does your dog ever lose its balance for no reason?

[BabyReba]

oh no. i was hoping maybe it was just a freak thing that would disappear.

[Murfins]

Can you catch it on video - that might help the vet to diagnose.

[HappyPuppy]

^ good point about the camera. I actually had it out earlier today ... didn't even register to grab it ... Logging that in.

[FransterDoo]

Definitely record it!

Also, if you think it's happening during fetch - it your vet has the space then go play fetch her with at the vets and try to get it to happen.

[dogs4jen]

Our late boxer had arthritis I her spine and I first noticed something was wrong when her back legs would collapse under her when she ran. She was ten years old when it started though. Also, there's a disease called degenerative myelopathy that has similar symptoms but it's most often seen in boxers and German shepherds. I sure hope your dog doesn't have either one, but I just thought I should mention them.

[Shoshana]

It's mild and slow-mo but totally obvious - nothing violent just clear of you are watching that she's starting to tip but catches herself. I'm going to call the vet again on Monday (they close at noon on Saturdays). I'm reading more about vestibular issues now.... (ETA I looked for and did not see evidence of nystagmus - eyes were clear, still and focused)

The two dogs I know that I told you about - they both had a vague look in their eyes when they got wobbly.

With my friends dogs the wobblies came after playing fetch because the exercise stressed their systems.

[HappyPuppy]

Vet was out yesterday - should call back today. Now I'm not so sure about 'not' seeing nystagmus the other day... I'm going to watch more closely - definitely at the end of the episode, there was none but thinking back I can almost picture it but I was like 3 inches away from her face.... We played fetch hard yesterday with the camera at the ready but nothing happened...... (< DH got insulted when I told him he didn't need to be poised with his finger over the 'on/play' button.... LOL)

[Ilovethepits]

This must be stressful for you and DH. I hope everything turns out ok.

[mtlu]

I really hope you can get some answers!

[HappyPuppy]

Thank you.... Vet just called - as a 'cheap experiment', she's going to prescribe a week's worth of
Rimadyl. She's leaning toward the vestibular side of things - also said I 'could' take Ruby in to exercise and watch but at this point that could be a goose chase since it hasn't been repeatable on demand.... She thinks we should wait for more symptoms/issues before committing to a $1K MRI and I mostly agree with that since we could spend a lot of $$$ chasing an unknown something.... I'm willing to spend some money but want it to be as practical as possible.... Vet agreed that getting a video would be the BEST next step - esp to dis/prove nystagmas, which is an indicator.

[Leslie H]

You need to get really close to see the nystagmus, but the movement is quite fast, and pretty obvious.

[nic]

What about 'exercise induced collapse' you can google it and find vids.
Hope you get an answer

[suzanne]

I know with some dogs showing vestibular type signs it can be ear related. Is there a chance there could be something in her ear causing a problem?

Can dogs get vertigo? Like... maybe something in her ear(s) is causing a problem? I know you said there's no nystagmus but maybe it's really subtle and passes quickly? Just a thought anyway, maybe the rimadyl will help if she's having some kind of inflammatory response. Sending good thoughts!

[Shearaha1]

Has Idiopathic Vestibular Disorder been brought up? My last dog (Border Collie/Lab) got that in his last few months. It can be caused by swollen nerves leading to/from the inner ear, a deep inner ear infection or a tumor placing pressure on the nerves/inner ear. Without an MRI it's a process of elimination usually starting with either systemic antibiotics or an anti-inflammatory like Rimadyl to rule out swelling or infection.

[HappyPuppy]

@ Suzanne and Shearaha1 -- our vet is leaning toward something vestibular but we just don't have enough data yet to zero in as you said.... I asked if she thought the 2 loose hairs she saw way deep down (stuck in ear wax) could be 'enough' to cause these symptoms and she said no. I just picked up the rimadyl to see if it is something that's inflamed like the nerve. Otherwise, her ears looked good upon inspection.

@ nic - thanks for the suggestion. It doesn't seem to be exercise induced collapse altho exercising seems to trigger what's happening... Vet said if it was more predictable we could bring her in and run her around but that could be a lot of trips waiting for it to happen again.