CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Oldies (Over 9s) => Topic started by: Ben's mum on January 20, 2017, 11:00:57 AM
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My poor Ben has got vestibular syndrome and its horrible :'( We noticed he was wobbly on his legs on Wed night, but put it down to being groggy after his Loxicom. On Thursday morning he was dragging his back leg and my first thought was that his back had gone again so booked him in for the vet. By the time of the appointment he had developed a slight head tilt, but no nystagmus so initially the vet wasn't sure if it was vestibular or a problem with his spine /neck that was making him wobbly.
However by the time I got him home he had such a pronounced head tilt he couldn't sit up and has lost the ability to stand up at all :'( :'( he has also developed nystagmus.
This is just horrible and devastating to see. This morning he just can't sit up or stand. We have been given some medication to try to improve the circulation to his brain and the vet said the first 3 or 4 days are difficult but usually its possible to make a reasonable recovery, particularly as he was reasonably fit for his age before. Obviously there are no guarantees and she said some dogs don't recover but we are keeping everything crossed he will be one of the lucky ones.
I cant bear seeing him so unwell its heart-breaking, please keep your fingers crossed for him.
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everything crossed for Ben, wishing him a speedy recovery
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:bigarmhug: :bigarmhug: :bigarmhug:
Poor Ben. Sending lots of healing thoughts and love to you. xx
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Oh poor Ben, sending lots of positive thoughts for a speedy recovery :luv:
:bigarmhug:
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Poor Ben! And poor you, nothing worse than seeing our dogs unwell :bigarmhug: Hope he feels better soon!
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So sorry to hear about Ben :016: sending lots of :luv: :luv: and :bigarmhug: for a full recovery
Stephanie, George and Hamish xxx
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So sad to ready this. They do worry us. Hope he makes a good recovery. Wuffs from us. X
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Hi Ben's mum
Try not to worry too much. My oldest had this and is was so sudden. We had been out walking the day before and then when she wake up the following morning I though she had had a stroke, she was staggering and very unstable. Not too much of a head tilt. As she was 14, we took her straight to the vets and they kept her in overnight and gave her lots of fluids. Fortunately she picked up really quickly and although was still a little unsteady came home and was ok. I made the mistake of looking on line :o and saw that some of them don't recover or are left with a head tilt.
I'm sure the vet is giving Ben all they can and will get him stable. How old is Ben?
Give him a hug from us all and keep us posted on his progress.
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Get well soon Ben. Sending best wishes for a quick recovery :luv: :luv:
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So sorry to read this, it must be so distressing. Have fingers, paws and everything crossed that Bem will be ok, sendng healing thoughts and lots and lots of :bigarmhug: :bigarmhug:
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Poor Ben, I do hope he gets better soon. Milo had it, but not too badly and he recovered. Try not to scare yourself witless with stuff on the internet, easier said than done, I know :bigarmhug: :bigarmhug: :bigarmhug: it's distressing for us to watch them suffer, thinking of you both.
Lesley and Dylan
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So sorry to read about dear Ben, am thinking about you both
Sending healing thoughts
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Very sorry to read this, sending :bigarmhug: :bigarmhug: for you both x
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Poor Ben, it's a very distressing condition, and upsetting for you too, seeing him feeling so unwell.
A friend's 14 year old Cocker had it a year or so ago and made a good recovery, especially as he already had some mobility problems. The nystagmus went after a couple of days and once that happened he started to feel better. His head tilt disappeared after a while and the only long term effect was that he became very sensitive to noise. I'm not sure if that's common with vestibular because he was already a bit noise sensitive.
My friend's Golden Retriever, Ruby, had it last May, aged 14, and she was very poorly for several days. Because she has terrible hips and mobility problems my friend came close to saying goodbye to Ruby a few times in the first few days. Ruby was really frightened and didn't have the confidence to get up and move round, so had to be lifted and then helped to walk with a towel underneath her as a sling. But she was still eating well and still responding to everything going on around her.
She improved slowly and regained her confidence, but she still has a head tilt and that makes her worried sometimes. She's fine outdoors and in her own home, but if she comes to my house I have to get all my spare doormats and rugs out and put them down in the hall and kitchen where the floor is a bit slippery. It must be odd looking at the world a bit skewed all the time.
I really hope Ben improves soon. It seems to vary from dog to dog, but once the nystagmus stops their world stops spinning and mostly they start to regain their balance and confidence.
Sending some hugs for you and Ben :bigarmhug: :bigarmhug:
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Fingers crossed for Ben and big :bigarmhug: for you
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Hi Bens mum, Marti, my springer had this three times. It looks worse than it is, and lasted about a week the first time. A yearlater she had it again , leaving a tilt, but followed by the other side so she evened up. She also had a heart murmur and the strain of moving around feeling dizzy in old age wore her out.
Things that help enormously......a raised bowl for feeding and drinking, or putting it on a step. I took her outside with a scarf or towel wrapped underneath her tummy to help lift and keep her steady.
Love to Ben x
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Thinking of Ben and hoping with all my heart that he soon recovers from this.
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Thank you for all the good wishes for Ben :luv:
He is a sorry state at the moment, it is reassuring to hear from people who have had good outcomes, becaus I have been so worried. He still can't stand or sit unaided but if we hold him he can weight bear on his legs today for a few mins which is better than yesterday. He has a very pronounced head tilt and is struggling to drink so we are using a syringe to make sure he gets some water.
He still has a good cocker appetite ;) but has to be hand fed as he can't coordinate and find his bowl with his head on an angle.
Thank you again it really helps knowing others have been through this x
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Thank you for all the good wishes for Ben :luv:
He is a sorry state at the moment, it is reassuring to hear from people who have had good outcomes, becaus I have been so worried. He still can't stand or sit unaided but if we hold him he can weight bear on his legs today for a few mins which is better than yesterday. He has a very pronounced head tilt and is struggling to drink so we are using a syringe to make sure he gets some water.
He still has a good cocker appetite ;) but has to be hand fed as he can't coordinate and find his bowl with his head on an angle.
Thank you again it really helps knowing others have been through this x
Maria's Ruby had problems finding her food bowl because of her head tilt, but raising the bowl helped. We tried her with William's raised bowl and she coped well, so Maria bought one for Ruby's food and another for her water.
I've also just remembered, that during those first days when Ruby was at her worst and couldn't get up unaided, she didn't want to sleep in either of her beds, but liked being on a doubled up duvet in the middle of Maria's living room. It seemed to be the place where she felt most secure and was quite handy really, because Maria was sleeping downstairs with her and Ruby could see her on the sofa.
I know how distressing it is to see them like that, but his progress to weight bearing when up sounds just like Ruby at much the same stage, so to me that sounds encouraging :D
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Sending all good wishes to you both and hope that Ben makes a speedy recovery. :bigarmhug:
It's heartbreaking to watch a beloved pup suffering so. x
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Well my gorgeous boy is a lot brighter today thank goodness. Still got the head tilt but can get up on his feet unaided now and walk a few steps. Following all your good advice using sling under his stomach he is quite mobile and a bit faster than we would like, gets a bit overconfident then falls over unless we are holding him tight.
He is very clever though as by this evening he had figured out if he gets up to standing and leans his body against a wall or the kitchen units he can walk along without falling :D. at first i thought it was a fluke, but then noticed him doing it again and again.
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So glad to hear the improvement, keep on trucking :bigarmhug:
Lesley and Dylan
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That's good news, so happy Ben's improving. Its amazing how innovative they are, it certainly sounds like he's a little fighter, - you can't keep a good dog down!! 😍
:bigarmhug: :bigarmhug:
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Bless him. Hope the coming days bring further improvement.
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That's great news. I'm sure that being able to get up unaided means that his world is spinning a lot less than it was, so that's real progress. Well done Ben :luv: