Small Dog Vestibular Disease

Finally they may suffer from depression.

Small dog vestibular disease. They tend to roll have poor foot placement with a lot of staggering or stumbling. Often however especially in older dogs the cause is of unknown origin. Let s start with what vestibular disease actually is and the known causes of this condition. Peripheral vestibular disease generally affects senior and geriatric dogs over 8 years of age.

The name of the disease reflects the involvement of the vestibular system the group of structures and nerves that are responsible for balance found next to the middle ear and relaying information about which way is up to the brain. Dogs with central vestibular disease will have horizontal rotary and vertical nystagmus eye movement. It is more common in older dogs. Peripheral vestibular disease in dogs has also been linked to medications that can harm inner ear vestibular receptors.

What causes vestibular disease in dogs. Vestibular disease refers to a sudden non progressive disturbance of balance. Causes of vestibular disease include middle or inner ear infections drugs that are toxic to the ear trauma or injury tumors and hypothyroidism. In some situations vestibular disease can result from a lesion or infection in the brain a stroke or a.

To the untrained eye the symptoms may mimic serious life threatening conditions such as stroke or a brain tumor. When no specific cause is found the condition is called idiopathic vestibular syndrome. Canine idiopathic vestibular disease sometimes called old dog disease or old rolling dog syndrome can be very scary for pet parents. The good news is that this condition is not as serious as it looks.