Good ol’ Rufus, or Shadow, or Max. He or she’s always been such a good dog. But now you can see the years creeping up on him or her. There’s gray in the muzzle, but your pal still gets around well, and loves to play with the kids and bark at strangers. But one day you see that he can’t get up, and that his head is tilting severely to one side. And then he starts flipping over, and you stare at him in shock. What is going on?! Is this a seizure? Is my dog going to die? Well, it could be a few things, one of which is called geriatric vestibular syndrome. People seem to remember it better if I call it “dog old dizzy disease”.

This is a condition that comes on for unknown reasons, usually in older dogs, in which the vestibular system (located in the inner ear, and which controls the body’s sense of balance) is affected. There may be some sort of inflammation involved, and depending on the severity of the condition, dogs may have anything from a slight head tilt, to full-blown rolling and flipping, unable to stand up at all. Rhythmic eye movements where the eyes dart back and forth may occur. This is called nystagmus. Dogs may nauseous from the “sea sickness” feeling, and therefore may vomit, or not eat or drink till they feel better. Even when they are less nauseous, they may still have a tough time with the fine motor movements needed to eat or drink, and need to be hand-fed. This condition can last from a few days to as long as 3 weeks, but as long as this is the primary cause of the problem, almost all dogs will have a full recovery.

This condition can be confused with anything else that can cause brain damage or inner ear disease. Inner ear infections are probably the most common cause of similar symptoms, and can usually be diagnosed on a physical exam or with x-rays. If this is not the problem, then it could also be traumatic in origin, or possibly a brain tumor. This may require a CT or MRI exam to diagnose.

This is an unusual condition, but one that usually has a favorable outcome. Even when dogs don’t fully recover from dizzy old dog disease, they normally have a good life. They adjust to things like a head tilt with ease. But if progress isn’t noted after a few weeks, or if things deteriorate quickly, then the other problems need to be considered. Hopefully your faithful companion won’t go through one of these episodes, but if he or she does, now you have a little knowledge on your side to help them out.

Till next time, Dr. Steve

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