Vestibular Syndrome - does your dog have this? (labs, golden retriever, poop)
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I have an old gal (about age 15) who has been diagnosed with Vestibular Syndrome. I had thought she had a stroke but the vet sad no. Her symptoms are that she circles and circles in one small place, she walks around sideways and crashes into things, now she is collapsing on her hind legs (she has a delicate build) and it's hard to walk her. She is not "sickly" so I don't want to put her down. She's bright eyed and loves attention and eats well. At her age I'm not going for the pricey tests, anyway the vet says many dogs get this when they're older and there's nothing to be done about it. Just wondering who else is dealing with this difficult situation.
My Fiona had symptoms of the vestibular thing going on but declined rapidly and became paralized. At first the vet gave her some anti dizzy drug that seemed to help her a little with the dizzyness. Best of luck
My old girl Mia, age 13 1/2, Golden Retriever was diagnosed with this. It progressively got worse....and am sorry to say she passed within 6 months of her first diagnosis. She started out with a slight mis-step...and I thought she slipped and fell...It became worse...not able to use her back legs...I won't go into full details. Best of luck to you and your girl. Hug her for me!
My old girl Mia, age 13 1/2, Golden Retriever was diagnosed with this. It progressively got worse....and am sorry to say she passed within 6 months of her first diagnosis. She started out with a slight mis-step...and I thought she slipped and fell...It became worse...not able to use her back legs...I won't go into full details. Best of luck to you and your girl. Hug her for me!
Thanks MotleyCrew and ShelbyGirl. I am wondering if anything can help alleviate the symptoms, something that is not invasive treatment, she is too old for that. The hard part is knowing when to put her down. She does not seem "sickly," just staggering about all the time and losing the support of her hind legs. I wonder what causes this. She does not have an ear infection.
Vestibular syndrome often improves with time, especially if it is the first instance of it in the dog. Subsequent instances can be harder and harder to recover from. I've had four Goldens get it as they aged - one had three separate occurrences - and generally within ten days the symptoms lessen greatly to where it's hardly noticeable (one dog had a slight permanent head tilt). Something like Dramamine can help with the dizziness, prednisone to help with any inflammation, but time seems to be the key element. If no improvement is seen in about ten days, then you may need to discuss things again with the vet...my experience is that IF they are going to recover, you will see improvement within that time frame. Good luck !
Many dogs have a full recovery from this condition in a week or two. Some will have a head tilt that does not go away. One of my senior black labs had a good recovery in about 10 days. I did have to help him walk since the nystagmus was strong in his case. Over the counter meds for motion sickness (dramamine) is what my vet had me give him. Had to hand feed him, bringing small amounts of canned food right up to his mouth since he could not find the food for the first couple of days.
I wish more vets would mention the possibility of this cropping up in older dogs since it scared the living poop out of me, thinking he was having a stroke.
Hope your baby has a full recovery and lots more good time with you.
We haven't had a dog with it yet, but we did have a cat that had it. For some reason it occurs most often in the summertime but they don't know what causes it in most instances. Sometimes it is an underlying condition but the most common treatment is anti-nausea medication, only feeding soft canned foods with extra broth for hydration and sometimes using a syringe to make sure your dog is staying hydrated. In bad cases, they may need to give a Saline IV. I found that the anti-nausea medication added to the success of the condition subsiding. It makes the animals more thirsty and hungry which is a plus. So, that is why I always added water or broth to the canned food. It is a pitiful condition and certainly does a good job of making you feel helpless but within two weeks, the condition has subsided in our cat. But, we had friends that had a dog with the condition that had it go away within days of being put on the anti-nausea medication. He does have a slight tilt to the head which apparently happens often but it is still a huge improvement.
The anti nausea and dizzy drugs helped Fiona for the first day, but we suspect she had Wobbler's Syndrome which is found in some of the larger breeds. She did not recover, only slipped into paralysis and had never gotten up after the first signs of illness. She was only 5 and we are still in shock. Apparently the accute form of this hits them between the ages of 5 and 7.
The anti nausea and dizzy drugs helped Fiona for the first day, but we suspect she had Wobbler's Syndrome which is found in some of the larger breeds. She did not recover, only slipped into paralysis and had never gotten up after the first signs of illness. She was only 5 and we are still in shock. Apparently the accute form of this hits them between the ages of 5 and 7.
How very sad At least, my girl had lived her life and I am forever grateful for that. She did appear to improve after the first week....and she continued having a great attitude and healthy appetite. But then, she just went down hill quickly....and at some point refused all food. I was cooking for her and she was turning down steak!
To the OP...IF the time comes, she will let you know when it is time. Mia let me know when it was time to let her go..
So sorry you're dealing with this. Here's a link to a search for Vestibular here at City Data in the dog forum.
My dog hasn't shown any of signs of this since Halloween 2008. I decided to keep some predisone on hand just in case it happens after hours or on weekends. She responded well to that in the two times she showed symptoms.
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At least, my girl had lived her life and I am forever grateful for that. She did appear to improve after the first week....and she continued having a great attitude and healthy appetite. But then, she just went down hill quickly....and at some point refused all food. I was cooking for her and she was turning down steak! 
