Any vets out there? My dog needs your help.

[Laurajean1014]

We think Ginger, our 13 yr old golden mix, had a dog's equivalant of a stroke or seizure.

She fell down about 5 or 6 stairs less than a week ago, and was hobbling quite a bit. An hour later, I took her outside to "do business" and she ran after a rabbit as if she was 2 yrs. old.

On Friday morning, I noticed that she was shaking and then she threw up. I didn't think much of it, until she could not stop tilting her head, and walking very slow and different. Her eyes are rocking as well. It breaks my heart.

Is it a stroke of some type? Is she in lots of pain? She seems to get better each day, but will this impair her? Will it make her not want to do anything? We are afraid of opening the bedroom door because she may want to go down the stairs. So, we pick her up and take her down or up. She can jump on the sofa but not the bed.

Any words of advice would be great.

Also, prayers for Ginger would also be very helpful.

Thank you.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I think you should take Ginger to her vet for an examination.

 

[Laurajean1014]

She has a 3:45 pm appointment. The vet said it maybe a virus and she may need antibotics or steroids...... is steroids safe for a dog?

I was thinking of an anti-inflamatory.

Whatever will take the pain away, if she is in any.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Steriods are very safe for dogs. They don't have the same side effects on animals as they do on humans.

Best of luck with your appointment. We will keep good thoughts for Ginger

 

[damo]

Our dog was on steroids for six years. They gradually reduce the dosage as time goes on. I hope your guy is okay!

 

[djgeffers1]

Our little 10 month puppy (Pride) is on steroids now, just finished antibiotics, was running a 104.2 temp, couldn't walk , had to be carried everywhere. Since being on the steroids there is a huge difference, he was born with problems in his back legs and vet also said he is somewhat mentally challenged ( born that way) and now since being sick his back legs are worse, so we are going to get him a set of those wheelie things.

 

[poohbear1029]

Hopefully it will just be a virus as your vet suggests and you will have a quick fix! Good luck at the Vet!

We had a Golden growing up that used to have occasional siezures, very similiar to what you described. They were never frequent or severe enough to need treatment or medication and in no way impacted his over all health. He used to have at most 2 per year. They never knew what caused them. He used to be very tired and weak afterwards but then once he rested he would have his energy back! We also noticed that after a seizure he would be very thirsty as well. Never stopped him from playing swimming, being left alone, long walks etc. He lived to be 15 years old and died of a completely different cause.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I just want to thank all of you for all your kind words and prayers.

The vet said that Ginger should be fine. They gave her a large dose of steriods and she needs to take steroid pills each day. They said the rocking (eyes) should stop, and she should be her old self again. The tilted head may go away, but she looks better already.

I am so glad I do not have to make a tough decision that I am not prepared to make, at this time. She is much too important for me to give up.

God blessed me with her, and he heard my prayers to help her.

She's my touchstone!

Thanks again.

I will update you all in a week or so.

 

[DocRafiki]

It sounds like your vet diagnosed her with vestibular syndrome, which should resolve itself even without treatment. Of course there's no way to know for sure, so make sure to go back if it doensn't resolve like he/she expects.

Notes:
--Steroids ARE anti-inflammatories
--They are NOT extremely safe in dogs. They have many many side effectsThey are generally safe for acute treatments, but you don't want to give them long-term unless necessary, and you don't want to stop them cold-turkey (they should be weaned down if they've been used for a length of time)

 

[twinmomplus2]

Our 3 year old Saint Bernard had some inflammation on her hind leg, So off to the vet where they gave her a shot of steroids. I am here to tell you she did have some serious issues for us anyhow. They did not tell me it could cause frequent thirst and excessive urination Let me tell you this was no picnic!!!!She peed uncontrolably for 3 days, I thought she was at the end. She was so upst as was I she peed for 3 days and was miserable. It did stop after the third day. It is not to my knowladge common, but can happen. Keep her in the kitchen just in case! If I had known I wouldn't have had to replace my Dining room rug. 1200 dollars later live and learn!

 

[DocRafiki]

The peeing and thirst is extremely common. You will almost always see that with dosages used for acute problems. We try to warn people about that, but it's easy to miss (and easy for the client to forget) when there is so much going on with the pet. Always read your invoice and any other paperwork sent home; most medical record computer programs will print out a little warning about side effects of the drugs that you were charged for.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Doc,

You are correct. My husband took her, and could not remember the actual name. It is nice to hear that she has a good chance of recovering from this. Is this a virus that she got somewhere and hit her?

My 5 month old golden seems great. Was her temp so high it caused these effects?

Thank you for your knowledge regarding this.

Laura

 

[dtuleya]

I always feel so bad when one of my animals get sick. I hope she is feeling better soon!

 

[DocRafiki]

I couldn't find in your posts what her temp was, so I don't know how high it was. Dogs' normal temps are much higher than people's, so people often think they have a bad fever when they really do not.

The last I read, the cause of vestibular syndrome isn't known. So, a virus is a possibility, but it doesn't appear to need a specific treatment. Just make sure your pet has fluid and calories going in and coming out properly while waiting for this to resolve.

djgeffers, what breed is your puppy? have you taken him to a neurologist? what kind of problems does he have with his back legs?