Pet Lovers

[goldensrbest]

I have had spirit one of my goldens to the vet .twice this week,did blood work,check urine,  not sure what is going on,but he also has a inner ear infection,got meds for that,plus other meds., he has lost his balance ever since they cleaned his eard today,and put drops in,the vet thinks his loss of balance may be this, we still are not sure ,any ones dog had this?

[tends2dogs]

No, none of my dogs have had this, but I have read about it.  Apparently it is common in older dogs.  It is short lived, about 72 hours.  If it lasts longer than that, other things should be considered.  The advice is to keep them away from stairs or getting up on furniture because of the dizziness.  Also, they may be nauseous.  

I am sorry your pooch has this and hope that it resolves soon.  

[J Town Girl]

I've never had any of my dogs affected by this condition but I have seen it many times in the veterinary practice.   @tends2dogs  is correct, it usually only lasts a short time.   Sometimes it can be exacerbated by an ear cleaning.  Not because they did anything wrong but sometimes just the act of working on the ears can cause a head tilt and a loss of balance.  

I've seen it last as short as two days or as long as a week.   Just monitor Spirit when he is outside and keep him away from any heights.    

My best wishes for a speedy recovery.  I just love Golden Retrievers.  They are the sweetest dogs.

[goldensrbest]

First this week ,he was peeing every few seconds, go pee then again,and again,peed in house,took to vet did urine tests, nothing showed up, but put him on antibiotics, then this morning ,he stumbles a few times,he is eating,and drinking,went to vets,did blood work up,check urine again,has inner ear infection,as soon as she cleaned his ears,and put drops in them,he kept falling,falling here at home, just don't know.

[2blonde]

@goldensrbest   Oh, I'm so sorry about Spirit.  You must be beside yourself.  I hope he gets better soon........Goldens are the most loveable dogs.

[MalteseMomma]

I;m so sorry.goldens are so very sweet. I'm sure he will be ok in a day or 2......(praying)

Funny but I am having the same problem...................(with myself,my balance is gone)

[kdgn]

My late Tibetan Spaniel had a Senior Vestibular Sydrome attack a few years ago. It's something to do with the inner ear.

He started walking to the right, stumbling, and his eyes were moving rapidly from right to left, back and forth. I took him to the vet immediately-it was the eyes that was the clinching symptom for the syndrome. It causes the dizziness. He received a shot for any possible nausea, IV fluids for a short amount of time (Of course this happened 30 minutes before the vet's office closed but he stayed open for me.) I brought anti-nausea meds home, he had to be placed in his crate and kept there unless he needed to go out.

He spent the night in his crate and by the next morning he was almost back to normal. His balance was off only slightly, his eyes had returned to normal movement. He was back into the vet for a recheck, the vet kept him for the day only for observation and IV fluids again. He didn't want the dog to become dehydrated. 

He was fine by that night.

Your Golden has an ear infection-that can cause balance problems. If your dog's eyes aren't moving side to side, it probably isn't a true vestibular syndrome attack. Make sure your vet knows what has happened since the ears were cleaned.  

[lovethgedress]

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@kdgn wrote:

My late Tibetan Spaniel had a Senior Vestibular Sydrome attack a few years ago. It's something to do with the inner ear.

He started walking to the right, stumbling, and his eyes were moving rapidly from right to left, back and forth. I took him to the vet immediately-it was the eyes that was the clinching symptom for the syndrome. It causes the dizziness. He received a shot for any possible nausea, IV fluids for a short amount of time (Of course this happened 30 minutes before the vet's office closed but he stayed open for me.) I brought anti-nausea meds home, he had to be placed in his crate and kept there unless he needed to go out.

He spent the night in his crate and by the next morning he was almost back to normal. His balance was off only slightly, his eyes had returned to normal movement. He was back into the vet for a recheck, the vet kept him for the day only for observation and IV fluids again. He didn't want the dog to become dehydrated. 

He was fine by that night.

Your Golden has an ear infection-that can cause balance problems. If your dog's eyes aren't moving side to side, it probably isn't a true vestibular syndrome attack. Make sure your vet knows what has happened since the ears were cleaned.  

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Exactly, our dog has had vestibular sydrome twice now. Her eyes kept going back and forth, she had difficulty walking and tended to walk in a circle not a straight lin. She got over it both times. The second time was worse...had to carry her outside to go potty. Took about a week till she was back to normal.

[Bird mama]

My dog Max (shepherd/boxer mix) was diagnosed with canine vestibular syndrome a couple of months before his 15th birthday.  

I noticed it when he was walking along the carpeted hall upstairs and stumbled.  I ran out of the office (also upstairs) and immediately knelt down and said, what happened little man?  I held his face between my hands and that's when I saw his eyes moving left and right (uncontrollably).  I went from zero to 60 and didn't know if he was having some kind of stroke.

I ran him to the vet immediately and she examined him and said, ooh he has canine vestibular syndrome and he is fighting it with all he's got.  He did not have any infections. There was no medication for it (this was 2007) and she said if it didn't pass in a couple of days it could be bad because Max's little world was spinning (like vertigo) and he wouldn't be able to eat or drink.

We came home and thank God my sister was acting as his nanny (after my husband died).  She went from 1/2 day shift to full day shift (while I was at work) for a few days and it passed.

I blocked the stairs with a baby gate and even though this may seem extreme, he had his own full sized bed (upstairs) so I moved some of the living room furniture out of the room and plopped that mattress on the floor so he could sleep on his bed.  

Until it passed we helped him drink water and hand fed him little bits of food (not enough to throw up) and we kept him steady when he peed and pooped.

It's scary and I feel for you.  

[goldensrbest]

He is no better, ever since the ear drops, and me putting them in the falling has become just terrible, calling vet tomorrow morning ,time for x rays.