vestibular syndrome?

J

JenHunt

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posting on behalf of a friend.... her elderly yellow lab Jake has had a funny turn, and she took him to Dick Vet on Christmas Eve. they've told her its vestibular syndrome, and she's wondering what other peoples experiences are and how they've dealt with it.

Jakey is eating (dampened dry food), but not drinking very much, and otherwise seems ok, happy in himself and with the other 2 dogs - albeit even more unsteady on his old legs.
 
Quite common in the elderly patients. Can be due to infection of middle ear or idiopathic (no known cause). Can use vivitonin to help xx
 
My elderly dog got this. They were quite bad and lasted several hours. Each time they got worse. No medication worked for her, so in the end for her i had to have PTS. Hers was due to a growth somewhere in her head. She was 15 at the time.
 
My ridgeback had one of these attacks when she was 10, very scary for me and for her, it lasted about an hour, the vet couldn't find anything to cause it, she only had the one though.
 
It's pretty common in older dogs and once they've had one they usually have another. It can be managed with Vivitonin (prescription) and Aktivait (non-prescription). Both of our old spaniels used to get it, one very badly, the other intermittently. It may or may not be relevant, but the one who had it less badly was on the medication and the supplement, the other only the former. Watch out for turning in tight circles, nausea, and flickering eyes as symptoms. Apart from vet visits for anti-emetics or if the episode isn't abating, there isn't much you can do except comfort them through it and try to make sure they stay hydrated. It's not much fun, but both of ours were fine in between episodes. Sympathy and hugs for the afflicted dog!
 
Very frightening experience for dog and owner. You might even think your dog has suffered a stroke. This happened to my elderly Lab, but Vivitonin gave her a new lease of life, quite amazing really...
 
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