I was laying on the sofa watching TV before I hopped in the shower to get ready for church when Annie came around the love seat and crashed into the chair across the room. She was listing to the left, couldn’t balance at all, and when she tried to walk she looked like she was drunk. When I looked closer, I could see that her right eye was shooting from side to side (I couldn’t get her turned to see if her other eye was doing it too). My immediate thought was that she might have had a stroke.

I picked her up to take her upstairs to see what my mother thought. I didn’t get very far with her - she started fighting to be put back down. So I put her down and she would not let me pick her back up. That’s not unusual, she doesn’t like to be carried. So I ran up the stairs and heard her trying to follow me up. I couldn’t get her not to follow me, so I tried to help her stumble up the stairs. After a few, she figured out to lean against the wall for balance and she made it up pretty well. Once on the main level she vomited.

I couldn’t tell if my parents were up, so I ran up to their door and knocked but got no answer and I didn’t want to leave Annie for too long. When I got back down to the main level, she was at the back door and she had piddled a little bit near where she had puked. She wanted to go out, so I let her out and watched her stumble down the two stairs off of the deck and then continue into the yard.

I took that opportunity to jump on the computer for a quick google of canine stroke and discovered links to canine peripheral vestibular syndrome instead. And I was immediately relieved - she is exhibiting every one of those symptoms:

The symptoms are dramatic and sudden and are often confused with stroke or poisoning, even by some vets who may have had little experience with the illness. The fact is, Canine peripheral vestibular disease has nothing to do with malfunctions of the brain or a morbid appetite, but is caused by inflammation of the inner ear.

Usually there is little sign of any build up to the disease and one of its characteristics is its habit of striking out of the blue. The dog appears perfectly well and happy, eating its meals and taking its usual exercise when for no apparent reason it falls over. When it tries to regain its feet, it staggers in drunken circles, bangs into objects and tumbles down steps.

[...]

Neither poisoning or stroke is the cause of this condition, but the inner ear. Examination by a vet may reveal some kind of infection, but usually there is nothing to see within the ear itself and the cause of the onset of the disease usually remains unknown.

What is thought to happen is that the nerves of the inner ear connecting to the cerebellum, which controls balance and spatial orientation become inflamed causing the distressing symptoms previously described, but why this should happen is as yet unclear. There seems to be a link to age as the disease is much more common in old dogs, though younger animals that are around the middle age mark can be affected too.

Symptoms vary in their severity, not all dogs experiencing the same degree of vomiting and unbalanced co-ordination and this seems to correspond to the duration of the illness. Symptoms usually last between three days and three weeks, but the good news is, almost all dogs make a good recovery, although some my be left with a slight tilt of the head.

[...]

There is no medical treatment for the condition, although some vets may prescribe antibiotics if they suspect the possibility of infection. What the owner needs to do is provide good nursing and plenty of tender loving care, since the dog is usually very confused and sorry for itself.

Alarming as the symptoms are for the owner, they are terrifying for the dog who doesn’t understand why the world has suddenly started spinning in such a crazy fashion. Usually it seeks the sanctity of its bed and refuses all food and drink.

[...]

These five tips should help you to spot vestibular disease, but always get your pet checked by a qualified vet at the onset as there can be other more serious reasons for the symptoms.

1. Dog is perfectly well then begins to stagger and fall about.

2. Dog vomits.

3. Eyes shoot from side to side in a rhythmic action.

4. Head is tilted to one side.

5. Refuses food and or water

It’s been about 90 minuntes since she first tried to come to me. She’s doing pretty well - she’s almost normal when she walks, but she’s still unsteady on stairs. We came back down to the basement (home for her) and she’s under the bed snoozing right now. I’m encouraged that she has stood at her water dish several times, although she didn’t actually drink any water. She wants to, she’s probably still nauseated enough not to want to induce more vomiting.

We were going to tag team watching her this morning so that I could go to church, but I deciced to hang at home today to be with her. We’re going to watch her this week - if she starts scratching at her ears I’ll make a vet appointment to check on the possibility of an infection, but I don’t think she has one.

What’s interesting is that we have noticed a significant decline in her hearing in the past couple of weeks. I got home from the men’s breakfast yesterday and I was in the bedroom for several minutes with rustling shopping bags but Annie never moved from under the bed where she was sleeping. I had to lift the dust ruffle to make she she was actually alive and at that point she woke up and came out to greet me.

It’s stuff like this that reminds me that she is a 16 year old dog. She is so active and spunky normally. This makes me sad for her, but I’m relieved to know that it’s not something that will kill her. And the entertainment value later on as she’s gotten used to having these symptoms will be fun. Because she really does look like she’s had a little too much to drink when she tries to walk.

LATER, 7:30pm: Annie is a miracle dog. She’s completely normal and has been for several hours. She ate some food and drank some water and has been running around on steady feet when she wasn’t sleeping. No tilt to her head although she is very hard of hearing. I knocked on the table that she was standing next to and she didn’t respond at all. Poor thing.

It got me to thinking seriously about what we’ll need to decide if she does fall ill with something serious and potentially fatal. I don’t like thinking about it, but it’s necessary. And at this point, I’m thankful that she’s back to her old self - even to eating the cat’s food right now.

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1. I’m so glad that Annie is feeling better!  

   My dog is almost 14 years old and I pray I will never have to make any terminal decisions concerning him.  He has been my faithful companion since he was 5 weeks old! 

   Posted by  on  09/18/05  at  07:58 PM

2. Poor Annie!  I’m glad she’s feeling better so quickly.  Our dog is also older, and she had an ear infection a couple of months ago.  She had some of the same symptoms as Annie, but she didn’t have the rapid eye movement, I imagine that was rather freaky.  I probably would have totally panicked!

   Posted by  on  09/19/05  at  07:12 AM

3. Jen,

   My dog Kayla also had Canine Vestibular Syndrome and as you say it’s a scarey thing to watch, especially the first time. I understand that some dogs may have just one bout and that’s it, but often there are recurrences. Kayla had a number of them months apart, some more severe than others. She usually was unsteady and lethargic for a couple of weeks after each bout, and always lost a little bit of mobility with each episode.  She also was completely deaf.

   I had a vet diagnose the first episode, and his advice was that she would pull out of it on her own, but to restrict her access to stairs and other places where she might harm herself from falling.  Also to elevate her food dish so that she could eat without putting her head down (which apparently can make her feel more nauseous)

   It’s so hard to see our faithful furfriends going through the aging process.  It seems to happen way too quickly.

   Hope this is Annie’s one and only bout of CVS and that she stays healthy for a long time to come.

   Gwen

   Posted by  on  09/19/05  at  07:36 AM

4. Sorry to hear about your dog!  From a long-time doglover…

   

   Posted by Damon  on  09/19/05  at  09:01 AM

5. Thanks for the kind concern for my Annie.

   Gwen, no evident lethargy from her. She has started to sleep more in the past year, but that’s just part of getting older anyway. She did sleep a lot yesterday, but when she’s awake she’s full of energy and seems to be her normal self.

   Now that I know about this, I’ll be keeping an eye on her for relapses. It’s a relief to know what it is.

   Posted by  on  09/19/05  at  09:47 AM

6. May I suggest that instead of yelling at her, you teach her some simple signs for commands, such as come, lie down, and so on.  Being deaf will likely make her more visual and she’ll be watching your body language more so it shouldn’t take her long to adapt to looking for manual directions from you.  Will save your voices, but also will be less confusing for her.

   Posted by  on  09/19/05  at  10:33 AM

7. Good idea and I did notice that she didn’t follow me this morning until I snapped my fingers at her. She knows that when I snap my fingers it means to “heel.” We’ll have to see what we can teach her. And I’m touching her more to get her attention when she’s within reach.

   Posted by  on  09/19/05  at  10:40 AM

8. Good idea on touching to get her attention.. And also, one more thing before I shut up, I found that touch became much more important to Kayla as her hearing declined.  She couldn’t hear all the little affirming things I said to her (like “good girl” and “let’s go for a ride” and so forth)so I learned some basic doggie massage and that was the way we “connected” with each other for the last year of her life.

   Posted by  on  09/19/05  at  11:36 AM

9. Yeah, I’ll have to be more intentional to touch her more often.

   Sweet moment from last night - I was watching TV (unusual, I know) and I heard her venture out from the bedroom. She peeked around the love seat and I just smiled at her. Her ears perked up and she wagged her tail a little and then went into the kitchen to get water.

   Posted by  on  09/19/05  at  11:44 AM

10. Annie is a trooper! I’m glad she’s feeling better. That moment when she looked at you for some reassurance was just so cute.

    Posted by Princess Jami  on  09/20/05  at  02:23 PM

11. She is cute. Thanks!

    Posted by  on  09/20/05  at  02:32 PM

12. Thank goodness for the Internet! Although what I have read on websites relating to the symptoms of peripheral vestibular syndrome are right on the money with the exception of vomiting, I was close to euhanizing the dog tomorrow. Many articles written have demonstrated that vets are inept with the disease.

    My 14-year old Shiba-Innu for the last month, I noticed that she fell over a few times, but I had attributed to poor eyesight and hearing, and age, as well as a dimly lit room.  But 3 day ago she had huge event: Symptoms were the constant rolling over, heavy panting, the rapid eye movement, the imbalance, dizziness and the restless. 

    I have been working, and out of the picture with our dog.  My elderly father had been taking care of her and getting her to the vet.  When the vet couldn’t determine anything he started talking MRI, brain tumor, etc., my father was under the mindset that it is all over.

    After finally seeing the dog, I was alarmed and felt as though the dog was suffering, and I came to the conclusion that euthanizing made sense, especially after what my father had mentioned about costs for a neurologist. The dog is afterall 14.

    However after researching on the Internet (I am slightly relieved by not entirely convinced, I still have to consider the brain tumor) that I am consulting with the vet in the morning about peripheral vestibular syndrome.
    
    What I have read has been very informative and hopefully some meds can alleviate the dizzines I read about.

    I will keep you up to date as to how things progress.

    Posted by  on  09/29/05  at  06:50 AM

13. My 14 year old Black Lab is recovering from a episode of CPVS she had last Monday.  It was her thrid episode in the past year and a half, but by far the worst one.  Its been a week now, and she is still staggering and eating sometimes and not others.  On the 4th day, her vet said offer any food she will eat, even human food. 

    This was her chance to fianlly have what we eat.  She likes the chicken breast one day, but not the next.  Corn beef hash once, but not a second time.  Forget about her arthritis pain pills, she would have nothing to do with them. 

    This episode was the scariest.  It lasted longer and the after affects are, too.  But then, web sites and blogs like this one allow dog lovers like me know that this amount of time is typical.  So thanks Jen. I found your blog using Google and it has more layperson info than all those vet sites.

    Posted by  on  10/25/05  at  09:01 PM

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