My dog has just been diagnosed with possibly vestibular syndrome, I have read up on the internet but i cant find any where how long my dog will not be able to stand and walk for as he is very unblanced and cant even get up, it has been nearly 48hrs now and he still cant stand which is causing great stress when he needs the toilet as he is a very clean dog and just wants to get outside. If anyone has any experience of this it would be appreaciated as the vet has advised he should be recovering within 72hrs and has prescribed viivtonin.

How old is your dog? I had an elderly dog with vestibular syndrome (very common in old dogs) and she needed help walking and getting outside for two or three days after the initial attack. I had another elderly dog on vivitonin and it made a huge improvement to her. Good luck - I hope he makes a good recovery, because it's very upsetting and confusing for them.

Hi Jeangenie

He is 10year old GSD, I have tried helping him up with a blanket underneath him but he still cant stand up, he has just been laid sleeping most of the time, I am hand feeding him chicken and been giving him water through a syringe, he still has his appetite and does not seem too distressed except when he needs the toilet. When he sits up his head sways and is tilted slightly to one side. I am just really worried about him as alot of people say the recovery happens quite quickly and he does not seem to be any different from yesterday so I am wondering if it is something more serious.

Ah hope he gets better really soon, its such a worry.

Well I thought it was all over yesterday evening when I took him back to the vets as he had not improved and i was going to have to let him go, but he decided when he got to the vets that he could actually sit up and then because he hates the vets that much that much he could stand up and with help he could actually walk so he came back home and i have seen improvement we can actually get out in the garden now so he can go to the loo which makes him a happier dog. I am not getting my hopes up too much just taking it day by day but it looks a lot brighter than it did yesterday.

Well I can give you good and bad news.  The bad is, when my sister's dog had it at age 12, which was not that old for him since he lived to almost 17 :), her Vet said the symptoms would last 4 to 6 WEEKS.  And they did, 4 weeks.  He weighed about 45 lbs and she had to carry him outside all that time.  Put her back out picking him up.  As he recovered he was able to walk a bit on the grass outside but could not get outside by himself and could not walk in the house.

The good news is, he made almost a complete recovery.  He retained a wee bit of heat tilt which slowly lessened but never completely disappeared.

Edited to add:  Sis's Vet said recovery is typically just as sudden as onset and that was also true in Laddie's case.  One day he could not walk outside, 2 days later he could.

Hi
Thanks for the information, he is so much better today with help he can now actually walk although he still is very wobbly on his legs, I can sympathise with your sister as my dog weighs about the same and when we have had to carry him to the car to the vets it has taken 3 of us to lift him. I cant believe the difference in him from yesterday as I was having him put to sleep because he just couldnt get up and we were 4 days down the line since he had the attack but the a visit to the vets made him decide he could sit and walk!

Hi There :)

My 15 year old collie has had two episodes of vestibular syndrome. It is one of the most awful things I witnessed with him. He couldn't stand and his head was tilted at an angle. I had to hand feed him also. His recovery was slow and I would say it took him a good 5 weeks to be back to his normal self. It sounds as though your dog is making a very normal recovery so please don't worry.

After his 2nd attack, he was put on Vivitonin.

He has never regained his full mobility since the 2nd attack and can still be slightly unsteady at times. However, it's nothing which concerns me and it doesn't impact upon the quality of his life. He takes a little while to "get going" after he wakes up and, when he runs in from the garden he can't seem to run in a straight line! However, there was a time when I thought he would never walk let alone run again.

The first 7-10 days are the worst and I am sure you will see a steady improvement as time goes on :)

xxx