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Old July 2nd, 2009, 03:49 PM
rickerho rickerho is offline
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Dog seems to have vertigo poor coordination

Hi, has anyone ever experienced this with an older dog. 11 yr. old lab stumbles and has trouble with coordination of it's paws sometimes. First noticed a month ago and seems to be getting worse. Vet figured it was a form of vertigo. Any ideas?

Thanks
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Old July 2nd, 2009, 03:56 PM
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diandpat diandpat is offline
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Hi and welcome to the Board.

Sorry to hear your buddy is not himself lately and am happy you have brought him to the vet. Unfortunately, the diagnosis seems a little vague :sad:

Does he walk like a little drunk? Does he have a pronounced head tilt? These are both signs of vestibular disease, usually but not exclusively found in older dogs?

Did the vet recommend any treatment? Prescribe any drugs? Schedule a follow up?

Hopefully you have safeguarded the environment during this time so that your dog can not fall and hurt himself, especially if you are not home.

Sorry I can't be or more help but the post is a little vague.
for a speedy recovery (and pictures are always required...they won't help us answer but we all just like to look )
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  #3  
Old July 3rd, 2009, 07:44 AM
vabird vabird is offline
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If this has been going on for a month and is progressing, I would bring your dog to a neurologist.
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Old July 3rd, 2009, 08:04 AM
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mastifflover mastifflover is offline
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did he check for inner ear infection? that can really screw up balance
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Old July 3rd, 2009, 03:01 PM
ScottieDog ScottieDog is offline
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Please consider getting him rechecked by the vet or ask for a referral to a vet specialist. We are in the midst of a vestibular disease episode with my 14-year-old. In his case, it came on as quickly as turning on a light switch. Idiopathic vestibular disease typically resolves itself in 3 days to 3 weeks. My dog is coming around after 4 days. Are you seeing any eye jerking in your dog? Head tilting? Does your dog have a history of ear infections? A severe ear infection can throw off the balance.

I am attaching a few links for information that I've found helpful over the last few days.

http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/vestibular.html
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...r_disease.html
http://lassiegethelp.blogspot.com/20...-light-on.html

Sending you and your doggie all my best as you face this--it is scary.
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Old July 12th, 2009, 03:20 PM
TracieB TracieB is offline
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My 8 year old brussels griffon has had this for over a year. Most everything you read says it clears up in a few days to a few weeks, but not always. About a year before this started she had an ear infection that would not clear up, so the vet finally put her on a six week treatment of oral and liquid ear antibiotics along with prednisone. Her ears finally healed, but after reading about vestibular disease I think the liquid ear flush mixed with the antibiotics probably caused it, so I would caution anyone about putting drops in ears for an extended length of time.
At least once a day, sometimes more her eyes shake and move slowly to one side and then jerk back to the center over and over. During this time she is unbalanced and disoriented and occasionally vomits. Just hoping someone here knows of a treatment I'm not aware of.

Thanks
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  #7  
Old July 17th, 2009, 10:58 AM
zztopp zztopp is offline
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Lightbulb

Quote:
Originally Posted by TracieB View Post
At least once a day, sometimes more her eyes shake and move slowly to one side and then jerk back to the center over and over.
What your dog is experiencing is probably a nystagmus ... I know this, because I have an oddball nystagmus myself that has stumped many specialists over the years Its annoying and disorienting, but can be the key to diagnosing what is causing the nystagmus. That is, assuming that nystagmus' are similar in canines, as in humans ... and assuming its not one of those rare cases like me :S

I can't suggest enough; get a second opinion or better yet, go to a specialist!! There are many branches of why a dog could be dizzy and it depends on so many factors ... does the dog act like the world is spinning, tilting or is the scenery stationary and just the animal itself is dizzy ... its complicated to say the least!

I would highly suggest "baby-proofing" surfaces in your home ... furniture with sharp-ish corners, etc because I've hit more than one corner on a coffee table we used to have and it huuuurts!

Good luck everyone and hugs to your dizzy pooches
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