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Has anyone here had a dog that had peripherial vestibular syndrome?
About two weeks ago I had my mini schnauzer groomed. The groomer told me he excessive wax in his ears. Labor day I had to take him to a canine ER and he was diagnosed with PVS. He is showing some improvement a few days later. I wanted to hear from anyone who has had any experience with this syndrome.
Thanks,
Don
My sister's dog had it some years ago, our hometown vet thoroughly examined the ears and what-not and diagnosed it. He was fine, just acted dizzy once in a while. Did your dog act drunk, or look like he was having a stroke or something?
Your vet should examine the ears & canal most thorougly to rule out ear mites & inner infection (symptoms are similar.)
<<<Even when dogs do not recover fully from peripheral vestibular syndrome they normally have a good life. They adjust to residual problems like head tilts and do not seem all that bothered by them. If progress towards recovery is not evident, then the other disorders mentioned above need to be considered. >>>
Travel'r
Thanks for the reply. Yes, he staggered, lost his balance, and much of his motor control. It is almost funny until I realized he was having difficutlly drinking water. I have been hand feeding and watering him. He is slowly regaining control. ER vet definitly said it was vestibular syndrome. She told me he should recover in about 2-3 weeks. I am very glad that there are 24/7 animal hospitals available.
Don
My 6 year old Dachshund/Toy Poodle mix was treated for this this morning at the pet E.R. I rushed her there at 5:45 this morning after I awoke to her head jerking and fidgeting in bed. I turned on the light and saw her head reapeatedly jerking to the left and her eyes looked like they were going to jump out of their sockets they were so twitchy. When she walked she walked as if she were drunk and kept bonking her head into things.
After the vet gave her a shot of Prednisone, and gave me meds for her to fight off infection and motion sickness, she seemed fine. Three hours later, you'd never have known anything was wrong with her. She has been able to drink water on her own but hasn't shown much interest in food yet. I think she'll eat when I get home from work tonight. My dad rushed up (two hour drive) to be with her while I'm at work. I have a major deadline a week from today and can't miss work.
I'm optimistic that she'll be okay. But while I was watching her twitch and struggle, I wasn't so sure. I was tyring to remain strong but inside I was just falling apart. The Pet ER is the same place I euthanized my previous dog 6 years ago and it flashed back in my mind while I was there.
My older lab mix had vestibular syndrome this past summer. My vet says it's a geriatric, warm weather disease. She had it for about 3 weeks. I know this is weeks later, but did you give your dog dramamine? That is what the vets told me to do. It helps with nausea. It was pretty scary and I didn't think she'd recover, but she has recovered, although as I said, it took about 3 weeks. She had had it the summer before, but it only lasted a day. So I expect that she will have it next summer as well, unfortunately.
My (late) 12-year-old Shepherd mix had Vestibular syndrome (not peripheral, if that matters). The vet says it's a common syndrome in older dogs, and looks very dramatic (I was sure he was dying of a stroke) but clears up within a week or so, and often never comes back. They did give Powell antibiotics, based on a theory that it might help, but he was already clearing up the day after he first looked so ill. He lived another three years without another "attack" and died of old age at 15. I gather it looks very dramatic and frightening, but isn't actually very dangerous.
Sadly after finishing off her meds, my dogs sypmtoms returned last night. She had been off Prednisone for six days when they resurfaced. She was prescribed some kind of motion sickness pill the first time I brought her in but luckily never needed more than one pill. She was eating and drinking just fine.
Last night's symptoms were similar but not identical to those the first time around. This time she was doing the spinning in circle thing more and less head twitching. Her eyes were twitching again though. The vet said that they'd check her blood pressure and if it wasn't high, they'd put her back on Prednisone and the antibiotic for a longer period this time. Once her eyes stopped twitching, he told me to take her to a veterinarian Opthalmologist to get her eyes checked. If that didn't reveal anything, then we'd wait to see if this second round of meds would help. Once this series of meds is gone, if the symptoms return, she'll need an MRI to see if it's centralized (brain) rather that peripheral (ear) related.
Thanks for your posts telling me about your dogs. It really helps to read what others have to say.
My dog's usual vet office called to check on her yesterday afternoon. I was at work so they just left a message. Apparently the Pet ER's office faxed over my dogs records and her usual vet called to check to see how she was doing. That was such a nice touch. Sometimes it feels like some vets just want to squeeze money out of you. This time, it felt like all personnel truly cared about my dog.
My dog Honey seems to be doing much better now. I hope this round of meds cure what ails her.
Updating, my mini schnauzer recovered somewhat in about a month. This happened while I was in the process of moving. Arriving at my new location a new vet put him on Prednisone and an A/B. My dog was doing much better afterwards but retained the head tilt and some balance problems. Recently he started walking in circles and I believe this is still the Vestibular Syndrome. I will be calling a Veterinary Neurologist tomorrow.
Don
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Peripheral Vestibular Syndrome (inner ear infection)
