitching. Al this happened after a particularly long run she had.
I thought she had had a stroke. But now believe she has CVD. Am booked in to see the vet in 30 mins so will see what he says but now know what to ask.
It is so hard to see them like this. The way they look at you – what is happening to me, help? And you don’t know and can’t.
But knowing helps. So thanks.
I hope it works out for all of us.
God bless.
Good luck Jason. I hope it all works out – for whatever it is worth, Mollie is pretty much back into her regular routine with a few extra props for getting in and out of the car, etc. She has learned to compensate for the balance problems, has a good appetite and gets a lot of extra love. The loss of hearing has been difficult but not insurmountable.
Update on Rusty: I’m happy to tell everyone that Rusty has made an almost full recovery. I was only down for spring break, but 5 days after his first incident, he was walking normally except for a few hitches. His eyes have chilled out and I did not notice a head tilt afterwards.
Jason, I hope the best for your springer spaniel.
My boyfriend and I had Rudy for only 5 short years when he started having the EXACT same symptoms. They started on a Friday evening and by Sunday night he couldn’t even get up or move his head. He was in and out of the ER 5 TIMES that weekend! He had been diagnosed with seizures when he was just 6 months, but hadnt had any problems in about a year or so. Sunday night we left him in the ER and by Monday morning he had slipped into what the vets say was a self-induced coma. We drove him 3.5 hours to a neurologist for animals as soon as the vet called and RIGHT as we were walking in, poor Rudy went into cardiac arrest. To this day, I wonder what could have happened. The vets had no idea. Even the nuerologist was confused. He had all of the symptoms that everyone here has been describing, but they seem to have come on a lot faster than what I’ve been reading. Has anyone heard of this happening or have any ideas? I know he’s gone and I shouldn’t dwell in the past, but it breaks my heart not to know why….
Oh yah, Rudy was a pit-lab mix. Over that weekend, the vets did every test imaginable-they kept sending us home with no answers and no medication. They said that his his muscles pretty much slowly shut down until “it” reached his heart, but he had no sign of infection(???!!!).
My chihuahua “Toby” have seizure. He is on phenobarbital. It controled real good. But once every like 6month he wouldn’t move for while. the next day he was fine. This happend 1more time 6 or 7 month later again. he is 9yrs old. starting yesterday it was same thing but he can’t walk very well. Yesterday he did walk slowly did ok. his head never looked up on me. He always look at me for food or if I call to him. Today I tried to walkin him and he fell on door step to out side stone and got little cut. I carried him to his pee spot and one leg up lost balance and went for other leg, pee little and fell down. His eating goes very well. I just have to bring food to his face and he’ll eat and drink apple juice.
Reading all these helpful info, I really hope he have Vestibular Symptom. and nothing serious. I my self had vertigo. and I was dizzy couldnt drive for while but i took antisick motion med, and I was better. Oh I forgot to tell u Toby’s back in kinda hunched. Hunched back means bad kidney. But He is peeing very well and bowl movment is good. Some one PLZ give me GOOD advise. I am so worried and cant goto sleep. THank you. Steven
Rudy was also on phenobarbital. I hated giving it to him! It made him so blah. He could barely move when he was on it. In fact, THATS what the doctors said was Rudy’s problem the first TWO times I took him to the ER. On the third time, second day, they realized that it couldnt be it.
i want to thank you for posting this article! two days ago my 14 yr old lab, husky mix did nothing but stand in his kennel all day. usually he’ll start barking to run around about noon. when my dad went to get him he was all cocked to one side, and looked drunk. he told me i should say goodbye before i left just in case he would pass over night. my dog truly is my best friend, and i dont wan to lose him. today i had to feel him from my hand and he barely drinks water. he cant walk and when he does he falls. im so thankful that i read this otherwise my dad probably would have put him down this evening. so THANKi YOU. you pretty much just saved my dogs life. im actually hoping that that he is diagnosed with Canine Vestibular Disease. that way i can help him regain his balance. ill keep you all updated. thanks tiffa… and /White Socks!
My dog has had the head tilt and “drunk” walking for years now. This morning she woke up with a serious eyebrow twitch and can’t walk without falling over. I’ve called the vet, they are not helpful. I gave her a pill of prednisone. . . anyone know if there is anything else to do or do I jsut have to wait it out. From the posts it doesn’t seem like there is a treatment. I’m so scared.
My dog suffers from the middle stages of Degenerative Myelopathy. However, he still remained alert and as active as a dog with DM can be. But one day he became what seemed to me to be depressed. HIs balance was much more severe in the afternoon than in the morning. He stopped eating after gulping down his dinner the day before. His tail stopped wagging. I thought how odd that the DM took a sudden advancement within one day. I ran out and got the Bottoms Up leash which i knew I would need eventually. I figured the depression would go away after he adjusted to his new leash and changes in his life style. But somehow I just couldnt accept that this was caused by the DM. It seemed more like stroke symptoms. So I looked up canine stroke and found Canine Vestibular Syndrome. I was acutallly relieved to find it. So keeping up with my geriatric care for my geriatric dog, I’m looking forward to him gulping his dinner and seeing that tail wag again. Fingers crossed.
My 12yr old Springer has just been diagnosed with CVD. He started dragging his back legs behind him when trying to get up and down the stairs or getting on and off the couch. When taking for a walk he would turn back puffing and panting.
We just thought it was old age and as he had previous surgery on his back legs, he may have arthritis. However, it came to a head a couple of days ago when he started falling over and walking as if he was drunk.
At the moment he is sleeping by my feet. He has always been an active dog a typicle Springer, hence the name Bouncer. Is it time to say goodbye?.
Trish, lots of loving care, light, rugs covering wood floor areas and patience. And more loving care.
Mollie is 14, and had CVD in January. Her back legs are weak, but she is still walking, and even running when she spots something.
I’m not sure if I am going to try to get her in a pool, but the vet recommended swimming to try and strengthen her legs.
Our 14 year old black lab mix (SPCA rescue at 6 months – heritage unknown) has been healthy until the last several months. Hearing shot, back legs seem unstable at times, eye sight seems o.k, sometimes runs after birds in the yard. Anyway – she suddenly barked, began running around the house barking, urinated, then (after getting usherd outside) continued running around the back yard for 30 minutes, to the point of complete exhaustion. We were able to get a leash on her and restrain her out of fear she would have a stroke or heart attack. No normal stimuli – guests, animals, fireworks, etc. We have no clue what caused this behavior. Any ideas? My wife is trying to calm her down as I type – so no vet visit yet….
I have a 13 year old lab cross, who has also suffered from CVS, medication cleared the problem and then about 5 months later, she went through it again. It took a longer time for the medication to work this time. It has been about 3 months and she still falls and wobbles when she walks, she will not climb stairs, we have to carry her (80 lbs), she has gone deaf, and now she goes pee while she is laying down and has just started to not eat. I am wondering if anyone else has had similar things happen to their dog? Could this be CVS or something else? We have called the vet and they would like to run more tests. My neighbour went through a similar thing 3 years ago, they had to put there dog down.
Much like many of the other posts, I have an older dog – a 13 yo Dalmatian who appears to be suffering from Old Age Vestibular Disease. She has had arthritis in her hind legs for over a year and suddenly within the past day has lost motor control in her legs. She has had other episodes of poor coordination but nothing quite as bad as this. She has great difficulty walking across the room without losing her balance and stumbling. She too has the eye twitch going on as well as frequently shaking her head and some tremors (I think she is scared).
I wanted to know more about what medicines the vets are prescribing. Getting my poor old girl to the vet will be difficult for her and I am trying to weigh the value of putting her through that if she is only going to be prescribed dramamine. I am trying my best to keep her safe and comfortable. Thanks for any advice you can give, particularly regarding the meds.
Just an update – after running some urine tests on my 13 year old lab cross, it was decided that it would be best to put her down. She lost a lot of weight fast and looked so sad. I take comfort knowing that she is in a better place.
Michele,
I am so sorry to hear about you having to say good bye to your 13 year old dog. I had to do the same back on Dec.3,2009. My Foster was also 13 years old! First he had ear infections and then had to have them flushed out. After that he was deaf. He also had CVS and when I took him to the vet,I also pointed out a clob of skin in the back inside right part of his cheek. She said it was nothing. Two months later,she determined it was melanoma cancer. IT WAS THE TOUGHEST TIME I HAVE EVER HAD TO GO THROUGH! Saying good bye to him was so hard and I will always miss him! But,like you, I know he is in a better place,a place I hope to meet him someday, so we can be together again!
God Bless—JoAnna
WE HAVE A BEAGLE/GERMAN SHEPARD MIX. SHE IS ABOUT 7 YEARS OLD. JUST RECENTLY WE NOTICED THAT SHE GETS DISORIENTED WALKS SIDEWAYS AND HAS HAD MUSCLE TWITCHING. SHE COMES IN AND OUT OF THAT ACTION. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THAT COULD BE? SHE IS A VERY GOOD LISTENER BUT WHEN SHE IS LIKE THAT SHE LOOKS AT YOU AS THOUGH SHE IS LOOKING RIGHT THROUGH YOU. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Hi! My dog Abby will be 14 yrs old in Sept. She is a medium sized mixed breed. While I was out of town my kids called on a Monday night to say the dog had a stroke and couldn’t walk. They found her lying in the woods the dirt. They went in to get water for her and in the meantime she managed to stagger to the house and crawl under the porch. She was disoriented somewhat, but recognized the kids. Later, she staggered to the backyard and fell into the ditch. My younger son went to pull her out and she went wild and tried to bite (she had never bitten before). She wimpered and yelped and acted very strange. They placed in her a cage and she just laid there with her head sideways drooling. I drove home
early the next morning with the idea of rushing her to the vet to be put down. When I arrived home I walked up to the cage and said “Hi, Abby!” She immediately wobbled up to all fours and wagged her tail. I couldn’t believe it. My husband didn’t believe me either as her was sure she wouldn’t make it through the night. I let her out of the cage and carried her to the ground. She drank 2 bowls of water and urinated. Her head was tilted to one side and I noticed her eyes were “jiggly”. She wobbled out further into the yard and laid down for a belly rub. She then vommited up the water. I tried to give her popsicles with electrolytes in them but she wouldn’t eat them, so I broke them up into her water and she drank 2 more bowls. She later stood up and barked at a car that came into the driveway. Over the next few days she ate and continue to drink lots of water. A fried alerted me to Old Dog Vestibular Disease so we waited it out. After 6 days of rest and care, she is back to her old self. Her head straightened out and she acts just like she normally does.
Wow! I certainly wish I had found this article a few months ago and before over $500 was spent at the vet with no actual diagnosis! Our 13 year old Jack Russell Terrier woke up like this one morning! Eyes darting from side to side, drunk like walking, falling to one side… The vet gave her some antibiotics and some anti-nausea medication… I don’t believe the antibiotics had any affect on her, but she came back around a few days later. my husband actually had our son say his goodbyes to her as we thought she had had a stroke and wouldn’t be with us much longer… Thankfully, she’s back to her old self, not 100%, she’s a little less hyper (good thing!) so we’re tahnkful she’s still around
My dog Gabby, has had a limp for the last few days and the vet said she did something to her ligament but tonight…. she completley lost her balance, legs spread in every direction, eyes glazed over and a completely freaked out expression. she seems to be okay now but im concerned as to why it happened as it almost seemed like a physcotic episode! Its been a very hard week with pets as my cat ate a glow stick on the weekend! And started to froth neon colour from the mouth and now the dog is sick! GAH! i just want them to be okay!
My 11.5 yo Golden was dx’d with idiopathic vestibular disease a month ago. He is now able to walk and run but on-leash only as he will eventually fall to the left. I too had to cover my tile and hardwood floors with skid proof rugs and when I go to work I have to make sure he will be safe. I turned my office into a “padded room” with a gate on the door. Lots of physical therapy with walks and massages (he also has arthritis in his hips, so this got worse) and he’s come a long way. My main concern right now is that this seems to have aged him so much! He is clearly not happy and I’m wondering if he will ever be back, to some degree, to his happy self. I did a lot of research on this disease and depression was only mentioned, but not elaborated on. Anyone experience this with their dogs?
Diane, my Border Collie (Mollie) has aged significantly in the last 10 months, especially in the last 3 months. In the beginning, she bounced back quite a bit but now her muscle mass is greatly reduced, she becomes confused easily, and cannot walk without losing balance (swaying, not falling).
I am grateful for the months I have had with her. Her life (and mine) changed but we adapted. I hope you and your Golden have some good months/years together. Extra love, extra care but it sounds like you have that covered. It’s the other problems such as arthritis that make it so much more difficult. My vet recommended swimming but Mollie wouldn’t give that a try!
My now 14 (then 13) year old lab mix had a bout with Idiopathic Vestibular Syndrome early this year with all the (unnerving!) symptoms mentioned: darting eyes, loss of equlibrium, utter disorientation.
Scared me witless.
Thankfully, my vet knew the signs / symptoms, assured me that TLC and patience were likely the best medicine, and encouraged me with the distinct possibility that this would pass in a couple of weeks, with possibly no residual effects. A lingering head tilt was presented as not unlikely, though.
Girlie Dawg came through it without even the “tilt” thank heavens! I have a friend whose dog had this syndrome and, in their case, it went away within a week or two, but returned several months later. That thought had me on pins and needles for weeks on end, but no recurrence to date.
Glad folks are posting about this, as it’s not at all uncommon but was only learned of in the past very few years by vets.
Spread the word!
(woof!)
Our dog had that same thing like a month ago and like 2 weeks he got better but the weird thing is that it happened again he is back to the head tilting not eating very well and falling Why did this happen again ?
Hello everyone! I am so encouraged having read your comments here. My little adopted Min-Pin X, who is probably about 8 or 9 yrs now, began the symptoms you all are discussing last week…maybe slightly before, but It has progressed over the last several days. She looks so sad and confused, she just breaks my heart! We visited the vet a couple of days ago, and after learning what I know now about canine vesticular syndrome, I am disappointed that he didn’t mention it by name. I made the appointment in fear of a stroke. Of course, it’s Saturday night and I will have to wait until Monday morning now, to ask him what he knows of this disorder. During the day, Heidi’s a bit up and down, but the last two nites she has been pretty depressed. Actually, her appetite is still good, and there could be a bit of the drama queen shining through, as I have been so concerned and hovering over her every move. She weighs 17 pounds. Can anyone tell me what dosage of Dramamine might be appropriate?
Sadly, information came too late for my little Heidi…that is, IF she was suffering from GeriatricCanine Vestibular Syndrome. I lost my best friend, confidant and room mate last night. She died as I held her. I will miss her so much.
So sorry to hear of your loss, Penny. Hang in there.
Hi everyone and thanks for this page it is great. My dog is 15 and a half years old. When I got home after work on Tuesday night around midnight I found him in an awful state. When I left him in the afternoon to go work we said our bye-byes and he was standing and walking as normal. But when I came home he was lying beside my bed, his neck and head craned way out to the left and not able to get up and his eyes were all bugged out back and forth. He could move himself around but without standing up and it was just so awful to see. I held him and massaged him and tried to figure it out and all I could think was a stroke. This has been the scariest thing ever. So I called the vet and she could not tell over the phone but that maybe he had a slipped disc and a pinched nerve but that I should bring him in. It was the hardest trip as I thought it would be the last trip and that I’d have to put him down. When I got in it was decided that he had old dog vestibular disease. I said what’s that since I’d never heard of it before. And so she told me there is no known cause really and that treatment is care at home. She told me to wait and see because within 1 to 2 weeks recovery should take place. I asked if there were some meds and she said no. So I went home and looked this up on the web and found this page which was really helpful. http://www.petplace.com/dogs/v.....page1.aspx
and now I’ve found this page too which is great. Thanks. His eye movements stopped within a day and a half and his head and neck move more freely now too. But is still tilted to the one side. He tried to get up on his own on thursday and did so a couple of times. Today (friday) I took him outside in the snow to walk around and he does so with me right there to stabilise him. But he is doing the walking. And of course he did what dogs do by stopping at the tree to pee!!! So far so good I guess. He drinks water freely enough when I bring it to him and last night he ate food but not much for food today, still drinks well though. I am hoping and praying for the best for Maverick. It has always just been the two of us and life would sure be a lot different without him. Shed a lot of tears over this already but he seems to be on the mend. Just need to get him moving more. While he sleeps he kicks his legs like he’s running or walking in his dreams so that is ok too I think. For meds I have mixed some childrens liquid gravol in with his other liquids to help calm any queasiness. Other than that I am just waiting the time out. Thanks for all of the posts here. God bless you all and our beloved pets!!!
perry and maverick
Perry has prompted me to share my recent decision to bring another pup into my life. After Heidi’s death, I pretty much rejected the concept of another dog, but friends and family nagged me until I decided to visit our local shelter, “just to look.” Well, I looked and frankly, there was the weirdest little munchkin of a dog there, whose kennel I returned to a few times before going home. The next morning, on my way home from grocery shopping, my little car insisted that I check back to see if anyone had adopted the frail but lively little Hywhiphua (a breed name I coined myself for LuLu). Being a female, she had to be spayed so I had a few days to wait for her to join me at home. She weighed in at about 7.5 lbs at her operation day, and now has put on about 4 more pounds. When they see her, folks ask, what the heck kind of dog is that? Between me, my grandkids and a couple of friends, the most common guesses as to her lineage included Whippet, Chihuahua and Hyeana. I worked with this and came up with the above as best describing my LuLu. She’s a wonder. All brindle in color, no white. I never saw a dog this size that can jump so high from a standing position! I hope no one mentions my fence is only 4 feet high. Her ears will serve her well if she decides she loves sailing, and her legs extend all the way to her ears!
Anyway, Heidi would be happy to know I am now the proud new parent of this live wire…yesterday, she launched from about 8 feet away, landing squarely on my keyboard as I typed. She will keep me on my toes, yesiree!
I probably won’t be back, but want to wish Perry all the best with Maverick. One thing we all need to keep in mind…when old age catches up, we need to make an honest assessment in favor of our pets. I honestly think that my Heidi was probably several years older than they approximated when I adopted her. She and I had a great time together for a lot of years! We went everywhere & did everything.
I have a 14 yr old Bassett/Shep mix. He has never been sick a day in his life. Just before Christmas he had an episode in which he collapsed, vomitted and had nystagmus (rapid back and forth movement of eyes). He then vomitted 4 more times before noon that day. Off to the vet. Blood work and urinalysis was done and the next day I received a call from the vet telling us that Harley had pancreatitis. He went on antibiotics, anti-emetics (anti-nausea) pills. Now, I had another dog that had vestibular disease and was put on prednisone and did remarkably well. I had suspected that Harley had vestibular disease. Well, he had no other symptoms of pancreatitis (esp. the pain that is connected with it). He did not eat for 5 days. Our vet told us not to push it. Well, after 5days – I did and finally got him eating and drinking again. It’s been a month now and he has the head tilt and periodically vomits. Other than that, he seems fine -eats, plays, etc. I KNOW his problem was/is CVD. The vet told me to try Benadryl for the dizziness but I am wondering of Dramamine would be better. Any suggestions?
Oh, by the way, my other dog that had CVD lived to be 19 yrsold!!
@Jeane, I’m glad your dog is feeling better. That’s great that your other dog lived to be 19 years old. I can only hope that my two dogs live close to that long.
As far as the Dramamine goes…although we have many informed people on this message board, I would recommend consulting with your veterinarian before giving your dog Dramamine.
Our miniature dachshund was diagnosed with canine vestibular disease a year ago, at the age of 14 1/2. She couldn’t stand, vomited a frothy yellow, and I thought we were losing her. The emergency vet recommended a veterinary neurologist. He gave her an anti-nausea prescription and I had to hand feed her for awhile, but she began to compensate. She still has some problems when she first gets up in the morning or after she has been napping for a long time. It’s as if she has to regain her land legs. But once she orients herself, she manages to function pretty well. I don’t know whether she’ll make it to her 16th birthday in May or not, but at least I’ve had the joy of her in my life for a year longer than I originally thought I would.
I am so glad that I found this site. Last night my 15-year-old dog had a lot of the same symptoms as I’m seeing listed in these posts and it scared us. I’m feeling much better now after reading these posts and some other info I’ve found online. He seems to be very restless and is constantly walking in large circles in every room of the house. I pulled a mattress onto the floor last night and tried to sleep with him on it to keep him calm and so we got about three hours of sleep, total.
Right now he’s sleeping in the living room. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday morning, but he is drinking a lot of water. His eyesight and hearing had been going the past two years or so anyway, so I have no idea if there’s a change there or not. We decided we’re just going to keep an eye on him for awhile and see what happens. I don’t have the money to do a lot of tests, unfortunately. But I wanted to thank you for this site and thank everyone for the information they’ve provided. I had called the emergency vet last night and she didn’t offer any info other than she wanted me to bring him in to be checked out. Didn’t have the money. I’m calmer now that I’ve done some research online. Thanks again, everyone.
My dog’s treatment after being diagnosed with Vestibilar. After my description of what happened the night before my dog’s vet almost immediately diagnosed my dog with Vestibular. This was about 2 weeks ago. Doing much better now, but it takes 3-6 weeks (based on info my vet gave me) for a full recovery. My dog’s vet prescribed an antibiotic AND prednisone (steroid). She said the cause isn’t really known, but it’s caused either by infection OR inflamation so they treat both. You should go to your vet and ask for prednisone to go along with those antibiotics (this was originally meant for Lindsay but she wrote in Nov so I assume her dog is already better by now). My dog still stumbles here and there, but now she’s eating again and walking around. Vet said bc of the disorientation, they get an upset stomach, like motion sickness which is the reason for the loss of apetite. So she also prescribed a pill to help with an upset stomach. Fianlly since my dog leaned to the right, my vet said she’d probably always have a slight head-tilt in that direction. Relapses aren’t common, but they have happened in some dogs. I hope my 15 year old dog doesn’t have to go thru that again. Scared us both to death. At least now i know what it is.
Hi,
my little maltese (Oliver) started acting strange last Sunday, with all the CVD symptoms. I took him to the vet on Monday and she diagnosed him with an issue with his back knee and gave him painkillers to take daily. After reading this blog, I realize he probably has CVD. Thank goodness for this site!
Here is my question… He only weighs 8 pounds and now has no appetite at ALL. I was able to had feed him the last view days with canned Science ID, but today he just won’t eat. I am only getting a teaspoon of water down him at a time. Tonight he keeps having long bouts of panting heavy.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I cant afford to go back to the vet for 5 days, and even then, is there anything they can do for him?
Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Diana
Diana, I can certainly understand your concern, and you may very well be correct about your vet’s misdiagnosis. Don’t misunderstand me, because even though I came to this site, where almost every dog has conquered CVD, my little mixed Min-Pin, Heidi ultimately lost the fight about 3 days after our visit to the vet (I no longer use this vet office). She had shown an escalating set of symptoms for about a week before I had her checked. Upon examination, during which I admit, Heidi refused to show the symptoms I described, he suggested perhaps a back or knee injury. I was pretty sure that wasn’t the case because of the pronounced disorientation and the shifting of her eyes as she stumbled around, mostly in circles. She ate for another 24 hours after the exam and then just quit on me. I forced water, and some finely chopped food, but she vomited within minutes. In the end, she could not stand at all. It was like her bones had turned to jello. We spent her last night together with her resting curled up in my lap. She seemed more peaceful than anything else, for which I am so glad! At 12:14 on on 12/14/09 she stood straight up and took a long, deep breath…it was her last. I notified the vet and asked if he was familiar with the syndrome discussed here. HE WAS NOT! I referred him to this link, so maybe now he will apply the info to future similar cases.
I have since left a message here, describing the little spitfire I named LuLu. I was so lonesome after Heidi passed that I broke my own promise to myself and adopted another little dog, on Dec. 27. I am run ragged with this young clown, but she’s proving to be a great little friend. Heidi would approve.
You didn’t mention Oliver’s age, although even the most senior citizen dogs on this blog seem to beat the symptoms of CVD. I will never know if it was CVD that took my friend…still, I am so glad I found this site! It is uplifting to learn of so many positive outcomes to this affliction! I always thought Heidi was older than they estimated at the shelter. No matter. She is gone. But I feel she had a lot to do with the addition of LuLu to my life.
Good luck with Oliver. I think everyone will want to know how things go for you and your pooch!
My old dog is experiencing all of the symptoms other people have said about vesticular syndrome. We also took our dog to the vet thinking she had a stroke and were going to have her put to sleep. The vet thinks it is vestibular syndrome and put her on antibiotics for a possible ear infection. It has been 3 days now and she will drink a little but will not eat at all. There is very slight improvement but I am really concerned that she is suffering and trying to keep her alive might not be the humane thing to do. The other problem is that we both work and can’t stay home with her all the time but we also don’t want to leave her alone.
Any suggestions would be very greatly appreciated, We love this dog very much and really hate the thought of losing her.
Hi Irene,
I think you should base your decision on her age, if you know it. I am one of the posters on this blog (starting in Dec of 2009). I never knew the age of my Heidi because she was an adoptee. She was always a very perky little thing, so I went with the age the shelter estimated. During the last exam she had at the vet’s he seemed to think she was older…maybe 12+ years rather than 8 or 9. At any rate, though she had all the symptoms of CVD, she died a couple of weeks after I noticed things were not right. I have felt pretty guilty for putting off investigating online…maybe I could have suggested CVD to the vet I used. She seemed peaceful when she died, so in my own selfishness, I choose to think it just may have been time for her to go. Sometimes we put our own feelings ahead of what may be best for our old and ailing pets. Unfortunately, the decision is up to us, which really stinks! If it’s any comfort, I have described above my decision to bring another dog, LuLu, into my life, and other than running me ragged, she is such a blessing.
Here is an update on Oliver and it is GOOD NEWS!!
My little Maltese had CVD and just got over it this week. I am so happy to tell you that he is back to his normal cute self!
He had it exactly 2 weeks, and thank goodness for this site! It really helped me through it.
My vet only wanted to run expensive tests and didn’t seen interested in the possibility of CVD. Since I read all the blogs, I was sure that Oliver
did have CVD and put off all the tests. I spoon fed him water and food and carried him outside every few hours. I just kept him calm when he was scared and kept the house calm for him.
Thanks to all of you for posting your blogs, it really helped to know that he WOULD get better and what I needed to do for him.
Penny, Thanks for your post. I am SO sorry to hear about your loss, but way to go on giving Lulu a home… you are a good person!
Diana
Oh, as far as Oliver’s age, I just adopted him 6 months ago and was told he is 8… I hope he is not older than that because I want him to stick around for a long time.
If you think your dog has CVD…
Remember: they are scared, the world is spinning around, they are dizzy, and feel awful. Just baby them, comfort them and make sure they stay hydrated. Loud noise, even the tv really bothered Oliver and he shook a lot during this 2 week period. Just comfort your pup if this happens.
To get him to eat I switched to canned food, and I cooked chicken breasts and put it in the fridge for him also. I just chopped it into tiny pieces and hand fed him mixed with Science ID.
Just FYI:When they put their head down to eat they get dizzy, so they’d rather not eat at all… hand feeding worked for Oliver.
Good luck to all that come here, I wish you all the best. Diana
Great news, Diana! Thanks so much for your kind words. Sounds like you & Oliver are back in business! Great words of ADVICE, too! I love to hear of thye adoption of “mature” dogs…so often they are passed-over for the youngsters, when really, they are the cream of the crop!!!
God bless you, Diana.
Hi!
When our 12 year old puppy dog, Katie, started acting strange and her back legs started to become very weak we thought it was old age and the fact that we had just put laminate flooring in. As time went on, her behavior became unusual. She would pace around and around and even stopped barking when people would stop by. She also got a little snappy when someone would pet the right side of her head which we though was that her eyesight was starting to go on her. At times she would fall and not be able to get back up and would pee in the house. She also didn’t seem to hear us as well. Again we thought old age. The vet treated her for arthritis in her legs and a bladder infection but it didn’t seem to be doing much. She became very picky about her food and at best would only eat human food. We had a trip planned so we took her off to our favorite kennel to be looked after. When we returned last Monday and picked her up, we were in shock. She was filthy, like she had been laying in her own pee and didn’t even seem to know us. She was unable to walk very well and often not at all and her eyes were very dull. I started researching and came across this site. Many of the symptoms sounded the same as CVD. Armed with this, we returned to the vet. After being checked out thoroughly the vet gave us the sad news that she was pretty sure that Katie had a brain tumor which appears to not be an unusual thing. We kept her with us over the weekend and tried to give her pain killers and antibiotics but she refused to do anything other that drink. She had to be carried outside to pee and even then we were unsure if she was going or not. She cried a horrible sound like she was in terrible pain. On Monday we as a family had to make the decision to put our Katie girl down. I don’t think anything has ever devastated us so badly. Two things I learned from the vet is to watch to see if your pet is leaning towards one side or walks with an unusual gait. Try a blink test to see if one eye appears to react more than the other by just flicking your finger in front of their eyes. These are more characteristic with a tumor than CVD. I wish you all the best with your quest to save your pets. I only wish we could have.
Hi Everyone!
We have an 11 year old chocolate lab, CoCo, that started with most of these same symptoms on Sun – 03-28. She had been to the vet the Monday before because of several inflamed bumps on her upper hip that appeared in less two days. He thinks she may may cancer, but we have opted to treat with antibiotics (Clavamox) first. Took her to the vet yesterday, he is assuming that the disorientation and falling has something to do with the other. He ran blood tests-everything was normal. Sent me home w/amoxicillin& steroids. Actually thought she was going to die last night Found this website & think she may have CVD. Has anyone experienced their dog not laying down? CoCo just walks around bumping into things and getting stuck in corners. She will not lay down unless we physically lay her down. She is exhausted, but I don’t think she can lay down herself. Please let me know if anyone has experienced this.
Thanks!
Best of luck with CoCo’s ailment. I wish I could say something helpful but my Heidi experienced the reverse of what you describe. Yes, she was disoriented, circling, stumbling, etc. She would finally collapse, and then was unable to get up without help.
My previous posts describe her symptoms.
Most of the folks here know that I lost my little friend. I’m assuming that a majority of the dogs here still survive, which is great!
No way to know what we were dealing with, but LULu, my little “gift” adoptee, is alive, well, and has the energy of a whole littler of pups! She is a blessing, but I still miss my Heidi every day.
Hi Katie!
In my earlier post concerning our dog Katie, I forgot some of the details of her symptoms. Your post reminded me although it doesn’t mean that your dog has the same problem that ours had. Katie, started off with occasionally trying to fit into spots in the house where she could not fit (she was a border collie/ spaniel that weighed about 60 pounds). This was around Christmas time. In the last few months of her life she constantly tried pushing her way into tight spots and just stood there like she didn’t know how to get out of them. She also circled around and around the house until we nearly screamed. We figured that because she had such a problem with her hind legs that she didn’t want to lay down. We also treated her with antibiotics and painkillers until she wouldn’t even try to take them. The last night of her life, she screamed in so much pain all night that we had to make the decision to let her go. I hope that CoCo does not have the same problem and that it is treatable CVD. I miss my Katie girl so much.
Hi Traci & Penny,
Thanks to both of you for responding and I am sorry for the loss of your beloved pets. Traci I did go back and read your previous post and will check CoCo’s eyes tonight. I did give her Dramamine and the vet had given us steriod pills. She responded very well to the meds, but I was up all night with her and I could definitely tell when the Dramamine was wearing off, because she started hitting the walls and falling again. She won’t sleep more than just a couple of hours and she used to sleep all night long. I know about the circling, it is driving us crazy and the tight spots, I have to pull her out of them. My husband and I both work, but he can go home during the day and check on her. We would hate to put her down, but we do not want her to suffer, so we are keeping a close eye on the situation.
I know you miss your Katie so much, I just cry reading yours and everyone else’s, thinking of what might also be the inevitable for CoCo.
Thanks again and I will keep you posted.
Hello
I noticed my 7 (almost 8yo) standard poodle was quieter than normal approx 2 weeks ago. Eating / drinking normally and happy enough in herself so as she is a quiet dog anyway – didn’t worry too much. Approx 1 week ago I noticed she was a little unsteady when walking and had a slight head tilt. Very quickly (within 3 days) her condition had deteriorated to the point that she is unable to walk without assistance and needs to lean heavily on my leg in order to move at all. Head is very severely tilted. Still, she is wagging her tail (when she’s awake and is she is spending a lot of time lying on the couch or my bed – asleep). The vet dismissed CVD immediately I suggested it as a cause and advised that she probably had an ear infection. He knocked her out and gave her ears a good clean out but admitted to finding no infection but observed a slightly puffy looking eardrum which may indicate an infection on the other side of the eardrum itself – or – worst case scenario – a tumour of some kind (great). He put her on antibiotics and we went home – 4 days later I would have expected some – even tiny – improvement but she was slipping downhill fast (still eating though which is always a good sign!) but mobility completely gone. Not only unable to get up and walk but no interest in doing so either. Back to the vet in floods of tears, thinking the worst of course – this time a different surgeon but same surgery and with no prompting from me, the word “Vestibular” was introduced into possible diagnosis ! He has added anti-inflamms and anti-nausea meds to her cocktail and here we are only a day later and she is – well I can’t say walking – but stumbling around again. She’s still quiet and prefers to just lie around but I see real improvement for the first time in a week. Thanks to this site and others on the topic, I realised that it would get worse before it got better but (fingers crossed) we seem to be on the way out now. What a dreadful condition and how seemingly easily misdiagnosed and/or dismissed by some vets.
For the past week and a half our dog(call it our dog cause we have taken care of him since the owner moved and left him)has been showing all the signs of a human that has had a stroke, I googled it and I am so happy I found this web site it has given me alot of hope. Don’t really have the funds to take him to a vet, if he doesn’t seem to be getting better after 2 weeks then I will have no other choice but to have him checked, but it seems that he is panting alot more then usual and he tries to walk faster then normal unless it’s because he’s trying to catch up with his body leaning he seems like he can’t hear either have to be careful when coming up to him because he gets scared after he realizes someone is there. Thanks again and I will keep praying and putting him in God’s hands and hopefully it will pass.
Lori…just be sure to read through all the commentary here! There are a lot of good suggestions, which are also safe & relatively inexpensive to try. If he’s not “circling” and /or “staggering” when he is in motion, he may not be a candidate for CVD. It truly could be a stroke. His eyesight might be an issue, too.
Anyway, I will say a little prayer for you & your adoptee!
Well, it’s now 2 weeks, and the slight improvement has vanished completely. Today has been the worst day by far. My girl can’t stand without falling over and when she does try to walk just goes around in circles with her head wildly on one side with one eyeball looking straight up at the sky. She’s finished her anti-nausea tabs, on the last couple of days of the antibiotics and has only a handfall of the anti-inflammatories. I’ve given her medication to her religiously but still no improvement. How long does this take? I’ve missed so much work these last two weeks looking after her. I’m at my wit’s end.
Hi, Deb…
Your dog’s symptoms are VERY similar to my dog, Heidi’s…especially the rapid physical downturn you describe. Deb, I can only hope I am wrong, but in the event that symptoms continue to match Heidi’s I will tell you this: Though I felt some guilt over multiple decisions to “wait just one more day,” before I would decide to provide the ultimate and final relief to my Heidi, she seemed relaxed and comfortable during the final hours of her life. For the last 6 to 8 hours, I only left her side a couple of times, for the obvious reasons. I tried to keep her hydrated with an eye-dropper. Her appetite was gone. She and I just sat together quietly, listened to music and watched TV. I guess we both knew that things were not looking good for her recovery. Like you, and so many others here, I was in tears most of that time (as I am now).
At a little after midnight on Dec. 14, Heidi stirred in my lap…even raised her head a bit, and her breathing became uneven, as though she was not getting enough oxygen. I repositioned her from my lap to her favorite chair, with her body leaning against the back of the chair, upright, weight on her belly and chest. She was limp as a rag, but just hours before, she had still been able to stand, with help. I knew this upright position would give her more lung capacity. I stayed at her chair, steadying and stroking her and talking to her. At the same time, I ramped up my prayers, asking that she not suffer if she had to die. Deb, at that very instant (12:14 a.m. on 12/14/09), she came to her feet, legs straight and stiff, head up, as if to howl. Heidi took one deep breath and collapsed, dead. I am only detailing the scenario as a suggestion that you remain with your dog if her symptoms seem like what I’ve described. Other than her last (shocking) breath, which I imagine was an involuntary physical reaction, her last hours were spent in seemingly relaxed comfort with me…her best friend. I think God answered my request! Believe it or not, I found this experience preferable for both Heidi and me, to taking her to the vet for euthanization.
On a much, much happier note, I have shared with this blog, my (surprising) decision, just a couple of weeks later, to adopt “LuLu” from the same shelter where I found Heidi. Currently, Lu is crammed down between me and the back of my chair, licking my elbow as I type this. She is quite the character! I never knew one little 11 pound mutt could possibly have so much energy! Heidi would approve, I’m sure.
Best of luck withy your dog, Deb…I hope my story helps in the way I mean for it to.
Ok well this is kinda a long story to tell, but I need your guy’s help on this. I have a 7 year old dog not sure what breed she is though and her name is Lady. I have had her since she has 8 weeks old and never had experienced anyting like this before. About 3 years ago she had a seizure that lasted about 2 minutes and she was fine afterwards, then about another year after the first seizure she had another one and then the next year again another one. Then she didnt have one again until just recently about 2 months ago and this one was really bad she would start shaking breathing really hard and just this really deep stare, so I took her in to the vet and the vet wanted to do some blood work , mean while before we knew the results of her blood work the vet wanted to put her on some epilepsey medicine which is called Phenobarbital which is fine, but then the blood work came back and the vet said the blood work was perfect. Ok glad to hear that, but something has to be wrong with her besides the seizures because now she sometimes shakes, now losing her balance when she walks and putting her head straight out in front of her like it hurts her, but she never whines or acts like she is in pain. She just now started losing her balance when she walks. I have to admit I have not been giving her the epilepsy meds cuz I do not think that this is what it is and it can damage her liver eventually, so I do not want to giv eit to her if she does not need it. I have been giving it to her now for about 2 days and still having the same problems. The vet just keeps saying to keep a close eye on her and if it gttes worse bring her in, but I can not stand to watch my dog go through this anymore……I am crying non stop becasue I do not know what is wrong with her and there is nothing that I can do for my dog and its killing me to see her like this. She is now wanting to be by herself and she is now not sleeping with me in my bed like she used to she sleeps under the bed now and I do not know what to do. I believe that it is a slipped disk or something, but I dont know for sure.. She is very off balance and she is still eating and drinking as of right now.
I have done some research about this and I can find is stuff about inner ear, strokes, etc…..there could be a lot of things going on, but I thought I could get some suggestions from you guys to see what you think. I would really appreciate the feed back if anyone can help. I am in desprite need right now. The next thing I think I am going to have done with Lady is to have x-rays, but if they come back normal what else can I do or what is causing this problem??? Thank you so much for your time and hopefully you can help me out. Leslie and Lady!!!!!
Hi, Leslie…
Your dog’s symptoms are similar to, but not quite the same as those of CVD. For one thing, it’s almost always an “old dog” disorder. I think the vet was right to strongly consider the early seizures she suffered. But usually, with epilepsy, the seizures would become more frequent with time. Certainly your vet checked Lady’s heart and other vitals, and eliminated the possibility of a stroke? Is she overweight? How about an ear infection or mites? Did the doc look at her ears or clean them for you? Is your dog of the type that might be prone to a disc problem…long body, short legs, etc? Could she have been poisoned? Do you live where there are snakes/spiders that may have gotten to her without you knowing, and left her with neurological symptoms? Well, that’s about all I can think of. Good luck to you.
I have a dog that has seizures. One or two when he was a couple of years old, then didn’t have them for years then started with them all the time. I’m not sure if what you are describing is what my dog has. Have the vet check your dog’s ears. If you want to rule out the disk find a vet chiropractor. We have one in our town that has cured pets of several close friends of mine. The vet I take mine to now is also a holistic/homeopathic vet.
I have a male chiahuahua Who has suddenly become very ill. My dogs name is Guss he was given to me in the summer of 2008 I don’t know how old he is but sure he is old because my father in law said he can tell by his teeth, anyways yesterday he was walking around and would run in to things and didn’t bark at people like he always used to so that’s when I noticed something was wrong he has been losing weight and is very skinny the last few weeks I have been putting him in a very large pin outside to get fresh air so I figured he was just being stubborn but then last night it got worse he won’t eat unless I force him to and won’t move he just lays on his side I tried last night to get him to walk and stand but he just falls over on to his side I didn’t think he was gonna make it through the night but he did he also doesn’t get up to potty He just pees On himself I’m very worried about him and don’t know what to do or what’s wrong I’m only 22 living on my own and can’t afford to take him to the vet but if its very serious I will have no other choice I love him he is like my son someone please give me some advice
What happened to my dog is very similar my dog named princess she was about 10 years old,For two days straight when my older sister would come home she would pee on her leg and fall down to her side and wouldnt be able to get up unless we carried her up
that happened for 2 days straight,on the 3rd day when me and my sister were in school she died,she had peed on her leg again and had fell to the side and was unable to stand up and died with her eyes open.R.I.P Princess , 2-1-11
Hi, Nicole…
Little did I know that so many folks would find this website looking for help for their sick dogs. The best thing you can do is to READ THE REMARKS HERE on this blog! Anything you need to know is here. Some people have used Dramamine (an over-the-counter motion sickness med.) successfully to stop the dizziness and disorientation (remember, your little friend is really tiny, so I’d call a vet and ask how much they suggest you give Guss. If the symptoms last more than a couple of weeks, the prognosis is not so good. It seems that CVD has usually cleared-up after a few weeks. I came here looking for help for my little dog, but she didn’t make it. I really don’t think she had CVD. She was adopted, so she may have been older than they told me she was, and she may have died of natural causes. I’ll never know. I miss her, but I have adopted another little spitfire.
Penny, thanks so much I will try the meds! I don’t want to lose him. There is one ting I wanna ask and I may sound stupid for asking but do you (or anyone else on here) think its CVD or something else. I just wanna make sure I’m doing everything I can like I said before I don’t have the money to take him to t/e vet I’m only 22 living on my own I also didn’t mention that I have a 17 month old if I didn’t have him in my life I would move back home and take Guss to the vet but I can’t! I’ve also heard of karo On their gums will help bring up their sugar if they can’t/won’t eat has anyone ever heard that it works I don’t wanna torture him if it won’t work
thanks for your help
Take this dog to a Vet. and don’t guess on medications. You could kill the dog doing this. Very important.
Your Guss is very cute. Read as much of this blog as you can! Most of the advice here won’t hurt your dog and may give you some clue as to his problem. The Karo syrup won’t hurt him, but I’m not sure why you want to use it. If you have a thermometer, take his temp. It should be about 100 to 101 degrees. Look online for animal rescue folks in your area. You may find good people at a specific organization like a Chihuahua Rescue. Sometimes they keep a fund to help people who are unable to pay a vet bill. They may come to your rescue…or at least be able to advise you as to your options. Good luck
I have some good news on Guss, he has made a complete turn around he is eating and can stand and walk just fine now! He is back to his normal playful self! Thanks everyone for your help!
nicole,
did you do something to help guss or did he just start eating and doing better? did you find out what it was?i was just curious -i have an older american eskimo who after getting his leg tangled in a blanket stopped eating and seemed unable to have a bowl movement. he started walking fine after a few days on the leg but then started with the eating and bowl problems-he did start walkiing in cirlces and kinda wandered around the yard in a way he never has. i know is old but not sure if this is something more. He shows no sign of pain-just tired.
thanks,joe
Great news about Guss, Nicole!!!
God bless!
Penny
Hi, I have a 3 year Doberman who began bumping into things over a month ago. A few weeks later she fell off the back porch and made me realize something was definitely wrong and she needed to go to the vet. As I waited for the vet to get her weight, she collapsed and had a seizure. When the seizure was over, she was weak but was walking in circles. I left her at the vet that day so they could monitor her, ensuring she wouldn’t have another seizure but if she did she’d have good care. She had an ear infection, but the vet said she thinks she has vestubular disease and to finish the cortico steroid and that everything should resolve in a manner of weeks. it’s been 4 weeks since that first vet visit. After the first week, on a Saterday night, my dog wasn’t eating, walking, barely moving and suddenly looked really bad and wouldn’t cool down. So I took her to a different vet who charged less for afterhour visits. He gave me a weeks worth of medicine to treat her for what he thought was cephalitis? Sorry, I might have misspelled that. He also gave her an IV, and within a few days she seemed better. But toward the end of that week, she still hadn’t improved. So we put her back on the corticosteroid and commited to 3 weeks of it, sine we stopped after a week of it the first time. It’s been 2 weeks, we have one week left of that corticosteroid before it is finished. I have returned to the original vet, without my dog because she doesn’t walk much but when she does, she walks in circles. The vet still insists it might be vestubular disease and to keep up with the treatment. The only other suggestion she has is a possible brain tumor which I would have to go to a neurologist for to get an MRI. I went in to the vet originally thinking that she only had an ear infection and that’s what was causing her uncoordination. Somethin so small has turned out to be an uknown disease or something. With only a week left of this medicine, she looks like she is getting weaker in her hind legs, the circles don’t stop (when she has energy to move), and in the morning when I wake her up in her cage to take her out, she literally has not an ounce of energy before feeding her. Even after food she only has enough energy to try to stand, with my help though (shes 80lbs!). Since the first visit, I have witnessed her to have 2 more what seem like seizures?? One night she began almost running while on the floor?? Doing circles? It seemed like she was hyper or playing, then it didn’t stop and her eyes were dialated. I don’t know what happened, but I finally began holding her down with my boyfriends help as well. She fought and tried to move for an hour and half! The other time it happened was a few days later, at night again, she began doing this spinning on the ground outside, and I realized it was another episode because she hasn’t moved so fast since she was normal. Anyway, she collapsed over that time and pooped as she lay on her side. We picked her up to help her and for a long while held her down to keep her from running her circles or else she’d fall or go run into something. Any ideas or comments I would appreciate, in the meantime, I am preparing myself to put her to sleep soon because she can’t do anything without my help. She can’t even eat out of the left side of the bowl. One side of her body seems like it doesn’t work. She can’t see me coming from her left side, only her right side.
Hi Catherine,
The circling and falling sounds very similar to our dog Katie. You said that she can’t see you coming from the left side. Are her back legs giving out on her? Try tapping her whiskers on both sides to see how she reacts. Also try blowing into her eyes to see if the left side blinks. There is a possibility that it is a brain tumor. She seems quite young for that though and hopefully it is just vestibular and can be cured. For us unfortunately it was a tumor and that was how the vet was able to discern between the two.
Best Wishes
Hello, I read most of the previous comments and I am aware that CVD typically happens to older dogs however my situation deals with a puppy who is 8 months now and his name is DaVinci. It all started about a month ago when I noticed DaVinci had an eye allergy and a sudden ear infection with pinkish ooze on the same side as the eye. He started to tilt his head to the side of the ear infection so i knew I had to take him to the vet the next morning. However when i went the next morning his head tilt was gone so the vet said the ear was swollen and it looks like he had a bug bite which will go away on its own. he gave me drops for the eye infection though. So we treated the eye infection and it looked like it pretty much went away. Then I had to go out of town for a few days so i had to leave DaVinci with friends. My friends called me to tell me that one day after I left DaVinci was not eating and he had a fever and the eye infection came back. They took him to their vet and that vet gave him some shots and eye drops. He seemed to be pretty much better by the time I came back. I noticed he was somewhat unbalanced and that he did not want to eat UNLESS I fed him by hand (which i obviously did). He threw up randomly but just little bits so i though that was weird. This was all one day after i got him back from the friends. Then 2 days after the worst happened. I went to take him for a walk but he would not get up and he loves walks
so i helped him up and then let him walk but he took a few steps and then fell to the one side. He did not wanna use the stairs even though he uses them everyday so i had to carry him downstairs which was so weird cause he knows how to. he just looked like he was scared of them. we got outside and i put him down he peed and then took a couple of steps and fell hard. I though he just slept bad so i tried throwing his ball around so he would run. he wanted to but he always just fell 
i realized that this was not normal so I rushed him to my vet. when he got there he asked me how long has he had the eye twitch for…and the slight head tilt. i said i didnt really notice those details. i just said he seems to walk in circles only to eventually fall. he tried to examine Davinci’s ear but he was in so much pain and started howling and trying to escape. The vet couldnt even examine him. He gave him some antibiotics and some ear drops and said we will try to look at the ear the next day to see whats causing this. The next day his ear was still very painful so the vet had to give him shots to make him sleepy. he had to give him 3 before it worked AND when he was finally asleep the vet started examining the ear with that ear tool and my puppy cried in his sleep cause it hurt so bad. his head tilt was completely sideways over the next few days even though he was on serous antibiotics. After about a week or 2 of antibiotics whatever was wrong with the ear in terms of the infection was gone BUT his head only returned about 80% straight. So now he has a slight head tilt. Is this permanent? Does this mean there’s still something wrong with his ear? Is it some sort of damage? Is there anything I can do, like physical therapy to help straighten his head. I just get reminded of this terrible time in his and my life every time I see that tilt. He is so young, I know he can fight this. Does anyone have any advice?
These are such surprising stories and so sad to hear about all these dog health problems. My dog is older too and I hate that the days are near when he will undoubtedly experience some of the conditions your readers describe. I found myself feeling very bad after reading these blog posts yet I am leaving feeling better informed.
When it comes to dog health issues, my dogs ears always were a problem and that’s about it but it was a huge problem because he had ear infections over and over again. We were always at the vet getting dog ear infections treated and now his hearing is suffering, he basically can’t hear anymore. It is very sad to see. Anyway, we resolved the dogs ear infection symptoms by using regular dog ear treatment with all natural non prescription dog ear drops. Dr Dogs Ear Oil is the name and it’s keeping the dogs ear infections from coming back so we’re thankful.
You can find out more about that if it’s a problem with sore ears, http://drdogs247.com
Wish you all the very best with your dogs health. Be sure to watch those dogs ears because flare ups of ear infections can cause terrible pain and discomfort. I just had an ear infection and found myself at urgent care center just last night. It hurts like heck!! Keep an eye on your dogs ears along with any other health issues.
to your dogs health and wellness!
My 12 year old yellow lab (Roxy) was sitting at the bottom of the stairs today and shaking. She does that when she has done something wrong. I didn’t pay close attendtion until I was about to leave and could not get her to get up so I could go to a doctors appointment. Her head was shaking from side and her eyes were doing the same thing. She was confused and did not respond when her name was spoken. She had pooped in the living room and was still shaking. I had to to to my doctors appointment so I called my husband to contact my youngest son and ask him to go to the house because I thought Roxy has a stroke and I would need his assitance getting her to the vet. I would return after my doctors appointment. She was worse when I returned. I feared she had had a stroke and would have to be put down. The vet said she had geriatric vertigo and gsave her predisone and and antibiotic. He said she should be better in a few days. If not I am to bring her back. He ran a blood test and will have the results tomorrow. I would hate to loose this animal. She is the sweet thing. From what I have read from others on this sight, this is just a wait and see situation. I had noticed about two weeks ago that she was having a hard time going up and down the stairs but thought it was her arthritis getting worse. She was favoring her left side when she walked but I thought it was arthritis. I feel badly now that I did not take her to the doctors sooner. I will let you know how it turns out. The vet says he will know tomorrow if it is a tunor or an infection. :-}
My 14 year old Sheltie was fine this morning. She ate her breakfast and did her “jobs”, but this afternoon began vomiting for about 2 hours. Afterwards she was shaky, which I attributed to the vomiting. But she couldn’t sit still. She was up walking around constantly. She has arthritis and just cannot be on her feet this long, so I laid her down on her pillow and she was a little more calm, but when she got up, she walked like she was drunk and appeared to be disoriented. She was drolling a lot too. After a few more minutes her walk went into right turns and right circles. I laid down beside her on the floor and noticed her eyes darting back and forth. This was something I’ve never seen happen to a dog. So I immediately went to the internet and searched strokes and found more information on CVD to be more similar to her symptoms. I’ve decided to take her to the vet in the a.m. and now that it’s 3 hours later and about 6 since this all started, she’s more calm and relaxed (or just plain exhausted). She hasn’t eaten or drank anything since this started and refuses to try. It breaks my heart when she’s sick and this is the worse she’s ever been. We’ll see what the vet says tomorrow. We are leaving on a 2 week European trip in 6 days so I hope we see a great improvement soon since she will be staying with her grandma who loves her dearly!
I have a 12 yr old Lhasa named Rags. She began having problems a few months ago with dizziness and coordination problems and I took her to the vet right away. He gave her an antibiotic shot and diagnosed her with epileptic seizures. I”ve never actually seen her have a seizure, he said I was just seeing the after-effects…i.e the dizziness. He gave me phenobarbital and told me to give her 1/2 a pill twice a day. She improved after about a week and has been fine for the last couple months. Now the dizziness and lack of coordination is back and almost worse than before. The vet now has me giving her potassium bromate liquid in addition to the pheno. I’ve seen no improvement…in fact, she has been very dizzy all day today and very lethargic. I’m a total wreck. After reading everyone else’s stories here (which most cases sound almost identical to hers) I’m calling the vet again tomorrow and talking about the possibility of her having vestibular disorder. I don’t like giving her these meds if epilepsy isn’t the problem. I’m also going to google the homeopathic CVD remedies that someone suggested a few posts back.
This little girl means the world to my husband and I especially since we have no human children…..and it just hurts so much because I’ve always been fussy about her care….
all-natural food, spring water, vitamins…..and she’s always been very healthy and playful. To see how she is now compared to just 6 months ago is just tearing us apart…I hope and pray the info I found on this site will help me help her. Thanks
Jen
Hello everyone I have a huge problem. Okay today my mom woke up and got the dogs that sleep with her in her room up for the day and she noticed my yellow lab Woodrow kept falling over this morning. She brought him into the room where I was asleep an she fed all the dogs. Woodrow ate almost all of his food but kept losing his balance like he was trying to sit and eat he then couldn’t eat anymore and walked a few feet away and fell over. And he kept trying to get up but kept trying to get up I jumped up and rushed over to him and held him tight. He started shaking, his heart felt like it was racing, his eyes were twitching really fast and were like jerking…? His eyes were even hazy and dilated. He then lost control of his bowels, and his body kept jerking, all I could do was hold him tight and tell him I loved him and he’d be ok. This seizure lasted for about an 1 1/2 – 2 hrs at first he was unresponsive but then after about 20 min if I said his name or said he was a good boy he’d wag his tail but he was acting like he couldn’t c and like he kinda didn’t know where I was. My mom took him to the vet and they did blood work on him and everything came back fine. My mom said when the vettech took some blood from him the tech and my mom could faintly smell alcohol? My dog is now home and he seems fine he ate dinner and is now relaxing. He is a big for a yellow lab he’s 106lbs? We have him on science diet for dogs that r like 7+ yrs of age? And it’s suppose to have some weight stuff in it also but he’s still a big dog. For a few months now he’s been having a hard time getting up fate laying down it’s like it’s hard for him to get his footing and he struggles to get up. I duno what is wrong but I’m die g for any advice anyone could give me! Thanx everyone!!
I have a 5 month old puppy, Yorkie mix. She starts to shake and then her legs go out on and her and she falls down. At first it was just one leg now it seems to be all her legs. She does great, plays with my other dogs till that happens and then she just lays down till she can get up and play again, She is eating well and drinking well. Any idea what can be causing this?
hi i have a 12-13 year old malamute+husky mix f dog named laddy her head is tilted and she just lays there and if she gets up she bumps in to every thing acts confused disoriented and has a hard time walking she wont eat but she drinks a lot of water and when she pees it smells sweet she was missing for 5 days during and after a bad snow and wind storm we had this month , she did have a big puss filed lump on the opposite side of the of her head (of the tilt) that poped i don’t know if that could be part of the cos cus it poped about 2 weeks before she went missing if any one can help i would be forever great-full we’ve had her sents she was 6 weeks old and she is my best friend
Hello I have a chihua he’s about 8 years old and he has all the symptons of cushings disease it all started when this summer when we went on our vacation to dallas we had left him with one of my aunts and when we had come back he had looked a lot skinnyer and days later in the middle of the night we heard him in the restroom and he was having a seizure and he was panting then we had took him to the vet and they had charged 300 dollars and they told us it wasn’t cushings disease because he doesn’t have a potbelly. But they said he would die in 3 hours an so for he’s lasted from july to december so the vets where kind of crazy but he’s been drinking a lot of water and peeing a lot that’s clear and smells really bad and he’s been puking and his had has been swirling in circles dizzy can’t climb the 2 stairs to our house and he’s really week and ahs glare on his eyes and lyes down every where and sometimes falls down so I hope you can help my little chico he’s been going through a lot he’s as skinny as a stick
Hi,
My dog is a Bischon Frise cross. He’s 11 yrs old and has just been diagnosed with Cushing’s disease – after tests specifically for that disease. Some of his symptoms sound very similar to those you described and our vet has been great.
They get some or all of these symptoms – drink a lot of water, hair thins, goes to the toilet a lot. It basically is that their body is producing too much steroid. My dog has had the tests and been put on tablets, one a day. This has stopped him from going ot the toilet and drinking too much. He’s got to go back tomorrow to see if the dosage is correct. The tablets are called vetoryl and are costing about £10 per week I’ve just noticed the past few days he keeps falling over so I’ll find out if that’s a symptom. I was told by my vet that if he responds well to the tablets he can live a normal life but they do make him immune dificient so may catch a lot of infections.
Hope you manage to get your little dog the treatment he needs.
I went home yesterday and my aussie who is old and has been bothered by arthritis was acting funny he was walking and stumbling sideway and leaning toward the right when laying down. I immediately paniced and thought he had a stroke during the day, He is still himself as far as eating and drinking but not steady on his feet. I thought cause he is up in years that something was terribly wrong until I read so many comments here. I would like to know outside of trying dramine for the off balance what can i try medically it is near christmas and I do not have the money for now to get him to a vet. I will but will have to be after the end of next month due to many up coming bills. hospital for me unfortunately. Did someone say they used predisone?? If so how many mm grams???
i need help i have a seventh year old white dog(human years) his back legs are bad so he needs help going up stairs and stuff but anyways he is going blind and death but back to the point im scared because i never seen this before he is shaking keeps on pancing breathing heavy and trying to get in cold spots and puting his body in tight spots and also he keeps triping on stuff plz help im scared he might die
My dog has always been very nervous and would shake when we went to the vet or the groomer from the minute we entered until we left, then she was fine. She doesn’t like loud noises and will hide during storms and on July 4th. She is 12 years old now and is a Parvo survivor. In 2009 I took her to a vet because she was not drinking and her legs would shake when she was anxious. A low dose suppression test was done. I had to leave the dog and she was very anxious but we came back to be with her when they drew her next blood sample and gave her the next shot. The doctor diagnosed her (July of 2009) based on this test, to have Cushing’s Disease of the Pituitary gland. Her liver enzymes were also high. She had not exhibited any symptoms nor has she had any symptoms such as excessive panting, and excessive drinking. Her legs did shake a bit only when she was anxious. I changed vets and did not take their advice to medicate instead I went to a Nutritional Vet and put her on a natural diet with whole foods and vitamins, minerals and oil supplements. I also went to a Holistic Vet who turned out to be a nut but my dog liked the massage she gave her. She put my dog on Acti-Flex for joint support and another renal support supplement. She was an advocate of the raw diet and I was afraid to give my dog raw food. She had been doing great until she became disoriented recently and was losing her balance and tripping. She fell down the steps this morning and we took her to the vet we are currently using and they took xrays and thought it might be a spinal injury, and she did not react when he examined her joints. The vet said she should have been turning her head towards him but she did not…and he is concerned about that. Now the doctor has put her on steroids and we are waiting for blood work. He thinks it might be a spinal disc problem. She was galloping through the yard just Sunday and now she can’t stand up. I’ve read the posts about CVD. She was always sensitive about her ears and rubs her head on the ground after a bath for a while. I always asked the vets to check her ears and they saw nothing. Does anyone have any advice…I’m worried about steroids if she was diagnosed with Cushing’s…the vet says that she would have symptoms by now if she truly had Cushing’s….I guess we’re taking a wait and see approach after we get the blood work back tomorrow. A friend was playing with her recently, actually on Sunday evening, and my dog was tugging a toy moving her head back and forth quickly. Could this have caused an imbalance in her ears ? I have personally had vertigo where the crystals in my inner ear were imbalanced.. Any thoughts on any of this….sorry .. I wrote a book….I love my dog more than life itself and these forums are very helpful. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Nancy, your story mirrors mine. My now 13 year old, 65 pound doberman/mix is also a Parvo survivor (at 8 weeks of age, she was diagnosed with Parvo, only 2 days after I adopted her from our local Animal Shelter). She has always been a very nervous dog; I have to give her Valum (as prescribed by my vet) during storms and on 4th of July….being part of our family for over 13 years now, she is like a child to me. The past few months she has moments when she starts shaking and falling to the right. She tries so hard to stop herself from falling, she will actually get herself to the nearest wall or piece of furniture and stay there until the “episode” passes; usually only 5 to 15 seconds. Tonight she was sleeping on her pillow in the living room. I woke her when I got up off the couch (she’s still very aleart), when she raised her head to look at me, her head suddenly started shaking. Not violently, but just a constant shaking, like my grandmother use to do. I walked over and bent down besides her. She stood up and tucked her head under my arm like she always does when she’s nervous or scared. I just held her and talked to her….it only lasted about 30 seconds, then she was fine and back to her old self…she walked over to her cookie jar for a treat (which I gladly gave her 2!). It has been more than 2 hours since the head shaking episode. During this time she has twice now started to cough and or gag, like she’s going to throw up, but never does. I’m really worried about her. Of course all the local vets in our area are closed tomorrow (Sunday). Could this be the start of something really bad? She just had her 6 month well check up at our local VAC Veterinary facility 2 weeks ago. They said she was doing great for a girl her age. What could be happening all of a sudden? Do I take her to an emergency vet? She doesn’t appear to be suffering or in any paid, but I’m very worried.
Nancy, I hope your girl is doing better. I know only too well the love you feel for her. I too, love my girl like she is a child. It’s funny, I never refer to her as my dog…she’s my girl. I am hopeful this is just simply signs of old age, and nothing more.
Comments anyone? Thank you………
Hello….yes our stories are very similar. If I were you I would call the emergency clinics and tell them the symptoms and see what they tell you. Magic was put on prednisone (steroid) for inflammation…she had fallen down the steps. Did your dog have any type of trauma recently ? I’m starting to wonder if the anxiety is causing high blood pressure. I was advised to have her thyroid checked. We just had blood work done and the vet forgot to check this. Now I’m waiting to have more testing done by a neuroligist so that I can see where she is at this point in time. Are your dog’s eyes glazed over or cloudy ? Magic’s eyes are clear some days and cloudy other days and her eyes tear clear water tears. i was advised to put Black tea in her eyes and this seems to help because she doesn’t seem to rub her eyes as much. The vet told me to try benadryl but I looked it up and found that it’s a debateable subject to give benadryl while they are on steroids.
Again, I would call the emergency vets, they deal with these things all the time and maybe they can tell you what to do until you can see your vet. i would stay close to her and watch her during the night. Magic seems to get dizzy or disoriented when she shakes her head….I’ll keep in touch…I hope your dog is ok …they are like our kids and we love them just as much… God Bless !
I have a 10yr old jap Akita who has suddenly fell sick over night. He will not eat or wanna get up and walk around. Took him to the vet and they said it was an infection and gave him a antibiotic shot and fluids. He still is taking antibiotics now. But it’s been close to a week and he still doesn’t eat or wanna walk around. He’s vomiting green and peeing on himself. I’ve been trying all kind of stuff to try and get him to eat. He drinks plenty of water. I feel by him not eating whatever is wrong with him is getting a stronger hold on him.
Our shiba Inu was 11 when she started acting like this. Poor baby would walk into walls and get very disoriented and had the head tilt to the side. The vet believed it was doggy Alzheimers or dementia. My sweet little Sadie never got better and soon started peeing on herself which was then burning her poor belly and she just did not seem to be a happy dog. We of course hoped she would but after about 6 months we had to put her down which was of course, the hardest decision of our lives but I couldn’t watch her suffer. Hope your baby doesn’t have this and gets better!
I’m so sorry to read about all these precious animals ! Has anyone had their dog’s ears checked ? I want a thorough check into the ear …what have your vets done to diagnose inner ear infection….I should think that a scope of some kind would be necessary to look into the ear….because there was no smell the vet assumed there was no infection now I”m reading this is not so….my dog rubs her ears on the grass every day…. something is going on in her ears….allergies….I am looking for natural remedies using supplements rather than medication that can lead to other complications….diet can have a lot to do with many problems too…
Thanks.
Hi,
I just found your site and it is so informative! I came home from work today and found my 14 year old husky chow sitting quietly in a ball. He is never like that. When I encouraged him to get up, he had a hard time, which sometimes he does because I attributed it to arthritis, but today it was very difficult and he fell once. He walks slow and his head was tiled to the side. It has improved a little throughout the evening, but still he is very lethargic and does not seem like himself at all. For the past few weeks I have noticed that he cannot hold his feces any longer and now I wonder if it is tied to how is today. He has been prone to getting ear mites, so I am wondering if an ear infection might be it, but I am taking him to the vet tomorrow to check him out. This makes me so sad, and I just want him to get better. I hope this is just temporary. I really appreciate everyone’s stories. Thank you!
In the spirit of our undying love for our older four-legged friends…
http://newyorkknowsbest.wordpr.....hound-dog/
The ultimate (and realistic) guide to owning/helping/loving a dog in New York City
My dog, Tuffy, has been having many of these symptoms for the past 7-10 days or so. He is pretty old (anywhere between 11-15), but he has been in good health his entire life. Originally I thought he had an ear infection or a foxtail in his ear. He was shaking his head and pawing at his ear for about a day and a half, so when it hadn’t resolved itself in a couple days I brought him in to the vet. The vet saw a little irritatiom in his left ear, bit she said it didn’t even look like an infection. She put some drops in his ear and just told me to keep an eye on him.
He cried several times throughout the night, and was all stiff and tilting to the left the next morning. His head was turned practically 90 degrees, and the poor thing seemed so miserable. I brought him back to the vet right away. She mentioned possibility of an Issue with the vestibular nerve, but when I described the pained crying and a previous neck injury about 5 years ago she seemed to think it was more likely a bad disc or a pinched nerve. she gave him a cortisone shot and told me to keep an eye on him for 24-36 hours while the cortisone was working. He seemed better during the day, but then cried again throughout the night.
Since then I have been back to the vet twice more to get more meds–first a painkiller and then a muscle relaxer and steroid anti-inflamitory. He seems like he feels ok most of the time, but then suddenly he will become dizzy, tilt his head and sometimes cries, as if in pain. His appetite is still good and he has been keen to go on little walks around the block. Many of the symptoms are consistant with what people have mentioned here, but it doesn’t seem like pain is one of the symptoms. I’m worried that it could be a tumor or a serious neck or back injury. I love my little dog, and he has been in such good health. I just can’t imagine having to put him down… I’m taking him in for sedated xrays tomorrow morning. I’m really hoping for some good news… Or at the very least, some resolution to what is going on. I’m just worried sick not knowing what’s going on
Cira, I am so sorry to hear your boy is in pain. It breaks my heart. I just don’t understand why the vets cannot figure out what is truly going on. With so many of our dogs having similar symtoms, and with all the tests being done, I would hope they could pinpoint the problem with a more definitive diagnosis. My old girl (13 1/2), Dobie, still looses her balance and and has her short, 20 second, shaking episodes on a daily basis, however, she doesn’t show any signs of being in pain. My vet just says she showing signs of “old dog” syndrom. I’m taking her to another vet next week for a second opinion. You may want to do the same. If you do, be sure to have his records sent over to the new vet. This will save you the cost of paying for tests that were just done. Please keep us updated on the progress…..
Thanks for the kind words, Tammy. Unfortunately, our trip to the vet yesterday did not give us an answer. It’s very frustrating because I hate to see my poor little guy suffer, and I really want to know what I can do to help–and what I should expect. I know you can relate–it sounds like your situation is similar. On the bright side, tuffy greatly improved after the sedation. They found out from the xrays that he has horrendous spinal arthritis–which is insane because he has never shown a bit of stiffness or pain until the past week. So his problem could be as simple as stiffness and muscle spasms from arthritis. Sadly, his problem may be as serious as a brain tumor. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Best wishes to you, Tammy.
Cira – Hopefully it will just be spinal arthritis (the lesser of two evils), which I believe can be treated/controlled with pain meds (?).
Keep us updated.
Wishing you and Tuffy a speedy recovery!
Thank you for this article. It sounds very familiar to signs we are seeing with our dog as well. Thanks to all who have contributed to help all of us who are going through similar situations.
I have a pit bull mix who is 10 years old, his name is Pen. Pen is not overweight and has been in great health, other than what is indicated here.
Friday morning he seemed a bit disoriented. I didn’t pay too much attention, I was occupied with kids, school, work, etc.
Throughout the weekend, I’ve observed:
-Zig Zag/Swaying Walk
-Running into things
-Falling
Sometimes as bad as when Disney’s Bambi walks on the ice; Other times Pen cannot get up. When I lift/steady him, he will regain limited and very guarded control. He is very aware of his loss of control because his feet are very heavily planted.
-Lowered neck (not tilted as others have said)
This was the first thing I noticed. I initially thought there was something wrong with his neck until I observed all other symptoms.
-Whining
Not often.
-Pain
I believe he is in pain due to his demeanor. He is generally very sociable and energetic. He will not engage with our other dog in anyway.
-He is eating and drinking as normal.
Our regular vet was out of the office Monday so I took him to another. The vet writes in her report:
“Pen has some very bizarre clinical signs.”
“Odd Stance: Prayer stance”
She thought it could be a mild case of Vertigo, but he does not display circling or tilted head.
She ordered an expanded blood workup and I’m waiting on results. She also sent me home with anti-inflammatories (Deramaxx 25mg #8) for the next 7 days. She ordered rest and no running, jumping, or rough play.
She said spinal xrays may be initiated later.
She said she was stumped and could not give us a diagnosis. Disappointing….
I will go see my regular vet if symptoms still persist next week.
Wow i’m glad to see that this is a fairly common problems with older dogs and there’s a good chance for recovery. Daisy, our 14.5 yr old Pomeranian is suddenly experiencing the CVD symptoms as of yesterday afternoon. She was acting pretty normal in the morning although we did notice that her tongue was bending abnormally to the left. We had planned to take her to the park and on our way out to the car she suddenly started stumbling and walking with very stiff front legs. We immediately took her to the vet. Prior to going in we put her down for a quick pee and at this time she began circling to the left and could no longer hold her balance. Her head was beginning to flop to the side and it was quite obvious that she was very disoriented.
The vet did mention CVD and suggested we give her some time to try to adjust. We felt pretty doubtful that things could improve, but after doing some research and reading this blog we now have hope. After a very emotional day and a very restless night we are now into day two and I feel she may have improved slightly. Her head seem a little more stable than they did yesterday. At home its not a pretty sight, she tries to walk but constantly slips on the tile flooring, bangs into walls and refuses to relax and calm down. We keep taking her to the park to try to walk and pee and since its a big open space it makes it easier for her manage. At the park she continually walks in medium sized circles (taking about 8 seconds to make a complete revolution) always pulling to the left. The only time she slows down is when she falls or hits an object. It reminds me of a remote control car stuck with the accelerator in up position. She seems very determined like she always has been most of her life.
Daisy seems to be saddened by this and tries to resist often forcing herself to get up only to stumble back over. She did this in her sleep last night as well. Anyone have any advice on medication which could help her relax or sleep better? It would make things a lot easier since she has hyperactive tendencies to begin with.
Do you CVD pet owners out there with successful recoveries feel that the dogs adjust with effort or is it more of a time related recovery? In other words, should I continue talking her to the park and forcing her to walk in circles and stumble or should I try to keep her lying down and hope she adjusts in a matter of time?
We will continue to pray and to keep our thoughts positive. It is very hard to see your pet in this state!! My sympathy goes to you all.
There’s a holistic pet store on East 9th Street in New York City that sells a natural remedy for Feline and Canine Vestibular. I used it on my cat, and he was literally completely cured within 5 days. The store is called Whiskas, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who owns pets. Their quick and very cheap remedy ($9) was a God send after the vet diagnosed a brain tumor and wanted to charge me $1,200 to operate (when I brought up the Vestibular to him later, he meekly – and lamely – admitted that he may have made a mistake)
Jeff B:
Thanks for the tip, I am a believer of holisitc treatment, but live about 9 hours from new york, so that unfortunately isn’t an option. Are you able to find out what the remedy consisted of? I have a holistic pharmacy nearby and can pick up the ingredients.
This morining my border collie/corgi mix woke up with all the symptoms of vistibular disease, i was going to take her to the vet, but after reading all these articles, im going to wait it out a couple of days. she is 17 in human yrs, tilting head, disoriented, glazed look, cant walk on the wood floors, textbook vestibular thanks for all your comments they really helped
@Ian and anyone else who needs to know a happy ending can happen…My Akita is now 15+ and had a bout of CVD when he was 14. It happened after a great 2 mile walk during beautiful weather…no stressors, no diet changes, no trauma…just sitting cleaning himself one minute, the next “chasing” something with his eyes and head movements. Of course, the rest fell into place: no balance, no easy way to get up and stay up, whining, vomiting, etc. I was lucky to have a neighbor mention old age vestibular so I had an idea, but still was compelled to call the vet and ask what to do. Like most of us, I brought him in and for almost two hundred dollars later, was sent home with an anti-nausea pill. He recovered from the worst in three days, and steadily improved over the next two weeks. Since then he still hasn’t had a repeat episode, and the symptoms of old age he contends with now are probably just that. If we could spread the word that this is a common, relatively untreatable event that we just have to nurse them through, we could save a lot of worry, heartbreak, and yes even a few dollars for unneccessary blood work/brainsurgery. However, I’d definitely try a holistic approach if someone had success with it and it was readily available.
my golden retriever “Jack” had all the symptons of CVD early in the day, seemed to be in good spirits all day and responsive to me, drank a lot of water, after reading all the post here, i called a friend that works at the local vet, she too thought it may be CVD. i went to the store and bought some dramamine and ear wash. but last night his condition worsened, he quit trying to get up, and just laid there breathing heavily. if he made it through the night i was taking him to the vet first thing, he passed around 3am.
Jeff i am sorry for your loss,
I have first hand experience with this disease with my dog reyba who was 15 years old, on new years eve 2010 my son went out back only to find her stumbling n disoriented with all the symptoms you speak of here we rushed her to the emergency vet who diagnosed her with CVD and told us if she was not better in a week to contact our own vet as it may have been a stroke, it took some time but reyba did recover for the most part her head still had a slight tilt but her invertigo (which is why they walk around in circles)eventually stopped if you check your dogs eyes you will see them moving rapidly back and forth…in February of this year i had to put reyba down for other medical reasons, she is still with us in her little cedar box next to my husbands ashes…
i am now experiencing an issue with our other dog DOJA who is 10 he isnt himself and twice now he gets all disoriented then just falls over then the next minute he is fine he has no head tilt or invertigo or any other sympton of CVD…we do not have the money to go to the emergency vet and our vet is closed until monday we will have to wait it out this weekend n see how he is…will keep update on his condition…thank you for this post…
Janice
Cira or Allison: Any updates on Tuffy and Pen. My dog has had similiar symptoms. Last Friday she was crying out for no apparent reason and seemed to have some issues with her front right leg. I gave in and took her to an emergency vet who diagosed her with having IVDD a disc disease. I put her on an anti-inflamatory and a pain killer but the next morning she couldn’t get up and I rushed her back to the vet. Upon arrival she was able to walk and they just sent me home with a muscle relaxer. This week she has been stable but cries out whenever she wakes up or tries to get up. When she does get up she is disoriented and walks in circles then starts to walk as if she is drunk. She keeps her head low and too the side a bit but not turned crazy. After a few minutes she is fine and walks pretty normal. She will only eat soft food and isn’t drinking much water. She consistently shakes while she is laying down. Its only the mornings where she seems to not want to get up on her own. She is completly blind in both eyes, so not sure if it makes her condition worse. I just took her to her normal vet last night and they said it most likely Vestibular Disease and just watch her. They also mentioned that her cyring out was in fear rather than pain. I also hate just sitting around waiting to see if they are right. Any insights anyone can give me I would appreciate it. Please let me know outcome of your pets and hope they were able to get past this. Many blessings to all.
Meagan,
I don’t know what has happened with your dog in the past months, however its symptoms sound exactly like my dogs. I posted a reply today, a copy of which is below and may help you. Let me know how it went as I still have issues with my baby and am hoping the Thyroid treatment will help.
Julie says:
September 6, 2011 at 4:28 pm
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I have been dealing with a similar situation with my dog for months. He is now 14 yrs old and in the past 11 months has had every test under the sun (which in itself is stressful) and has been tested 3 times for cushin’s disease- each time being negative. On a more recent test he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism- (i think that is what it is called) ie his thyroid glands are not producing enough hormone. He has been put on a thyroid treatment. Apparently his symptoms are very similar to what appears to be Vestibular disease. ie not being able to stand firm on hard surfaces, falling to the side, tilting head (slightly) struggling to walk, refusing to tackle stairs, off balance, Lethargic etc. He also now wets himself in his sleep which wakes him up and he starts whimpering. He has been on the thyroid treatment for some 5 weeks now and is not as Lethargic- but still off balance. I am told that the treatment takes time to adjust the hormones and for a more complete recovery. The problem is, just when he was looking a little better, yesterday I took him to the vet and whilst at the vet he started circling to his right- round & round & round- insisting on going right. I was unable to distract him at the vets but have been able to distract him from it at home. However now and again when he stresses a little he tends to want to go round and right. He is also sensitive to touch – ie can’t pick him up and this morning is unable to stand on his own (so far).
I have spent thousands of dollars on tests, which all started with a skin condition and ear infection. The last treatment was a recommendation to desex him on the basis that his problems may be hormonal, which I did, and which resulted in him becoming lethargic. Then there were more tests and finally the thyroid diagnosis. As I said, he is now on that treatment, but thousands of $ and almost 11 months later, he is not better off and is actually worse off than when we started and now walking in circles. I am hoping that with time the Thyroid treatment is the right way to go but also wonder whether the numerous treatments and antibiotics and steriods and blood tests and other tests actually do more harm than good!
Anyhow, there is no doubt that his thyroid levels were low and that this causes the same symptoms you described. Perhaps start by checking that (blood test) rather than put your poor dog through the merry-go-round of tests and medication that my dog has been through with little result.
JULIE
My 5 year old Yorkie (4.5 lbs), Molly, became very unbalanced and shaky about 6 days ago. On the third day, I took her to the vet due to the fact that she was falling over and had little stability. She had no head tilt or rapid eye movement, but occasionally shook her head while walking. Noticed that symptoms became worse when waking up from sleep, became excited or slightly startled. I took her to the vet last Friday and they thought she had a case of vestibular or encephalitis. She was remitted to the only canine neurologist in town who performed an MRI and Spinal Tap the next day to confirm diagnosis. Results all came back negative, and she was semi-diagnosed with Shaker Syndrome and sent home with a Rx for steroids for about 6 weeks as a trial. She’s on day 3 of the med and I see little to no improvement. I’m frustrated because no one really knows what is going on. I’ve read numerous possibilities online, but many things fit. Not sure what else to do…
Lourdes
Hi Lourdes,
My dog has vestibular disease. She is 15 and has had 2 episodes about a year apart (2nd one I knew what was happening and wasn’t as bad for her either). First one was awful as I didn’t know what was happening. Carried her (she weighs 40 lbs) into vet’s office. Wanted to eat but had no tongue control. They did feed her by syringe as she was very willing to eat — and hungry. She stayed week. Came home & was wobbly. She is still not really back to normal dog and this was 4 years ago. My vet’s wife is a veterinary neurologist and she watched her balance, twitching eyes, and other symptoms so I’m confident with diagnosis. She still has slight head tilt (it’s kinda cute), legs spread apart on non-carpeted areas (I take bath rug for her on vet visits), and weakness in back legs. I’m very careful to hold her harness securely when she goes potty to take pressure off back legs. Several times she has tried to pull in different direction on walks & suddenly she’ll fall over & cry out. Never passes out. I make her stay still for couple minutes & then she gets up as tho nothing happened. Usually she’s ready to go inside & eat. I just try to make her bed as soft and comfy as possible. We go on many short walks to keep her legs more agile. I also think she has arthritis. Just wanted you to know that your dog can live with this disease and thrive. Mine has. There is no cure, just time makes it better. Everyone/everything has limitations —– it’s how we accept and deal with them that matters.
Best of luck and God bless,
Carole
If anyone can answer this asap it will help much.
My 7-8 year old male chiuahua, terrier mix cant sleep at all tonight. I figured he had a ear infection a couple of days ago due to the smell + puss. (cleaned it out). But today, it just seems like he cant sit still, since morning he has been moving around all day and still is and its nearly 2am. when he lays down he immediately gets right back up and goes to another spot to lay down. At times he lays down with his eyes open for about 10 minutes and his ears are up. I know he wants to sleep and it hurts me so bad knowing something bothering him. If any tips/help will be much appreciated. I just cant sleep knowing he cant sleep.
I have a chocolate lab thats turning 9in a week. My dad took him hunting one day like normal but this time the dog started shaking and wouldnt walk anywhere. after my dad got him in the truck he called the vet and the vet said to give him pancake syurp to help out our dog, and it worked! he sat up and acted like everything was ok…things were fine but then got one day we got up and our dog was acting lost in our own home acting like what is described “Canine Vestibular Disease”, but we have took him to the vet and they said nothing was different in the bloodwork, and that his ears are really clean…so if its not Canine Vestibular Disease what could it be???
I have a 13 year old Cockapoo and I think he’s suffering from this CVD. This morning when we woke up I found he had thrown up twice throughout the night. It didn’t look like his food had digested at all, despite having been fed mid-day yesterday. I had to carry him downstairs and into the backyard as his movements were extremely jerky and he seemed unbalanced. This has not subsided in the past 2 hours.
He has been experiencing back leg weakness for almost a year now, which I’ve previously attributed to old age. After exercise his back legs also shake a lot. He’s been deaf for about a year too, another symptom of old age I thought. Does anyone know how quickly or slowly CVD sets in?
He doesn’t shake his head and I’m not sure I’ve noticed a tilt but he seems very disoriented and sort of drifts as he walks. He’s drooling a bit, which he’s never done before. He has no interest in food, which is odd because I cook good food for him every day. He doesn’t seem to be in pain and he’s lying down peacefully right now. I wonder if I should took him to the emergency vet or wait to see my own vet tomorrow. It’s a holiday here in Canada and I hate the thought of leaving him tomorrow when I go to work.
One other thing, he’s been on the anti-anxiety pill Clomipramine since last summer and I wonder if his symptoms are side-effects. I think I’m going to take him off these meds anyways… As you all know this experience is extremely upsetting. I’m happy to have stumbled across a page like this. Thanks for your thoughts.
My dog is 14 years old and had had some issues with falling. She fell down the steps one day and we think she might have fallen other times. We took her to the vet and the xrays showed some signs of arthritis on her back. We then took her to a rehabilitation center for animals and she went in the underwater treadmill. This was a tremendous help since it helped to build muscle and support her core. I also give her Acti-Flex for her joints and New Chapter Bone Strength supplements for her bones. We walk her and we were advised to make cavalette hurdles for her to walk over. They are made with pvc pipes and are easy to make.
We had her checked for an ear infection and the vet said that she did not have an infection because there was no odor. I did some research and it said that their isn’ t always an odor. She’s had an infection in her nose now. We brush her teeth and massage her gums. We have to have her teeth checked more thoroughly. My advice is to have your dog checked and ask them to check everything. Our dog has some cataracts too so a combination of arthritis, poor eyesight which causes poor depth perception and weak muscles and bones cause falls. My dog spent a lot of time alone and I think she was depressed and lonely…so we started to play with her more and take her on more walks and this helped. She needed some stimulation for her brain and she’s much better now.
I hope your dog is doing better. Our dog was disoriented too and she tilted her head but she doesn’t do that anymore. I’ll keep your dog in my prayers.
I’m happy to report that my cockapoo is doing much better since his episode on Monday morning. By Monday evening he was eating (a very small amount) and did not seem so dizzy and unbalanced. I spoke to my vet on the phone yesterday and he confirmed that he thinks it’s CVD. He said many dogs recover within just a couple days, and that seems to be the case for us. Doughal ate 2 meals yesterday and was tearing around the house when I got home from work – he must be feeling better! I’m still monitoring him and I’ll bring him to the vet for a check-up to be on the safe side. I agree with Nancy that our older dogs need more exercise and stimulation. I am guilty of not providing enough of this. I feel lucky that my dog is still quite healthy into his teens but I shouldn’t take it for granted! More walks from now on.
My one concern is that he’ll have more of these episodes. What are other people’s experiences? Is CVD reoccurring?
My miniature doberman and Bouvier got into a fight. After we broke them apart, the doberman had the above symptoms i.e. Head tilted back, falling over and not being able to walk, every now and then he would jerk his shoulders back, seemed disorientated and he was also dribbling incessently. He did not have any marks on him. He died a couple of hours later (before we could get him to a vet). Can anyone give me an idea of what caused his death?
I came home yesterday after running errands and our dog, Katie, looked confused and disoriented. She started walking in circles and couldn’t walk straight without falling. Katie is a yorkie mix and is/was almost 18 years old. My husband and I thought she had a stroke and took her to the emergency clinic. The vet said that stokes were rare in dogs and he thought she had a seizure secondary to a brain tumor. Because of her age, hearing loss, and blindness, he thought it was time for us to say “good-bye.” We had her put to sleep and now I am wondering if we did the wrong thing. If she actually had CVD, she might have recovered. She’s only been gone for about 30 hours and I didn’t realize how heartbreaking it would be to lose her.
So sorry to hear about your loss Wendy. Your dog is at peace now. It must have been very frustrating for her to be blind, have hearing loss and to be so fragile. It doesn’t sound like it was safe to leave your dog home alone since anything could happen, but it can’t be helped, even though you might have had her in a crate or a safe area, The sad part about having animals live such a long life is that they can’t tell us what hurts or whether they fell while we were out. Katie was loved very much and she’ll always be in your hearts.
Thanks, Nancy. You are right- Katie is at peace now. When I found her and realized something had happened, I held her in my arms until my husband came home and then held her all the way to the emergency clinic. She has not been affectionate and hasn’t wanted to be petted for the last year or so. Allowing me to hold her for that long was her final gift. Thanks for your sensitivity and kind message.
Wendy,
I am experiencing the same feelings that you are right now. We had our 13 year old shephard/husky mix put to sleep this past Friday morning. When we woke up she was vomiting, drooling (she always drooled but this time was different) head tilted and leaning to the right. We made the decision to not put her through tests and observation at the hospital because she had extreme anxiety when whe was away from home and because she had hip displasia and was already slow and unsteady in her gait.
It has been tearing me apart wondering if we did the right thing. I’ve asked myself a hundred times if we should have at least given it a try to see if she would improve. But then I have to answer honestly “improve to what state”? She was already in declining health and had lived a good, long life. I have to make myself trust my first instinct, which was to not put her through any frustration and anxiety. I think we second guess ourselves because the pain of our loved one being gone is almost unbearable and we wonder if we could have avoided. My husband says that what we did was the most unselfish and the most loving.
Hang in there Wendy. Trust your first instinct. I am working hard on doing the same.
Hi Susan,
This is the third day without my baby and I feel sure that we made the right decision. Like your dog, Katie, was in declining health. My husband is saying the same thing that your husband said. I miss her like the dickens, but I know in my heart of hearts that it was the best thing for her. I will pray that God will give us both peace and comfort during this healing period.
Wendy,
Your prayers must be working because I do feel better today. I had a profound dream right before I woke up this morning. In my dream our precious dog, Cheli (pronounced Shelly) was young and healthy and was able to jump up and run around. I had never seen her like this because she was my “step-dog” and I only knew her for the past 3 years and her hip dysplasia and arthritis was already then very apparent. In my dream I said to her “so THIS is what you used to look like”. It was awesome to see her like my husband had seen her years ago. The dream was a little miracle.
Susan
How wonderful! That dream was a gift – seeing Cheli as she was when she was young and healthy. I know that our pets go to heaven. Years ago when I would walk Katie, a friend of mine would be walking toward us and she would comment that Katie smiled at her. Multiple times, Crystal would be so delighted because Katie smiled at her. I had never seen Katie smile so to be honest, I thought Crystal was imagining things. Then one day I came home from work (Katie always greeted me at the door) and she smiled at ME. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen!
Over the years Katie smiled at me many times – never on command though, which Crystal said was a good thing because when she did smile it was sincere. Anyway, when I was saying “good-bye” to Katie, I told her to look for Crystal (Crystal died about 6 years ago of brain aneurysm) because I know Crystal will take love on her and care for her until I get to heaven.
Will continue to pray.
Wendy
I have a 17 year old purebred shoberweiller(shephard, doberman, rotty mix):).
For unknown reasons, he began displaying these symtoms.
1. head tilt to the right
2. Vomiting
3 Weakness
4. Horizontal eye nystagmus
5. Disoriented
6 Loss of appetite
As a doctor of chiropractic who has treated many dogs for the past several decades, I realized after my examination and after reviewing his symptoms that he had idiopathic vestibular disease. It is commonly misdiagnosed by many vets as a stroke.
I gave him 500mg of the antibiotic cephalexin. On the 3rd day, he would drink a small amount of water but still would not eat. A dog can live for a long time on water so I knew he was not in danger unless he stopped drinking water. On the 4rth day, I was able to hand feed him small pieces of chicken but he would still not eat meat. One day later, he would eat small pieces of meat.
On the 5th day, he was eating like a wild wolf and his symptoms were 50% improved. Now, one week after his initial symptoms began he is 100% better and can hike and swim normally.
He lost 6 pounds in the process but he was about 6 pounds overweight when his symptoms first began anyways. If you need any help in the diagnosis of your pet, shoot me an email.
Dr. Dan Batchelor
President of Dog Hikers of Georgia
Batchelor Chiropractic
270 South Atlanta st
Roswell Georgia 30075
DrBatch@aol.com
Just got back from the 24hrs emergency vet hospital my 14 year old mutt has been diagnosed with vestibular decease
never thought I was gonna go through this, wasn’t even aware of the disease until I googled her symptoms, she should recuperate fast, don’t have to hand feeder :/ im just hoping for time to pass by fast, will have patients with her though I’ve always had, im just sad 
poor baby can’t do her regular routine by herself, I hope not to go through this with her daughter, she’s 11 years old
Awwww! All the best! I’m going through similar with my lttle girl Booboo! (Just posted below). It is a very worrying time. x
Is it possible to be diagnosed with a vestibular problem as a puppy. I have a 9 month old rottweiler puppy that 5 days ago my husband found collapsed outside, foaming at mouth, drooling like crazy and couldn’t get up. Took to emergency ER- blood work normal. Took to our regular vet for the past 4 days. The vet has been giving him IV, steriods, antibiotics. 5 days later, my puppy can’t get up. If yu stand him up, his legs stiffen up and we did notice his head tilted to the left. When lying down, he can lift his head sometimes and he will move a hind leg sometimes if you rub behind his ear. There has been a few times tonight (this is our first night having him home) that we saw his head shake side to side. Also, he would straighten/strech his back legs out and lift his head and neck up, almost if having some kind of episode.
Our vet doesn’t know what happened. He says stroke/possibly heat stroke. We have brought him home to see if he makes any improvements. What do you think? We are waiting and praying for improvement! Any input is appreciated.
My female liver and white Springer Spaniel, Booboo, aged approximately 10 years old and I went for a walk on Saturday. It turned out to be a longer walk than I planned as we got lost! On the latter part of the walk I noticed her back right leg seemed to be weak and she toppled over at one point. We were in the middle of no-where and I was really worried! We made it back to my van and by the time we got home, I had to lift her into my van as she couldn’t do it on her own, bless her. I lifted her out of the van when we got back home. She couldn’t walk at all, staggering and her back legs could not support her at all, eyes looking very vacant, starey, like she couldn’t see me properly. I carried her in, where she had a good drink and a big bowl of food. She continued to stagger around, looking vacant and I was so worried I called the out of hours vet at around 7pm. I couldn’t afford to take her there as it was £130 just for her to be seen, so it was suggested I kept an eye on her. If she started vomiting or having diarreoah a lot or collapsing to take her to the emergency vet asap. She was OK, she slept through the night. The next morning, extremely unsteady on her legs, wobbly gait, like she was drunk, let her out for a wee, which she did and a normal poo. Later that day, where she was so disorientated, she was sick and had loose poo. She wouldn’t drink, only a very small amount out of my hand and didn’t want to eat. I was advised to take her my regular vet on Monday, where she had an injection, I think it was an anti-inflammitory and antibiotic? The vet said it would last about 14 days. This seems to have helped. He said “I think she’s had a little stroke” I said, “Do you not think it’s Vestibular Disease?” He said, he thought it was a stroke due to the head tilt, but it didn’t matter so much what one it was, as the treatment would be the same! It’s Wednesday now, and she hasn’t been sick since last time, still has slightly wobbly eyes, but is walking so much better now. And she had a normal poo! She wants to walk normally and when she sniffed the ground and turned quickly, she fell over! Awww!! She’s much more like her normal self. We walk a little further, but not too far. She ate some normal food this morning, out of my hand!! Won’t eat out of her bowl yet!! Strange!! She only drank out of her bowl last night when I put some of her chub in it and added water!! She’s asleep now and I take her in the garden for a wee wee every 2 hoursish or before if she wants, but so far she seems happy with that! It has been a very scarey experience (for both of us!), but I think we are turning a corner. Slowly, slowly.
It seems my Booboo is pretty much back to her “normal ” self apart from a slight head tilt and slight disorientation when she turns quickly! I can’t express how happy I am…I’m sure she is so much happier too, bless her! =)
my dog just turned two thursday and i woke up this morning to her not being able to walk straight and she cant see she has an appointment at the vet at 2 but i dont know how a perfectly healthy dog can wake up in the morning and not be able to see or walk i love her so much and i dont know what else to do please help
Awwwww…Yes, that must have been a terrible shock to you. I hope the vet has found out what caused your poor dogs blindness and inability to walk and you have been given some medication for her? I hope she is alright? My thoughts are with you, it is such a worrying time when they are poorly. Best wishes and a quick recovery too.
hi
my dog is ten years old, and is blind, and has diabeties.
he has had this for the last 2 years, and has coped very well with it, but in the last 2 weeks he has started to become disorintated and confused about where he is, he has started to tilt his head to one side, and walks side ways
Hello all,
My thoughts are with all of you and your babies.
Our dog DJ is a 15 yr old border collie, springer spaniel mix. She is recovering from vestibular disease.She has had it now since Aug 1. Her head is still cocked to one side. She still has trouble focusing. We had to hand feed her for the first week. When a dog eats they throw their food into their mouth and she had a hard time. We held the water bowl up to her so she could see it. We have to hold her collar while she goes off the deck to do her duties. At first we took a beach towel and put it around her belly to help guide her to walk. Pulling it up alittle so she didn’t fall down as she walked. She is very dehydrated and pants like crazy until she lays down. She also has alot of fatty tumors one in the throat area. We have a bowl of water everywhere with fresh water and she drinks like a fish. Her coat used to be soft and shiney and now it’s dry and her skin flakes badly. She has to be right with us and touching us at all times.
Any ideas as to helping the dehydration problem?
The vet gave her a shot and it didn’t seem to help.
It’s so sad, that we know she is telling us something and we can’t understand what she wants. We just hang in there for her.
Good Luck to all of you. They’re so human aren’t they?
^ ^
>”<
My dog started acting the same way about 30mins ago. She’s 10 years old. I’ve been searching everywhere for answers and i can’t get a hold of a vet right now because it is 1:00am. I’m going to wake up and see if she is still the same and if so I’m going to take her to the vet. Thank you to everyone for leaving such helpful comments. I will let you know how it goes.
All the best with your dog Ric…I understand it is such a really stressful and worrying time for you (and your dog). I hope the vet can help and she improves really soon. Best wishes, Gill.
I’m heading to the vets in a couple of hours. After looking online for hours and hours… it really sounds like Geriatric Vestibular Disease… now if it’s Central or Peripheral Geriatric Vestibular… i don’t know. She isn’t sick and she is eating, but her footing is still way off and her head isn’t too much off to the side. She always turns to her left though and she can’t “Shake” paws right now.. she always would do that. I will be sure to write back when i find out more and thank you for replying Gill that means a lot to me right now.
Well they said it was “Vestibular syndrome” similar to a stroke. The good thing is that a lot of dogs that have that tend to show improvement with in 3day or up to 3 weeks. So they gave her a Steroid shot to help with the process. So now it’s just a waiting game to see if she gets better, worse, or the same. She is able to got to the bathroom without falling or me having to hold her up, but my big worry is that it might be a stroke instead, because it’s that her Left Side legs/side are the big problem. When she’s walking she sometimes can’t lift her paw, like limp wrist. To make it worse my neighbor just had to put her dog down because her dog couldn’t walk because her paws were too limp wristed… and the vet did seem interested/concerned with that issue. Plus i didn’t see anyone mention having limp paws when talking about their dogs symptoms of a Vestibular disease, But time will tell and i will be sure to write back to let you know her progress. I’m glad i found this page.. thank you all !!!!
Well she starting to compensate for her gimpy right side and she isn’t stumbling into things that much anymore. So things are looking up so far.
Hey Ric!
I’m so happy for you that your little girl seems to be improving! I really did think I was losing my Booboo! The injection the vet gave her, made her eat like a horse!! Even cat poo I’m afraid, but, things eventually were great!! When she got over her “stroke” thingy, it seems that she may have lost a bit of sight in her left eye…but nothing too bad! Her Arthritis was a problem after the “episode”, but now, touch wood, seems to be improving too! They’ve given her some pain relief too, Tramadol…2 a day, but we seem to manage with just one tablet and the Metacam! I wish your dog a speedy recovery, like my Boo had. Every minute with them is sooo precious isn’t it! Best wishes, Gill. =)
Hi, this is my first time having a dog, I saw a dog one morning outside my office, it was raining badly, and there’s this little puppy came out from nowhere, wet and shaking. I decided to took her home, she was just a month old. I send her to the vet and gave her vaccines. she recieved 2 shots for a month and I was supposed to send her back for the 3rd shot but I was assigned in other provinces, for a month, I left her at my friends house. when I came back, after a week she had a seizure.
it started around 3:00 P.M, she was shaking,and salivating. I panicked, I surf the internet for some info’s. so I followed it. then I observed her, but it was 4:00PM already and she still shaking. I called up the vet and he said observe first. then 5:00PM came, she still shaking, I rushed to the vet and he said, there’s no more solution for my dg, I’ll just have to wait till she die.
I was surprised, he said there’s a virus in her brain, because I forgot to send her back for her 3rd shot. and my dog had a weak antibodies.
we went home, and untill this morning she still shaking, she cannot stand, she tries but she just can’t, she can’t open her mouth, everytime she tries to stand she fall down and eventually hit her head on the floor, that’s why I keep watch on her all the time, and it’s just break my heart watching her like this and knowing that she will die soon.
I just don’t know what to do, sometimes I would rather see her put to sleep and end her life than seeing her shaking, trying her best to stand, she just love to play, but now?, It’s just break my heart.
I don’t know how to revive her.
My baby had his annual DA2P-PV shot. Within days, his demeanor became VERY lethargic, panting and walking around the block took its toll. He started eating grass when ever he could. He wasn’t interested in eating any dog food or drinking water.
The first VET visit was a prescription for ProGut.
The second VET visit; four days later, his mannerism progressively became worse. This visit to VET consisted of a series of blood tests, urinalysis, pancreatic, then an over night stay, IV and pain meds. He seemed to have more energy for a day, but didn’t last.
The third VET visit; three days later consisted of a series of blood tests, XRAYS, Metacam and Subcutaneous IV. Vet said everything was normal with blood work.
The fourth VET visit; two days later consisted of more XRAYS and observation. By now, when my dog tries to walk, his back little legs are barely moving and he weaves. VET prescribed Tramodol HCL chews and told me to kennel the dog as much as possible. Wait for 3 days and let them know. There was nothing more they can do and could find nothing wrong. They are now saying that I may have to take him to get an MRI and scan at specialist.
Watching your baby deteriorating breaks your heart. I sit in a room where the kennel resides, working on the computer, sleep on the floor beside him and worry all day at work. Don’t you wish they could talk and let you know what wrong…
Just 3 days ago our dog started throwing up after I heard him drinking
Alot of water. He is tilting his head and can’t seem to stand well but he is till
Going p and down the stairs. The thing that is ward is that I got a cat from my
Moms house and he was acting the same way. Does this happen to cats to?
Bubba is an 11 year old jack/Italian greyhound mix. We are his 6th home, though we have had himfor 5 years now. He has cataracts in both eyes which have stopped him from jumping and swimming and he has always been a bit shaky.
Recently, he seems confused. He’s pacing, restless (ESP at night), standing in corners, staring at walls and barking at them. He looks drunk when he walks (worse tonight) and he twitches and jerks. His back legs are never at full extension. He also falls a lot. He has never had a seizure (to my knowledge). He sleeps most of the day and likes to continuously lick his forearms. Anyone?
The same happened to my sister’s dog, she was so upset… It’s hard to see them suffering and having disorder, they are just part of the family!
Hi there everyone! My pup is about 4-5months old. Weather shes standing or sitting, whenever she looks up at me she starts to fall to the side like shes dizzy? Or like her front legs would give out on her when were having our daily play in the yard? To get her to stop going wonky i have to get to her level? Is this some of the symptoms for the disease?
my dog Bama is 8 months old and it sounds a lot like he has cvd. we took him to vet and they said he had ear mites I am currently given him antibiotics and the vet cleaned out his ears. However its been a week and there was an improvement until this past friday it has worsened. This is my baby and I am so scared I will have to put him down. He is having problems standing and walking and everytime he does he falls down. What should I do I dont want to put him down this is my child ( i have no kids and i am 25).
Always check the internet before putting your dog down. Luckily, I wanted my kids to say good-bye to our dog and chose not do anything. I got home and began looking up the disease. After reading about all the good news, I waited and…..he got better! There was a lot of nursing and crying and not eating, but he has really pulled himself out of it. Read!!!!!!
We have a PVGB about 7 years old. He was fine on Friday and on Saturday we woke up to find him just staring at the wall, head tilted and eyes glossed over with no focus. He would not look up at us when we called his name Henry. We had to put him on a leash to take him outside and guide him along.He was walking in circles to one side. We took to our vet and she immediately diagnosed canine vestibular disease. Our story is a little different than most on this thread, our dog was mistreated at the groomer about 1 week before he started acting funny. The groomer either dropped him or struck him as his eye was swollen and red when we picked him up from the groomer. We took him right to the vet and she prescribed antibiotics and eye drops. He was ok for about 5 days and then started with the tilted head and circle walking. We were lucky to find this site and I read every comment which is why I am writing. Henry got worse the next day and we had to walk him outside with a towel around his waist to hold him up. We fed him soft dog food with our hands and used an eyedropper to put water in his mouth. The vet prescribed a steroid and anti nausea medication. The next day he seemed a little more alert and we saw a slight improvement. The following days he got better and in about 5 days he was almost back to normal. We share this story for anyone going through this to be patient and caring and get your pet to the vet asap. We have never heard of canine vestibular disease and if diagnosed correctly could save you a lot of time and money with misdiagnosis or worse, putting your poor pet down thinking they had a serious heart attack or stroke. Thanks to everyone who took the time to tell their story as it saved our sanity during a very trying time.
Hi, my 9 yr old shih tzu never ill before came down with CVD on new years day 2012, he seemed to recover well he was at the vets within 1 hour of first systmoms. but yesterday he got bad again a couple of days after medication, back at vet tonight stronger antibiotics and steroid injections going back tomorrow night with him. I am so stressed over it, it is not a brain tumour for sure but i really hope he recovers, vet said it is a good sign that he is still eating and wanting to play he does not have the eye movment this time which is also a good sign. What i need to know is how long can it take for this to clear can it take months, i do not mind if it does just want to know.
I have another shih tzu also but he does not have it. they are both my babies
Thanks, I have recently been looking for info about this subject matter for ages and yours is the best I have located so far.
My Miniature Schnauzer has had a similar symptom where he was disoriented and falling off of the steps leading up to our living room. It started when he began bobbing his head up and down uncontrollably and couldn’t stop. He did respond to his name even with the bobbing and such. But, when we let him near the other dogs he snapped at them and growled, an unusual characteristic for him. Even after the weird bobbing he still looks at me like i am a stranger. Any help on the subject would be greatly appreciated, please e-mail me at rwelch0213@hotmail.com . Thank you again.
hi,
my dog having a same problem he is 12 yrs old. please help me in this regard what should i do.