What to do if your Dog is Swaying Back and Forth
If your dog is swaying back and forth, the first thing you should do is have them examined by their vet. Often times, problems such as Idiopathic Vestibular disease will resolve in a few days, without any assistance from medication. However, many will need supportive care during this time.
After determining what may be causing your dog’s swaying back and forth, you will need to determine how best to handle the situation. If the problem will resolve itself over time, make your dog comfortable until he is better. You can do this by giving him medication for nausea, providing a quiet place for him to lay, and assisting when he needs to go out and relieve himself. Sometimes the symptoms of serious underlying issues like tumors are more permanent. If that is the case, you will need to constantly help your dog do things such as get upstairs and outside for the restroom. Other lingering effects may be a slight head tilt, which should not lessen your dog’s quality of life in any way. While this may be difficult, with help and care your dog can still live a full and happy life.
Prevention of Swaying Back and Forth
In order to prevent swaying back and forth due to ear infections, the best thing that you can do is perform frequent ear cleanings for your dog. Doing this will help to decrease the chance of an infection setting in due to any foreign bodies or bugs creating damage to the ear. You can perform ear checks and cleanings at home, but always remember to use a gentle cleanser and cotton balls to clean the ear, never alcohol or Q-tips as they can harm the eardrum.
Other, more serious, underlying issues are a bit more difficult to prevent. Problems such as tumors and stroke tend to come with age and can be caught early with frequent vet checkups. To prevent a tick-borne illness, be sure to check your dog for ticks after playing around outside. Use tick prevention medicine. Comb through the hair around and inside the ears, as well as around the groin. If you notice that you dog has been bitten by a tick monitor him carefully. If any symptoms such as fever, vomiting, lethargy, difficulty breathing, and loss of balance occur take him to the vet immediately for treatment.
2) Canine Vestibular Syndrome in Dogs
As noted above, the vestibular system in dogs connects the inner ear to the brain to process information that helps to control balance and eye movements. Any abnormality in the vestibular system can be diagnosed as Canine Vestibular Syndrome. Canine Vestibular Syndrome for dogs simply means that your dog suddenly becomes wobbly or off-balance due to degradation of the vestibular system. Canine Vestibular Syndrome for dogs is known to be called several names such as Vestibular Disease, old dog Vestibular Syndrome, or Canine Odiopathic Vestibular Syndrome. All of these syndromes and diseases essentially mean the same thing.
In order to diagnose Canine Vestibular Syndrome, your veterinarian will conduct a physical examination that involves coordination and eye movements. There are two main types of Vestibular disease: Peripheral Vestibular Disease and Central Vestibular Disease. More information on each is below.
Peripheral Vestibular is the portion of the labyrinth and nerve in the inner ear. Peripheral Vestibular Disease is typically due to an inner ear infection in your dog, cancer, or ruptures to the inner ear. Once the disease or infection starts interrupting the balance of your dog in their inner ear, it is known as Peripheral Vestibular Disease.
Peripheral Vestibular Disease is common in dog breeds that are prone to ear infections. If your dog has ear mites or long ears that are not regularly cleaned, they are more prone to develop Peripheral Vestibular Disease. Famous dog breeds that are notorious for developing Peripheral Vestibular Disease are cocker spaniels, hounds, or goldendoodles. In order to prevent Peripheral Vestibular Disease, it’s important that you regularly clean your dog’s ears.
Unlike Peripheral Vestibular Disease, Central Vestibular Disease is the component in the vestibular system that deals with the brainstem and cerebellum. If your dog has Central Vestibular Disease it typically means that they have developed cancer and have lesions that affect the central vestibular area. Other reasons that your dog might have Central Vestibular Disease is from poison ingestion, inflammation, or inflammation to the brain area.
In general, the signs of Peripheral Vestibular Disease and Central Vestibular Disease are similar. General signs of Canine Vestibular Syndrome in dogs are below:
Older dogs are more susceptible to vestibular disease which is why it is often times called Old Dog Vestibular Syndrome. In addition, canines that have large ears that can easily trap moisture and develop bacterial inner ear infections can more easily develop Peripheral Vestibular Syndrome.
We never want anything bad to happen to our dogs, but sometimes accidents do happen. If your dog fell and hit its head, chances are it developed some type of dog head trauma if they aren’t acting normally. Maybe your dog was hit by a car or accidentally dropped on the ground. Either way, it’s important to recognize dog head injury symptoms.
Signs of Hip Dysplasia
As dog owners, we quickly become used to the quirky behavior our dogs adopt. But it’s essential to note when quirky behavior isn’t quirky at all and that there is something wrong with your beloved furry pal.
There are serious medical reasons that a dog could be swaying back and forth. We cover these below, as well the treatment options.