Anyone know about Canine Peripheral Vestibular Disorder? (LONG)

[acginkc]

I am hoping some of you might know something about this. I am really nervous about my sweet dog. She is 17 y/o and my furr baby.

So here's the story...

Sunday night Gidget started stumbling around and was having a hard time standing up. As an over protective mama of course I panic. But a few minutes later she acts like she's just fine. Trotting around the back yard and everything. Since she has had some arthritis I thought maybe she was just stiff when she got up (we've had some crazy weather here that last few days). So I make a mental note to keep an eye on her and how she's doing.

Well Monday she acts fine, but isn't eating. Out of the blue she starts falling and running into everything again. I call the vet and let them know I will be bringing her in when they open in the morning. Well about 30 minutes later she tries to get up again and just keeps falling. She starts getting really scared and of course I do too. So we took her to the emergency vet. The Dr. tells me it looks like Peripheral Vestibular Disorder. And while I'd like to say I was listening, my emotions were ruling all and I didn't retain much.

I tried to look stuff up online last night, but don't know what the reliable sources are.

She spent the night at the emergency vet last night and is staying the night at our vet tonight. Both Drs made this seem pretty serious and like it may end in a pretty bad way. However, the site I did read last night made it seem like it would clear up in a few weeks. I am just at a loss and wish I knew something about what was going on with her.

Thanks for any sources or information you can provide.

[beckms]

OK, off the top of my head, it sounds like "Old Dog Vestibular Disease", which is I think the colloquial term for CPVD. I think this does tend to clear up on its own.

I'm going to try to find some stuff out about it, but I wanted to reply and let you know I'm looking!

I'm sorry your pup isn't feeling well! :(

[tippy7]

I don't know anything about it but I just wanted to say that I am sorry! It's so hard when pets are sick because they don't understand why you are leaving them at the vet :( I hope beckms is right and it does clear up on its own.

[beckms]

Hi again...

Here is a pretty good description of Idiopathic Vestibular Disease (idiopathic just means the cause is unknown): http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_vestibular_disease.html

If it is idiopathic, it may clear up on its own within a few days. If it doesn't, there may be some other underlying cause, such as inner ear infection or some infectious diseases, and even the thyroid has been implicated in some sources.

What kinds of tests the the vets run? Did they do any bloodwork or check the ears for infection? Did they take any x-rays or do an MRI or CT scan? I'm just wondering what conditions they might be trying to rule out.

The peripheral vestibular system is the inner ear's way of helping an animal to stay balanced and have an appropriate sense of where its body is in space. When something goes wrong with this system, whether because of an ear infection or some other cause, the sense of balance and space goes all out of whack, much like if you were to spin around in a circle a bunch of times and then try to stand perfectly still. It can be very disorienting and scary, and sometimes it can make the animal nauseous because of being dizzy.

There is also a brain component to the vestibular system, and the vet should be trying to distinguish between whether the problem is peripheral (in the the ear) or central (in the the brain).

I don't know very much detail about this disorder, but I just wanted you to know that it's not necessarily a lost cause, so keep your chin up!

I will keep hunting for info, but that site I showed you is a good one. Let us know if you learn anything new about Gidget!

Hope she feels better soon! :o

[doggerham]

Valentine sends Gidget a SNOOF! What kind of dog is she? Seventeen! Imagine that!

[acginkc]

tippy7 and doggerham- thank you for the kind thoughts. Gidget is a miniture poodle. She had a brother whom we had to put to sleep a year and a half ago from kidney failure. They were litter mates and the only 2 from the whole bunch that lived longer than about 7 years. She's deaf and blind, and just as sweet as can be.

beckms-Thank you so much for the link and the information. At the emergency vet they just checked her vitals and gave her some fluids and Benedryl (I guess its had some anecdotal success, so worth a try). They are so high priced I couldn't afford much more there. My vet drew blood today and we will get the results back in the morning. He thought it might be something with her middle ear or it could have possibly been a small stroke (I'm guessing her recovery will be much harder if that is the case). After the blood tests I am not sure what the next step will be but I will keep you all posted. Thank you so much for the help.

[VictoriaL]

Gidget sounds like a sweetie. My fingers are crossed... good luck!