Vestibular Disease in Dogs

We have a Border Collie, Jozi who is about 1 and half years / 2 years old. My son told me that he was sleeping when Jozi fell off the bed, then when she started walking it look it looks like she is battling to walk like she walking more to the one side and then wants to lie down on that side, it looks like she's drunk and struggling to stay up. Do you perhaps know what could have happened it only happened a few hours ago and we are unsure what to do.

I just want to thank everyone else for sharing their stories. This can be a very frustrating experience and it is difficult to have patience. It is also difficult to strike the balance between doing too much (and wearing the dog out) and doing too little (and risk things like dehydration and bed sores). The stories shared by everyone have been so helpful. Our dog is currently going through this. It is day 10, and the nystagmus in the eyes has gone, but she still is very uncoordinated on her feet; so much so that she still doesn’t try to stand too often. Still has head tilt. One “sign” of improvement that I’ve not seen mentioned is what I have called “the two o’clock rush.” The past two days our girl will get a little boost of energy (not a lot, a little) right around two o’clock in the afternoon. Yesterday it lasted until around four to four-thirty and then she was very tired again. Anyone else have an experience like that? The vet still has not been able to rule out more serious causes like a brain tumor, but the only symptom of brain tumor that we have seen is the disruption of the vestibular system, which began in the middle of treatment for a very stubborn ear/sinus infection. We are not opposed to having a scan done to determine other causes - in fact, we probably will - but for now we are in waiting. Seeing as how this problem presented itself toward the middle of the ear/sinus infection, we are fairly comfortable being patient. I appreciate so many people sharing their stories on here. It can be so difficult to be patient with these symptoms, and reading other stories has been a great source of encouragement for us to be patient - even as people have told us to just have her put down. Our vet told us that it is not time for that and all the evidence tells us to just wait it out for however long it takes. Our girl still has a way to go, but she is not in pain. She eats and drinks, she is getting a lot of rest, and responds to us. So we’re just waiting it out and staying in contact with the vet.

We have an 18 year old cockapoo, his name is Oliver. Four weeks ago my husband came home from work to find that he had thrown up and was laying near the front door with his head completely turned, he could not stand, when we tried to stand him up, he would fall to the side. We took him to the Emergency hospital recommended on our vets answering machine (they were closed) and we were told that he had Old Dogs disease, vestibular disease. We were given medication, a pill for motion sickness, one for vomiting and a antibiotic. Oliver would not take the medication, he would not eat although he was drinking water. He did not eat for 5 days and I saw that he was weak because of it. At this point I am carrying him out to go to the bathroom. I called his vet and took him in, they confirmed what I was told at the hospital and I was basically told that I could only hope that he passes in his sleep. I was given canned dog food that is loaded up with vitamins, since he would not eat on his own, I gave it to him through a small syringe. I would take him out in the morning, feed him and take him out again. I was going home at lunch time to take him out and feed him, I was told he should eat three times a day. After 4 days or so Oliver was showing signs of improvement. I then went to the feed store and purchased a larger syringe to get more food into him, all the while giving him the antibiotics that I would mix in the food. I also purchased baby food and canned pure pumpkin to mix in so he would not get tired of the taste. After a week and a half or so, I gave him a treat (he would not take them up to now) and he ate it. On week two I then starting to feed him his regular food, which is boiled chicken, rice and veggies, usually string beans or peas. We are not approaching week five (5), I no longer go home at lunch time, since I can leave his water, he knows where it is and he mostly waits for my husband to get home from work to go out, I leave pads down just in case, which he has used, I give him a light breakfast before I leave. I walk Oliver with harness because his head is still tilted, but he still enjoys going for walks. His sense of smell is very strong, which is so important because he is blind and deaf. I am sharing this only because I was advised to put him to sleep but my heart could not, I was told he was not in pain, so I wanted to give him every fighting chance. Because of his age his routine is pretty much the same as it was before he became ill. Oliver gets excited when I am arrive home, he smells me I am sure, because my husband says he does not exhibit the same behavior when he is home. Because of his age, I know that someday soon he will say good-bye or I will have to make the decision of putting him to sleep, but that decision will be made because it is the best for him, not because he has become an inconvenience. I guess what I am trying to say is, sometimes its okay to listen to your heart and gut. For everyone that received a final diagnosis, tumors and such, well you know that there was nothing else you could do, so do not beat yourself up.

I have a foster rescue pom mix who was found frozen and unconscious. We initially thought the nystagmus was from the freezing but it could also be a head injury as one side of his mouth had all damaged teeth. I worked with him for 3 months now, and hes made significant improvements all round but still has the continuous eye movements. We cleaned and removed the bad teeth, hes been eating and walking, has learned his name and knows us. I want to help him regain better quality of life if i can help limit the eye movements. He clearly has trouble seeing clearly Is there anything that can be done at this point or after 4 months is it possibly as good as it may get? TIA

This may be a first as far as vestibular disease in old dogs. We have 2 GSDs who are litter mates (almost 13 years old). On a Tuesday morning 1/9/19, the one started her morning as usual, but at 9:30 she tried to get up, but lost all ability to balance, walk, sit, even laying was difficult. Took her to the vet and was diagnosed with ODVD. She was given antibiotics and prednisone. That evening she was making some progress, but still needed help. Never vomited at all. After 24 hours she did not need help, and was pretty well back to normal. About 10 that evening (12 hours after the first dog) her littermate sister was throwing up everywhere and had no balance and rapid eye movement. I tried to give her some motion sickness pills and called into the vet to get some meds. She got sick on those anti biotics though, so I took her in on that Fri, and they diagnosed her also with ODVD. The one who got it last has always had ear infection problems and has still got some imbalance problems after 2 1/2 weeks. How long do you think it may be until she fully recovers? She still has the head tilt and weak on one side (left).