At 3 am on Monday morning, Buffy, my 9 year-old cocker spaniel, walked around my bedroom bumping into things. When I called to her to direct her down the stairs, she acted confused and disoriented, terrified of the stairs. Buffy is recently blind from glaucoma so she often bumps into things, but her confusion seemed extreme.
I carried her outside and put her on the grass to go potty. She stumbled around in the dark. I ran inside and brought out a leash to guide her and prevent her from wandering into the shrubs.
In what appeared as a drunken state, she started circling to the right, ten, twenty or more times. I thought she would fall. She moved fast in tight circles. I had never seen anything like it.
Should I take her to the emergency vet? Is she having a stroke? An odd kind of seizure?
I gently tugged at the leash and she stopped circling, but was still confused. I guided her inside and up the stairs to my bedroom and to her bed. While stroking her, I googled circling dogs, stroke, and brain tumor on my phone.
I thought of vestibular disease, but that typically has head tilting. Chipper, my other cocker, who passed away six months ago, had vestibular disease with a head tilt. He didn’t circle. Cassie, my springer that passed on three years ago, had a brain tumor and curved to one side, but did not circle.
Buffy settled as long as I petted her and we both fell asleep. The next morning she seemed normal.
I had a busy day lined up, but my husband was home. At dinner, he mentioned that he saw an episode of Buffy acting confused and circling. His sister was staying with us and she saw another episode, plus some trembling of Buffy’s back legs. Buffy had four episodes by the time she went to the vet on Tuesday.
The vet said Buffy had either vestibular disease or an inner ear infection.
- With vestibular disease, the vet said that the first 24 hours show the worst symptoms and would get better without treatment.
- With an inner ear infection, Buffy would get worse until she received an antibiotic. To get a sample of her inner ear she would have to probe deeply in the ear and it would hurt.
The vet thought the most likely cause was vestibular disease since Buffy’s ears looked clean. She recommended we see if Buffy improved or worsened in the next day.
Buffy did not have any more symptoms once she went to the vet and appears completely normal.
What is vestibular disease?
The vestibular system helps maintain balance. Vestibular disease starts suddenly, affecting a dog’s balance. It frequently happens in senior dogs. Another name is canine idiopathic vestibular syndrome, since it occurs from unknown causes.
Most dogs have a sudden onset to the disease, like Buffy did. Chipper developed it in the middle of a walk when he suddenly turned and fell onto his butt.
Symptoms of vestibular disease
Some of the symptoms can also represent more serious diseases such as stroke or a brain tumor. Symptoms unique to vestibular disease include:
- Sudden onset with no detectable cause.
- Head tilt (Chipper had this, but Buff didn’t—although she cocked her head more than normal). It can be slight to extreme.
- Eyes darting back and forth (nystagmus) or up and down. I didn’t notice this on Chipper, but my vet did. Buffy has no eyes, so she didn’t have this symptom.
- Disorientation, may fall down—appears as if drunk.
- Some dogs may circle or roll. They circle or lean in the direction of the head tilt.
- Some may have nausea or vomiting.
Here is a good video from Dr. Karen Becker explaining about vestibular disease.
Diagnosing vestibular disease
Your vet may run several tests to confirm that the dog has vestibular disease and the type (central, which is more serious, or peripheral, which is more common).
The vet should also determine that your dog’s symptoms are not something more serious.
- Eye movement involves rolling if the dog is having a stroke vs. darting up and down or side to side in vestibular disease.
- Lifting a paw and flipping it over. If the dog puts his paw back to its normal position, then it is not likely a stroke.
Tests may include a neurologic exam and blood and urine tests. X-ray, MRI or CT scans could be used to look for tumors or abnormalities.
Treatment of vestibular disease
Some dogs may not need any treatment if they have a mild form, like Buffy had. The disease may last a week or two, but usually the first day or two are the most severe. The head tilt may remain indefinitely.
Some dogs may refuse to walk or eat, which can cause more problems with dehydration.
The vet may prescribe anti-nausea medication and motion sickness pills. If an inner ear infection is suspected, then antibiotics are prescribed.
Confining the dog may help to prevent injury. Prevent the dog from climbing stairs.
Calming agents may help since the dog may feel anxiety.
The good news is that your dog will recover and vestibular disease is not usually serious, unlike a brain tumor or stroke.
Additional information can be found from these resources:
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neurological/vestibular-disease-dogs
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/vestibular-disease-in-dogs
I’m glad to hear that Buffy is doing better and on the road to recovery. Thank you for sharing this information with pet parents. Vestibular disease is one of those things that can be so scary and leave pet parents with so many questions.
It’s one of those few diseases that look scary but isn’t. Buffy recovered very fast.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a vestibular disease. I know that had to be scary for you. Hopefully all of the symptoms will go away and it’s nothing more serious.
Thankfully, Buffy recovered fully within a day of visiting the vet.
So glad she’s back to normal. I’ve never heard of this disease. Good educational post I’ve learned something new.
I hope she feels better soon whichever diagnosis is the right one. Poor baby; it’s not nice when the body gets confused about where everything is, particularly up and down and own body parts.
It was vestibular disease and she was fine a day or so later. Very rapid recovery.
Wow, Sandy that must have been so scary! I’m relieved it isn’t serious and will go away with time. Buffy must have been frightened too not knowing what was happening. Great information, thanks for sharing.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Yes, Buffy was frightened, and I think it was worse since she is blind.
How scary that episode at 3am must have been! I completely understand how you can be debating an emergency vet trip when vitals are looking good, but you also know something is off. I’m glad Buffy is doing better and that vestibular disease is not serious. Thank you for sharing your experience to help others be aware of the symptoms.
Yeah, I’ve had two dogs have it. Pretty weird.
It would be so scary to see these kinds of symptoms happening with a pet! I’m glad that there is such a simple explanation. It would be a huge relief to find out that it was just an ear infection and not a stroke.
It turned out to be vestibular disease and she recovered the next day.
Sounds sort of like vertigo in humans almost. Glad Buffy is on the mend without having anything serious.
I had heard about vestibular disease but didn’t know anything about it. Sounds kinda scary. I hope your pup will be OK.
That must have been very disconcerting for all of you! I’m glad that Buffy had a mild form and I hope she won’t have any more episodes.
Vestibular disease is so sad to watch. Our old chihuahua Nacho had it and he would spin and had the head tilt and would walk into walls. Poor guy.
I hope Nacho recovered as fast as Buffy did. Within a day of seeing the vet, she was fine.
Glad Buffy is doing better now! Thanks for sharing this informative and helpful info. 🙂
That must have been scary to watch! I’m glad it’s not something super serious and she has a mild case. I hope she’s recovering well.
First, love your new layout! Excellent post! I have a senior who is now deaf and prone to ear infections (just getting over another after second round of antibiotics). This is good info to have on hand. I’m Pinning on my Bark About board to save and share with others. So happy to hear that Buffy is okay!
Thank you for sharing. I’ve had two of my dogs have it. It looks scary, but they recover without treatment.
Thanks for such an informative article. Red had vestibular and dementia, so she would circle constantly. One day I was looking at her and she had her head titled at an angle, and I thought how strange she looked. Naturally I took her to the vet and my first reaction was “not another health issue.” Glad to hear Buffy is doing well.
Circling constantly – wow that would be even terrifying to watch! Buffy only had periods of circling and it seemed like we could bring her out of it.
Thank you for this great post as a couple of months ago Layla had an episode as if she was drunk and I really got a fright, but the vet told me to monitor her and she is back to normal so am just keeping a double eye on her lately. So reading your post came at the right time
I’m glad Layla is feeling better. Maybe she had a very light case and got over it quickly.
I have heard of vestibular disease in cats. Because of this I knew the prognosis was not all bad. It is still frightening for the pet parent and I like your list of symptoms to guide people. Anyone in panic needs a simple list like yours not lots of waffling on!
Thank you for the compliment!