LOWDOWN Summer 2011 page 6
Hound Health
Vestibular Syndrome
Vestibular Syndrome is a disorder more commonly found in older dogs, but can also occur in middle age. It is idiopathic - which just means that it has no known cause - and can suddenly develop without warning. This disease normally affects dogs that seem perfectly normal up until its onset.
Club member, Geoff Alderton, kindly brought this interesting subject to Lowdown’s attention after his own hound presented worrying symptoms. The dog had a sudden loss of balance, causing it experience difficulty when standing up. Apparently, rhythmical eye motion can also be present, and there may be nausea because of the sea-sickness effect of the disease.
Many owners -and even some vets - initially suspect that the dog has had some kind of stroke.
The problem seems to be due to inflammation of the nerves connecting the inner ear to the cerebellum - which controls balance and spatial orientation. It usually lasts between a couple of days and three weeks. A few dogs have lasting signs beyond this time, such as a head tilt.
Most dogs will not eat or drink unless hand-fed, or given water by hand. This is because they have a hard time with the fine motor movements necessary to eat and drink from a bowl.
The good news is that as long as they are nursed through this condition almost all dogs will recover- though there is no known treatment.
Some dogs do have relapses, but most do not. Even when dogs do not recover fully from Vestibular Syndrome they normally have a good life. They adjust to residual problems - such as head tilts - which do not seem to unduly bother by them.
Inner ear infections are probably the most common cause of similar symptoms. If recovery does not begin in a few days it is a good idea to have the ears examined as cancer affecting the cerebellum, its nerves, or the inner ear, can cause similar signs.
Vestibular Syndrome
Vestibular Syndrome is a disorder more commonly found in older dogs, but can also occur in middle age. It is idiopathic - which just means that it has no known cause - and can suddenly develop without warning. This disease normally affects dogs that seem perfectly normal up until its onset.
Club member, Geoff Alderton, kindly brought this interesting subject to Lowdown’s attention after his own hound presented worrying symptoms. The dog had a sudden loss of balance, causing it experience difficulty when standing up. Apparently, rhythmical eye motion can also be present, and there may be nausea because of the sea-sickness effect of the disease.
Many owners -and even some vets - initially suspect that the dog has had some kind of stroke.
The problem seems to be due to inflammation of the nerves connecting the inner ear to the cerebellum - which controls balance and spatial orientation. It usually lasts between a couple of days and three weeks. A few dogs have lasting signs beyond this time, such as a head tilt.
Most dogs will not eat or drink unless hand-fed, or given water by hand. This is because they have a hard time with the fine motor movements necessary to eat and drink from a bowl.
The good news is that as long as they are nursed through this condition almost all dogs will recover- though there is no known treatment.
Some dogs do have relapses, but most do not. Even when dogs do not recover fully from Vestibular Syndrome they normally have a good life. They adjust to residual problems - such as head tilts - which do not seem to unduly bother by them.
Inner ear infections are probably the most common cause of similar symptoms. If recovery does not begin in a few days it is a good idea to have the ears examined as cancer affecting the cerebellum, its nerves, or the inner ear, can cause similar signs.
