Woke up thursday morning and noticed Tiva keeps her head to one side- she lifts it but its held to the side and not sure if its just me but her eye seems a lil blurry as if not there in that eye I dunno. She doesn't seem to have an ear infection cause last time she did shake her head. Was thinking a stroke and hubby thought a seizure- do any of you have any idea's? She is 10yrs old :-(
Rather then that she still kinda seems like the same Tiva but just I dunno down- she's my baby- if that is the case what really would the vet say besides that it could have been either 1 or the other they really wouldn't do anything for her would they?

My Rottie cross went a bit like that. her eye drooped and head looked a bit droopy.
Vet said she had had a slight stroke.
She was fine other than that :)
I would take her to the vet just to double check.
Good luck
Lea :)

If thats the case do they do anything for them? Just hoping her time is not coming soon she's my baby out of the bostons :-(

I have a vet appt next saturday for our ferret his leg is lame so may just bring her along that way.

Strokes are actually quite rare in dogs, it is much more likely to have been Vestibular Disease

Vestibular Disease

Vestibular Disease produces signs that can look like a stroke. The vestibular system is responsible for maintaining normal balance and disease of the system affects the head and body's ability to orient themselves with respect to gravity. Disorders of the vestibular system are divided into central vestibular disease and peripheral vestibular disease.

Central vestibular disease occurs due to an abnormality within the brain. Peripheral vestibular disease occurs due to an abnormality within the nerves of the inner ear. Most cases of vestibular disease are peripheral and no known cause is determined. These are referred to as idiopathic.

Old Dog Vestibular Disease. Peripheral vestibular disease is not an uncommon problem in older dogs, and is characterised by a sudden onset of signs including head tilt, wobbliness, falling or inability to stand due to loss of balance. Disorientation may be severe. Nystagmus (flickering of the eyes) is present and some dogs have transient nausea, vomiting and anorexia.

Since the cause of this problem is unknown it is termed 'idiopathic'. It is diagnosed by eliminating other causes of peripheral vestibular disease such as inner ear infection, and the condition improves over time (usually a few weeks although in some cases the head tilt is permanent). Some dogs benefit from motion sickness medication to treat nausea and vomiting.

They didnt do anything for Gemma, but she was already on Rimadyl and the Previcox, so that might have been why.
Lea :)

Had this happen to my old boy and he is now on Vivitonin and is totaly back to normal.

She just has the head tilt and its not as bad as it was thursday morning- she walks fine and still gets excited as normal. I'll see what the vet says when we go in... My poor baby just hope we have her for another decade :-)

My boys head and gate improved in 24 hours the Vivitonin are to make sure, if possible, it does not happen again.

My vet told me recently that when dogs have had a stroke their eyes flick from side to side. One of my old girls had a bad turn last week and the vet pointed out that since her eyes were actually  going round in circles that it was not a stroke.

Hope Tiva is on the mend soon.

> My vet told me recently that when dogs have had a stroke their eyes flick from side to side. One of my old girls had a bad turn last week and the vet pointed out that since her eyes were actually  going round in circles that it was not a stroke.
>

What did your vet diagnose? And what if any treatment?

When their eyes flicker, either from side to side or round and round, it's a sign of vestibular syndrome. My vet says that dogs don't have strokes in the same way as people; which is why we're all concerned about my Beattie, who's had a funny turn and the left side of her body isn't working properly any more. Her eyes aren't flickering at all, though.

That is what I thought JG and would be interested to know what action the vet that suggested it was not a 'dog stroke' took to help this dog.

Asked my vet why they called it a 'dog stroke' she said because people understood that and the results were similar - lack of blood to the brain or spinal cord normally caused by restricted flow or though it could be from a ruptured blood vessel or a blocked one.

My girl's now on Vivitonin to try to improve the blood supply to her brain - it's early days but there seems to be some improvement. From what I understand recover can take several weeks, although recovery from classic 'vestibular syndrome' (with the flickering eyes) can be quicker.

My lad had his head back to normal in a matter of hours and his gate in a couple of days but he has continued to improve and I understand he will be on Vivitonin for the rest of his life. It has made such a difference to him I do not mind at all.

The vet said that she was showing signs of a brain tumour and since she was very poorly I was advised to put her to sleep.

Thank you, yes, of course, that is an entirely different matter and I am very sorry for your loss. I think in most cases of a tilted head, erratic eye movement and altered gate the diagnoses would be 'vestibular syndrome' or some other problem caused by lack of blood to the brain or spine and treatment with Vivitonin seems to be the most common course of action.

our boxer bitch has a head tilt with only a slight blinking in her right eye, almost no movement at all with her eye(Doris looked like she had bells palsy) she was tested for various things ear infections etc., bloods were taken and a full test done whilst waiting for the results she was put on a course of antibiotics just incase she had a ear infection in the inner ear, when her results came back she had a thyroid problem which can cause a head tilt it was so bad that when she going in and out of the garden she was almost falling over because her head was to the side,  since being on her soloxiene tablets her face has started to look a bit more normal but the vet said she might never look the same again, but she is our baby though she 10 she is still beautiful in our eyes. When you take her to the vets make sure they test her thyroid levels as with one of our other boxers he had collapsing problems the vets sent us to a cardiologist for ecg,scans only to be told no heart problems our ordinary vets done a basic blood test nothing showed up only to be sent back by the cardiologist who asked us to get a full blood test done only to be told he had very low levels that were causing him to collapse so two boxers with thyroid syptoms.

Tiva's head tilt looks much better- its pretty much gone- weird but am still gonna ask my vet what she thinks may have caused it- Was also thinking maybe she pulled a muscle or something and had a knott I would rather think that lol

My poor old girl- she's still happy so thats what counts to :-)

My old Goldie had a stroke 2 and a half years ago now and was prescribed Vivitonin. It was quite severe, walking in circles, head tilt, falling over etc. and the vet really wasn't sure he'd pull through. But I have to say within a couple of weeks he only had the slightest head tilt and was otherwise pretty much back to normal. He's been on Vivitonin ever since, no head tilt at all now and is approaching his sixteenth birthday.

Wow 16 I hope my Tiva lives that long- I love all my dogs but she's my baby...

Hi...my old boy Oliver had an attack of Vestibular syndrome on wednesday morning.  It's now saturday and his walking has improved but is still a little unsteady on his feet.  He was prescribed antibiotics and steroids by the vet.  I have never heard of vivitonin.  My main concern now is his complete lack of appitite - he won't eat or drink anything at all and I am syringe feeding him water and sloppy dog food and he still occaisionally vomits.  He is 12 years old and he's my baby!  I hope he soon recovers - fingers crossed!

Iam sorry (((hugs))) Hope he is feeling better