dogs

Occasionally I see a post on one of the Facebook dog groups I am in that somebody is having an issue with their dog. They think their dog is having a stroke, or a seizure. Or it is just a small thing like getting off-balance. Depending on the severity of the issue, the dog’s eyes may be twitiching back and forth and the dog falling over, can barely walk – to just a slight head tilt. I’ve had experience with Canine Vestibular Syndrome a couple times so I wanted to share my story and hope that it helps others in the future!

I had noticed my 13-year-old Border Collie, Mocca, was starting to LEAN a bit when she was retrieving a ball. I thought it was a bit odd, and kept a closer eye on her. Generally, I am fairly in tune with her, so any small change in her behavior raises a red flag for me. Then I noticed her stumble a bit. I got concerned, and tried a few more retrieves, watching her steadily LEAN to the left as she trotted back. I brought her inside, to tell my boyfriend and see what he thought. After awhile, he too noticed her trip a few times, and start to tilt. Anxiety crept up more and more. I started to panic. What was going on? Was she having a stroke? Was there some sort of tumor? Was she having some sort of reaction to eating something? Was it a reaction from medication she was on for Lyme disease?

I started googling like mad, and soon was a bit soothed. I ruled out side effects from her medication, especially because she had been on it in the past. I ruled out stroke, as apparently, actual, legitimate strokes are very rare in dogs. She seemed to FEEL FINE, wasn’t sick at all, and really was quite perky. So, what I settled on was one of two things:

1. An Inner Ear infection
2. Canine Vestibular Syndrome, also known as Old Dog Disease

Also, I was familiar with Canine Vestibular Syndrome, as my parent’s older Golden Retriever, Annie, had a couple bouts of it in her later years. This seemed the most likely cause, as I did notice Mocca’s eyes darting back & forth, back & forth… Not normal. As time progressed, she got worse. By the next morning, she had a hard time standing. This was so terribly difficult to endure for both her and me – we would get to the vet ASAP in the morning as it was the weekend and after hours! It is so hard to see your dog in trouble like this and not be able to do anything. My research showed that likely there was nothing to do but wait it out.

I would add – that I did not go to the ER with her because I was experienced with this before, and as she was eating, drinking, pooping & peeing fine – I felt OK waiting even though it was difficult. I do not recommend not getting vet attention ASAP if you feel it is necessary.

Sunday I kept her subdued in her room, or outside in a crate so she could enjoy the beautiful day. I had to hold her up with a harness to go potty all day, and brought the water bowl to her and hand fed her. She was acting perfectly healthy except for her balance problems.

Monday morning arrived and she had not gotten any WORSE. YAY! We were off to the vet that afternoon, and after checking Mocca over, our veterinarian diagnosed like we expected – Canine Vestibular Syndrome. We did get her the antibiotic Clavamox, just in case there was an inner ear infection (her ears looked ok upon inspection). Sometimes vets will give Prednisone to dogs with this problem, but because Mocca is elderly, and her blood work 2 weeks ago had shown slightly elevated Liver Enzymes, we didn’t want to risk any further Liver issues.

Residual head tilt remained only. So, we waited it out. We got used to her balance problems, hand fed her and made sure she had water nearby at all times. We also kept her subdued, so that she couldn’t hurt herself falling. She was escorted outside on a harness to potty and walk around, and not allowed up or down any stairs. Little by little she improved!

A handful of days later, she was doing 85% better! Up and down stairs (though with my hand on her, I think it made her feel safer) – jumping up on the bed, racing outside to play, eating her food on her own, and barking at the kitten who got too close! Her head tilt remained, but did mostly go away after we visited a Pet Chiropractor a few times.

In researching Canine Vestibular Syndrome, I found a lot of stories of dogs MUCH worse than Mocca, whose owners had no idea what was going on and thought their dogs were dying. Some dogs have it much worse, so worse that they can barely stand up, and instead circle, salivate, vomit and altogether can’t function. If your dog is as bad off as that, vet assistance would be a priority so they don’t get dehydrated and have organ failure from there. Mocca was eating, drinking, and not sick at all, so we opted to wait to see our vet on Monday, but I would never have waited if she were sick at all.

Hopefully, this post helps out a few pet owners out there who may also experience this.

A debate recently occurred on a friend’s Facebook wall, even though that was not what she intended. She had posted about how she loves her Purebred dogs, bred by Breeders she knows and trusts. She highly values that she knows their bloodlines and genetic history back for ages. She had in the past owned mixed breeds – which she loved dearly… But somewhere along the line she started with Purebreds and has decided she would never go back. This started a very long, drawn out debate which I’m sure my friend never really intended on, but it is such a hot topic, I knew where it would inevitably go… Bickering and a never ending back & forth where nobody can win.

This debate rages daily. My Facebook wall almost always has something about “Don’t Shop, Adopt”, or the opposite in favor of Purebreds. Countless Rescue potentials and “No time left” for dogs in kill shelters scatter my wall. Personally, I am torn about this issue, as I am the owner of several Purebreed pets: two Ocicats, and a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Not to mention the fact that I also have only EVER owned Purebred dogs, although they all came through Rescue. I never knew their bloodlines, but they were Purebred. In fact, now that I sit down and really think about it – even when I first started researching to get my own dog when I was out on my own… I never really looked at mixed breeds, but it wasn’t intentional, I just never thought about it. Growing up, we had a Beagle, a Cocker Spaniel (who I think was a bit mixed!), an Irish Setter, a Gordon Setter, and then a Golden Retriever. Perhaps it has just been my upbringing that has made me always go the route of Purebred. Every day though I see many pictures of Mixed Breeds that are so adorable and wonderful, I would love to give them all homes. But I’ve just never gone that route.

Why did I choose a Purebred dog from a respected breeder?

Because:

1. I wanted a puppy that was raised properly and raised with cats
2. I wanted a dog specifically for Agility and I knew Tollers to be great Agility dogs
3. I wanted to have as much of a guarantee on health & genetics as I could
4. I wanted to have some idea of the personality and traits that I might expect
5. I did not want a dog with unknown background that may have behaviors I would have to re-train or un-train

I could have covered #1, #2 and #5 with a Mixed Breed, but #3 & #4 were very important to me. Though, as it turns out, I have discovered no matter how much you know of a dog’s lineage or breed characteristics, you still can wind up with a dog you didn’t expect. So I just can’t pick a side.

But – I don’t think we need to “pick sides”. A pet is a pet. If your new family member is Purebreed or Mixed Breed – it simply doesn’t matter. That you love and care for them properly is what DOES matter.

Although of course, if you DO decide to go the Purebred route, and aside from rescue, be sure you research your chosen breed and pick a reputable breeder. Often by visiting the national breed club website you can find contacts to breeders of merit, and I encourage potential new owners to also get to know breeders in their area before settling on one person.

In the future, when the time comes, I am not sure what I will do. We adore our Ocicats and the Bengal we owned, and would love more. Maybe we will compromise and get a shelter cat and a Bengal, or some mixture. When it comes to dogs… this will be a tough one for me. Emme has come with incredible trials I never envisioned, while so many friends randomly get a dog from a shelter or rescue and they are The Best Dog Ever. Not that Emme isn’t GREAT – she is! But she comes with a lot of baggage. She is NOT what I had all these hopes of having, and although we have come a long way, she is always going to need special care.

So who knows – we will see what happens when the time comes (hopefully not anytime soon because we love her dearly, baggage or not). And I hope that all my friends can remain friends with this debate.

Please remember that purpose-bred dogs are incredible, and breeding of specific breeds must continue. It would be such a tragedy to lose any breed.

So somehow we are going to need to work out a compromise. I would venture to guess that 100% of my “Breeder” friends also rescue dogs and take back dogs they have bred that wind up with problems or homeless. So they, too, rescue! Let’s try to all be a little more broad in our thinking.