How to Treat Vestibular Disease in Old Dogs

Balance in dogs, as in humans, is controlled by the vestibular system of the inner ear. The system allows dogs to sense their position. If a dog is blindfolded and you hold him with his head pointing downward, it is the sensory nerves in the inner ear that tell the dog he is not level, and he will kick and wiggle about to right himself. As dogs age, they sometimes develop vestibular disease, or "geriatric vestibular syndrome," a condition that causes them to tilt their heads to one side, lose body coordination (ataxia), exhibit jerking eye movements (nystagmus), and sometimes vomit. In some cases, the problem will resolve itself within 2 weeks or so, but in other cases, depending upon the cause of the problem, treatment may be needed.

Instructions

    • 1

      Check inside the ears of the dog to see if there is any discharge. Ask a vet to take a closer look inside the ear with an otoscope to see if there are signs of an ear infection. He may culture some material he takes from the ear to determine the type of infection, after which he will give your dog an antibiotic, which should have the dog back to normal within a week or two.

    • 2

      Have the dog checked for hypothyroidism, which can be done by a blood test. If this is the cause of the vestibular disease, the vet will prescribe thyroid supplements and the dog should return to normal within 2 months.

    • 3

      Listen for any whines of pain when you open the dog's mouth. Take the dog to the vet if it appears there is pain, which can be a sign of a tumor in the inner ear or brain. Ask the vet to run tests to determine whether or not there is a tumor.

    • 4

      Consider whether your dog appears to be suffering from an infection (listlessness, temperature, lack of appetite) or if she is not up-to-date on her distemper shots. Both infections and distemper can cause encephalitis (swelling of the brain), which can result in vestibular disease. Ask a vet to check for these problems, many of which can be treated with medications.

    • 5

      Check with your vet if symptoms of vestibular disease occurred soon after your dog began taking a new medicine or if any medications were introduced into the dog's ears. Both medications in the ear or high doses of some drugs can cause vestibular toxicity, resulting in symptoms of vestibular disease.