BY CHANCE ... MY FRIEND AT WORK NIC .. ADVISED ME OF THSI SITE ON FRIDAY AFTER MY 15 YR OLD POINTER CROSS HAD SUFFERED A STROKE ( VESTIBULAR SYSNDROME DIAGNOSED BY VET) ON THURSDAY EVENING AND I WAS ABLE TO CONFIRM ALL THE HOPE FOR SURVIVAL THAT MY TESSA HAD BY READING THE REPLIES TO THE LITTLE YORKIE THAT HAD SUFERED SIMILAR. I AM VERY PLEASED TO SAY THAT TESSA IS NOW ABLE TO GET ON HER FEET , IS DRINKING PLENTY AND THE EYE FLICKERING HAS STOPPED. MY VET DID ADVISE ME THAT SHE THOUGHT THAT DUE TO TESS HAVING A GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE PRIOR TO STROKE SHE WOULD HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF PULLING THROUGH AND ALTHOUGH NOT MAINTAINING QUALITY TO SAME EXTEND SHE WOULD IN NO WAY BE SUFFERING AND SHE DID NOT THINK IT WARRANTED PUTTING HER TO SLEEP. I WAS SO PLEASED AS SHE WAS IN SUCH A STATE DUE TO THE VOMITING AND DIAHORREA THEN WITH LOSING HER BALANCE ETC I REALLY THOUGHT THAT THE TIME HAD COME FOR ME TO MAKE THE DREADED DECISION. HOWEVER I HAVE A FEW QUERIES THAT I WONDER IF ANYONE COULD HELP ME WITH. MY VET DID ADVISE ME IT COULD TAKE BETWEEN 24HRS-14DAYS FOR TESS TO BE AS NORMAL AS SHE IS GOING TO GET AND ALTHOUGH I AM DELIGHTED WITH HER PROGRESS AT PRESENT DUE TO HER ALREADY HAVING PROBLEMS WITH ARTHRITIS I HAVE HAD TO GET HER WALKING ASAP AND I FEEL A WEE BIT CRUEL AS HER BODY AND HEAD STILL SEEM TO VEER TO THE LEFT AND SHE TENDS TO FALL OVER OCCASIONALLY - IS THERE A GOOD CHANCE THAT THIS WILL IMPROVE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO WALK HERSELF OFF THE LEAD ? ( TODAY I MANAGED TO GET HER OUT BACKDOOR FOR FIRST TIME AND ALTHOUGH SHE SEEMED VERY RELIEVED TO BE ABLE TO PASS URINATE FOR FIRST TIME OUTSIDE SINCE ATTACK INSTEAD OF BEING A WEE BIT INCONTINENT INDOORS.) I THINK THIS HAS CHEERED HER UP AND BOOSTED HER DIGNITY AS SHE IS ALWAYS SUCH A CLEAN DOG. ON THIS TOPIC SINCE HER ATTACK SHE HAS EATEN LITTLE BUT I DID MANGE TO GET HER TO EAT ABOUT 3/4 COOKED CHICKEN WITH RICE SINCE LAST NIGHT AND LUNCHTIME TODAY HOWEVER HER BOWELS HAVE NOT MOVED ... IS THIS NORMAL ? ( TO BE HONEST AS LONG AS IT IS NOT DOING HER HARM I DONT MIND UNTIL SHE IS MORE STABLE OUTSIDE AS IT MEANS I DONTR HAVE TO CLEAN IT UP ... LOL!!) I TRULY APPRECIATE THE POSITIVE COMMENTS MADE ABOUT THE LITTLE YORKIE AS I WAS FEELING SO DOWN AT THE THOUGHT THAT TESS WAS GOING TO BE PUT DOWN.

THANKS

KARYN
BOREHAMWOOD

Welcome Karyn,

Gald to hear your dog is feeling a bit better now,

Nicola :)

Hi I am the guest from above ...Sorry about the capitals I didnt mean to shout !!! ..... I am now registered and look forward to hearing from you...............Karyn

Hi Karyn
Very glad to hear your dog is getting over her attack. It's terribly worrying when they seem so bad, but if they were well and healthy before it they seem to make a good recovery.
She may well always have a slight head tilt, but now the eyes have stopped flickering she will be able to compensate much better. The old dog at our vets suffered from this, and pottered about the surgery very happily for a couple of years following it. My 15 year old had been very frail before her attack and didn't make it.
Yours must have been delighted to be able to "go" outside - they hate going in the wrong place once they've been trained, and get quite distressed, so she must feel much happier.
If she hasn't eaten a lot, and what she has eaten has been easily digestible, she'll have little waste to pass. I would personally try to get a little roughage into her diet (add some bran or similar to it) to help it all along!
I'm sure your remarks have encouraged the Yorkie owner too! :)

Thank you very much for your positive reply .... do you mean that when Tessas head tilt improves slightly so will her balance ? As I do find her head position a wee bit scarey and cant help wondering how she feels about it all.

karyn

She has to get used to looking at the world from a slightly different angle, and that can take a few days. But there is every hope she'll be able to go out for walks as before (maybe a tad slower) and get around the house fine.

I loved my old girl dearly, and was very sad to lose her. I'm pleased yours is recovering :)

What breed was your dog that did not recover ? Have you got a replacement for her now ?

Hi Karytn. This condition can appear quite frightening but yes, there is every chance of a happy ending. My old Lucy was around 10 when it happened to her. She made a complete recovery and finally died at not far short of 14 years old from a totally unconected ailment.

I suppose part of the trouble is we think too much of our dogs.

Hope things go well for you, John

Thank you very much John , I am overwhelmed with the positive support I have had from memebers and although I may not be able to give much input as to others problems I have saved this site to my favourites and will browse frequently.

Karyn

Careful TER you will become addicted like the rest of us:D

Alison
Welcome to champdogs:)

Your welcome Karyn. and welcome to the board. How are things now? Any improvement?

Best wishes, John

Hi John ... yes thanks Tess is not exactly improving in leaps and bounds but everyday she is getting more back to her own self..pls read my lengthly explanation to Jeangenie ... she is a god send ......... gave me so much positive support when I was a doubter ... what dog do you have?

Karyn

Labradors Karyn. It takes it's time but with luck. . . . . Fingers crossed.

Regards, John

Thanks again John , I used to have a Golden Retriever and GSD when I lived in Scotland , and as we lived in a smallholding they used to think they were working dogs when they came out for hacks with my horse and myself however I never did get them properly trained. Tess being a pointer cross used to have a very strong instinct and her favourite game when out in the fields was for me to have her sit and cover her eyes then I would hit a tennis ball as far as I could and send her to seek. If it was rough terrain it used to keep her amused for hours. In her later years we have slowed down to the ball hidden in the garden!!!!

Karyn

HI ...didnt intend TER for name but whilst I was wound up about Tess my enrolment went wrong ... thanks anyway but name is Karyn

My old girl was a dalmatian, and she was a sweetheart! Could be a pain in the backside, but still a sweetheart! I got a puppy to eventually "replace" her when she was 8.......the puppy was aged 7 with 2 litters under her belt before Polly finally shook off this mortal coil! She had become very frail, sight fading, hearing gone, lack of interest in food (she had to be handfed), bowel incontinence (which distressed her far more than me),no interest in walks etc. Her Vestibular Syndrome was the last straw for her. I still miss her :(

Hi Jeanjeanie , I would like to sincerely thank you for not only the advice but the positive support you have given me. Last Friday morning I was in such a state after Tessas stroke during the night and had never seen a dog that looked so ill and survived , that I had geared myself up for when I took her to my vet on Friday lunchtime I would be advised that the most humane thing would be for me to allow her to be put out her suffering. I have described in previous post how my vet dealt with situation , but to be honest , although she knows I have always said I want to keep Tess no matter what cost as long as she has a good quality of life , I couldnt understand why she let me take her home. Tonight I am looking at Tess lying on her sheepskin rug in the lounge , not a care in the world . I am happy to say the eye flickering has totally gone , she has interest in life again (I know this cause she has started growling at my 2 cats again when they go near her food bowl) , she is able to get in and out the backdoor herself and is happy pottering about the lawn to do her business.However she still has poor appetite towards her old dog food diet , but quite happily lets me put her medication in rolls of fresh chicken , and will eat small portions of the chicken / beef rice and weetabix that I hand feed her (She wont take bran / dog meal / brown bread or vegetables as roughage ), but it is improving daily' and one sign she is getting back to her old self was when I left the hatch door I have in the kitchen to keep her away from the cats dishes , open she staggered in and scoffed. This may sound a wee bit twee but I was so happy last night when she opened her bowels for first time since her attack on Thursday (Yet another milestone). I know it is early days yet and she is still quite unsteady on her feet and trying to get accustomed to viewing the world with her head at a tilt , because she refuses to sleep downstairs ( I admit she has her basket for during day but is used to sleeping on bed with cats and myself at night and I have been lifting her up and down) It is now more of a struggle getting her up and down now she has her independance back , as she doesnt like getting lifted.But Im in no way complaining Im just so happy I still have her. For the record this is the medication she is on ...she has been on Rimadyl (50mg 1and half tabs a day) for the last 9 months because of her arthrytis (My vet did make me aware of pros and cons and I do not think it was the cause of her present condition) , she is also on antibiotics Clindacyl (150mg x2 tabs per day) for a licksore that just wont heal up , we have had her on and off for periods but when off her sore really starts weeping , finally after her last episode the vet has put her on Vivitonin (100mg 1 and half per day). After speaking to my vet Saturday afternoon (she is a gem and cause she knew how concerned I had her personal mobile number) She advised to start Tess back on medication , mainly cause of her arthrytis , and to enable her to get back on her feet asap.

I know my privaleged time with Tess is limited but I cant help thinking if I had done what I thought was right on Friday and had her put down she would not be here with me now enjoying herself. Its hard .. in fact this whole episode has changed my views on human euthanasia totally.
Im sorry that I have droned on but I am truly so happy I still have time left with her as I got her from a rescue centre , and she had been severely abused in her previous home if you could call it that , and she came to me with several behavoural problems that through TLC we have overcome.
My only problem now is that I have experienced how hard it is going to hit me when she does depart to doggy heaven , prior to Tess I always had a couple of other dogs , but because she is very anti dog social ,we have just had a comfotable cats and x1 dog home. I feel I want to get a new pup (I was thinking Yorkie but couldnt cope with another Vestib / syn) mind you I dont think any breed is immune from what I have been reading up. However I am too afraid that Tess will either attack the new pup or feel that I dont love her anymore and have got a replacement.
Anyway enough rambling , truly I thank you ,

KARYN

:o :o Thank you so much for those kind words, Karyn. I'm blushing madly here! Just pleased to be a help. I know just how much theoldies mean to us. Glad Tess is coming along so well. Good for you.

Its my pleasure Jeangenie ,
I would imagine with the new 101 Dalmation film coming out soon we will be seeing the rise in Dalmation puppys being wanted , I cant understand why people have to get dogs as fashion accessories without really thinking through the responsibilty they are committing themselves to. Mind you it is so easy for them to dump them once they go out of fashion !!
I would agree with the dog licence being introduced ( At a reasonable charge - not the old charge - was it 36 shillings or 3 shilling as sixpence ? ) I know Im showing my age here !!. Also all dogs should be microchipped and linked to license database so if a dog is abandoned the owner can be traced , held responsible for actions and barred from being able to own another dog.

Karyn

Hi,
It was 7/6 - or 37 and a half pee in New Money. (I still have Polly's last one!:D)

Yes, dalmatian puppy farmers must be rubbing their hands in glee. Everyone else is groaning and deferring the next litter!

Very glad Tess is coming through this. When you've had them that long they're such a fixture, and you both know what the other's thinking. Puppies are lovely, but an oldie is much easier! :)

You might find this thread interesting [link http://www.champdogs.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?tid=8812&hilite=vestibular#48804]IVE[/link] it contains a couple more experiences of this.

PS Nellie continues to do ok rapidly approaching her 14th birthday.

Thank you very much Isobel .. have read the thread (wish I had prior to Tess attack) and I wouldnt have been thinking worse ,, pls read my lenghtky reply to jeangenie above as to how TESS is now.Do you know of any preventions of further attacks?

Thank you again

KARYN

Hi
This is my first post: (been reading boards for months tho.)Hope this will reassure both readers whose dogs have had this problem recently.My Cavalier, Cherry, suffered Idiopathic (ie. no known cause) Vestibular Syndrome last March, and I immediately recognised symptoms, as a previous Cavalier had had the same a few years ago.
Cherry, who had the Syndrome in March, made a complete recovery within 3 days, and regained her balance too. She was prescribed Vivitonin, as she has a low grade heart murmur, but she was 11 when she developed that. She will be 13 in a few weeks time, and has been really well since getting over the Vestibular Syndrome. Our previous dog who had it, at 9, still went on to live to 13, and died of heart problems, unrelated to the Vestibular Syndrome. My vet feels that as the Vivitonin isn't doing any harm, and she is so well at the moment, it is best to keep her on it!
Hope your dogs recover soon
Sam

Thanks Sami for your reply , as you can read above Tess is improving but you said after x3 days your Cherry totally recovered in 3 days , which you must be so appretiative of. As I have said my vet said could take between 24 hrs and 14 days .....but as you can see everyday is like a miracle she gets more back to normal , and I am the only person who can say she is enjoying life again..I am under no delusions she will get back to the same condition she had ..as long as she has quality of life I am satisfied and will put up with the little irksome problems that this attack has incurred
... On this note anyone know a good carpet cleaner as mine are ruined from the initial onset from both auriaces to her being incontinent !!!! Only joking .which goes to show how back to normal I am that I can joke !!!!
Thanks again to everyone who gave me advice and support .. if I can be of help to you please ask ...I owe you big time as no one else I knew understood.

KARYN

Hi Karyn,

Have just read your story and wish you and Tess lot's of luck, Tess is a very lucky dog to have you love her so much..

Could I give you a friendly word of WARNING though...

If you like a tidy house..time for yourself...doing the ironing (boreing!) or anything else other than looking after your pets...

Then ' FORGET IT'!!
Because once you join Champdogs then theres no turning back.. You're addicted..It's true, believe me!

I came here a couple of weeks ago for advice after I brought home a new puppy.. and now I can't even walk past the computer at all without coming onto Champdogs..

So take my advice NOW.. Unsubscribe whilst you can .

Seriously, welcome from a Novice , you'll find such great folk here and great advice for all sorts of problems..

Sandy xx :)

Hi Sandy .. I know exactly what you mean !!!! I had to make a point of not even turning my computer on last night ... so I could get some housework done ... but here I am again ... Mind you I am at work now !!!!!

Hi Karyn
So glad to read Tess is getting better.....Cherry also went off her food for a few days...they find it difficult to put their head into the bowl, especially if it's a deep one. (Something to do with eye/brain co-ordination.) I used a raised feeder....you can buy them the right size for the dog, or improvise by standing a flatter dish on a box, until she got the hang of it again. Sometimes they get food caught in the side of their mouth too, and may need a little help from you to hook it out...(hope you're not about to eat dinner!!) This stops too, once the dog recovers.
As far as incontinence is concerned, if Cherry goes into a deep sleep, she does leak in her bed occasionally, but I find using Vet bed in her basket, and washing it daily, together with Simple Dog Bath Wipes...(a sort of Baby Wipes for dogs.....great idea!), keeps her and the house nice and clean.
For carpets, generally, (as I have 2 other cavaliers, both puppies), and 2 cats, I use an electric Bissell Power Washer Carpet Shampooer. It's brilliant!! Carpets scrubbed and dry enough to walk on in about an hour.
Hope Tess continues to improve!
Sam

Thanks Sami ... What is Vet bed ? ... cheers for the advice re feeding I will popin to my local pet store tomorrow to get a raised feeder as I can see how it will make feeding more comfortable for Tess. As I am rotad off work tomorrow I will also be shampooing my carpets, though I think I will just hire a cleaner as I am intending to get laminated floors soon. How old are your cavalier pups ... you must have your hands full with two.

Karyn

Hi Karyn
Hope Tess is still getting better...Vet Bedding is like fleecey blanket....loads on the market. It wicks wetness away from the animal, so they always lie on dry bedding, and it is machine washable and tumble dryable very quickly. (Vets use it in their cages for recovering animals, and hospitals use it for patients to prevent bed sores etc) You can buy from dog shows like Crufts or online. I've just bought some from a company called Pro Fleece, tel 0161 652 5056. A huge piece, which you can cut into a couple of large beds, is about £18 and they deliver very quickly.
The raised feeder, you could get online too, from "Pet Planet."
Yes, hands and arms are full with Poppy and Saffron...Poppy is 12 months, a Ruby cavalier, and Saffron, a Blenheim is nearly 5 months. Great fun tho'. (We lost a 12 year old cavalier last March and tragically lost another, only 5 years, just before Xmas, with a slipped disc.....didn't recover from surgery....) Also one of my Turkish Van Cats died in the summer, so we had a very sad year.
That's why we have 2 puppies so close together.....couldn't be without dogs and cats!
Hope this helps!
Sam

I have a 11 year old Dachshund. She developed old dog vestibular around the end of January. However, we didn't know what it was as when we took her to the vet she was fine. A month later she had another attack, this time I was able to get her to the vet while she was having one. He looked at her and stated that is call old vestibular syndrome. He prescribed her antibotic and presidone. She was fine while on the medications. However, three days later she had another attack. Once again we got into the vet. This time she was still having an attack.
We have her back on the medication once again. However, she gets the presidone every other day. ON the days she doesnt have it she seems to be worst. She eats, however, she doesnt' vomit. but she isn't passing her bowel movement either. It is difficult for her stand in a positon to urinate. It is sad to see her like this. She sleeps with between me and my husband. As in the middle of the night she starts patting heavy on and off. Thsi is when I am able to get the most water in her. She doesn't seem to dink water by herself. Any suggestions.

Hi libtech3
Sorry to read about your Dachshund. When my dog had the same, I read that they are disorientated and as their sense of balance is affected, they may find it hard to lower their head into a bowl. (They don't know how to hold their head in the right position to drink, I guess, without pushing their face into the food or water.)
I bought a raised feeder, and used a shallow dish to help her: it seemed to work.
Perhaps your dog gets hot, hence the panting at night, but feels unable to get to a cooler place by itself? I was advised to leave a light on low, as they are more disorientated at night, especially if they are getting on a bit.......(I know how they feel!!)
Has your vet suggested Vivitonin? Some people think it works, some don't. Mine has been on it since March 2002 when she first had vestibular syndrome, and hasn't had a second attack so far.In fact, she is more alert and happier a year on than she was before she had VS. (She was 13 yesterday, and I didn't think she'd see the summer of last year.)
If you normally feed dry food, perhaps a wet food might be better for her at the moment, as most wet foods have a lot of water in it.
Hope your vet and you can get her feeling better soon.......it's hard work though, getting them through it.
PS I expect your vet has checked her ears? Cos sometimes it can stem from a middle ear infection.....
Let us know how she's doing....

Sam

I am a human who suffers from a vestibular disorder, I think there are a couple of us on here with Meniere's disease.

During an attack there is nothing we can do other than go to bed with a bucket, lay on one side whichever isn't acting up that particular time and try to sleep. Silence and dark help as vomiting can be induced by noise of the wrong frequency and just blinking or light changes like the tv can set us off again. Once an attack is starting to subside, it doesn't go as quickly as it came believe me, and start to get mobile again our gait is affected, the position we hold our head in for hearing and or aliviating the disorientation due to our messed up balance, you can usually tell which side is active by the head tilt.

Every muscle in the body is affected by the change in gait until the attack is over as we are constantly straining to compensate for the sensation of movement, tiliting the head forward, backwards, side to side is very unpleasant. My last major attack saw me lose 2 stone in less than a mth due to the vomiting and other end, plus a total lack of appetite, which I find amazing when you think I was bedridden the whole time. Constipation does seem to be a bed partner of one of these attacks either because of the violent emptying at the start or just simply because your intake is so low and fluids are lost thru sweating. I use a herbal remedy called Vinca Minor (for vestibular problems) along with Applecider Vinegar (keeps the digestive tract healthy) and Ginger for the nausea, they might help her get past this early stage.

Sorry to go of topic and butt in here but Hi Schip Yes I'm one of the other members that suffers from Menieres and second every word you say as being all to familliar.Hope your dogs continue to improve.Gillian

Thanks Sami,
We tried everything you mentioned before I posted. Except for the medicine. She had such a bad attack during the night that we got into the vet this am. He stated that he felt it was something more than the vestibular syndrome as she hasn't had any improvement at all. It is with great sadness that we had her put to sleep this morning. She went quiestly and qucikly. We are sad that we had to do that. However, I couldn't see her suffering any more. There have been many nights that I would stay up with her off and on. Her breathing got very heavy this morning as well as unable to control her bladder. When he went to adminstered the injeciton in her left leg, she turned her head to the right very sharply. He then state that her equaliburm is off very badly and he didn't realize how bad until she did this. He then gave her the injection in her right leg which made it easier for her. As I stated she went quickly as if she just went to sleep. Thanks for your support.
gerri

So sorry for you, gerri. :( It's so hard, but you know when it's the only thing to do. Thinking of you. xxx

So sorry to read about your girl.
You certainly did your best for her, and now she's safe and happy.
(I do know how you must be feeling..... we had to face it 3 times, with 2 dogs and a cat PTS, in 9 months last year....)

Take care

Sam

This site has a list of good carpet cleaners by area:
http://www.myprimebuyersguide.com/listings/home/carpet-rug-upholstery-cleaners/contra-costa/walnut-creek.html
I can't vouch for any in your area, but the site is helpful with lots of info to help in choosing the best carpet cleaner for your needs...hope it helps!

Btw, this thread is 5 years old!