A dog able for fall can be more or less impressive, sometimes the dog falls suddenly, sometimes it is just gait disturbances. The causes of these losses of balance are also more or less serious and of course the treatment depends on the cause. In some cases there is nothing else to do but wait for it to pass…
The dog controls his balance because of:
the inner ear* which contains different structures that allow the animal to know if it is moving, if it is moving (front, back side, up, down, etc.). This information is then transmitted to…
the part of the brain that manages balance (in the brainstem) which finally allows the body to adapt its position.
*The ear is made up of 3 parts: the outer ear (which goes to the eardrum), the middle ear also called the tympanic bulla and the inner ear which is used for hearing and balance.
Loss of balance, ataxia and vestibular syndrome, dog
A dog that loses its balance may present other associated signs: tilted head, eyes that move like windshield wipers (we speak of horizontal, vertical or rotary nystagmus), deficits of other cranial nerves (facial paralysis, Claude Bernard Horner syndrome), paralysis of the legs, etc.
These signs are characteristic of a vestibular syndrome. Also known as vestibular ataxia.
Ataxia is motor incoordination of the limbs, head and/or body linked to a sensory deficit.
The vestibular syndrome can be central or peripheral:
central if the problem concerns the part of the brain that controls balance (in this case the dog may have paralysis of the legs on the side of the lesion)
peripheral if the problem concerns the inner ear (in this case there is no paralysis of the legs)
Possible causes of loss of balance
A central vestibular syndrome can be caused by an infection (distemper, neosporosis), inflammation, intoxication (certain drugs such as metronidazole), a tumor process or head trauma.
A peripheral vestibular syndrome can be due to otitis media, hypothyroidism, a tumoral process of the inner ear, trauma or be idiopathic (that is to say, the reason is not known).
The idiopathic vestibular syndrome mainly affects older dogs and even if it can be very impressive (dog which turns in circles, head tilted, which vomits, which can not stand at all on its legs with the head which turns if it is changed position…) has a fairly good prognosis: in general the symptoms regress on their own in 3 days. There is no specific treatment, in general the veterinarian treats the symptoms (vomiting) and keeps the dog under observation on a drip.
Good to know:
strokes are rare in dogs, so a dog who suddenly has his head tilted, who loses his balance does not have a stroke, he is much more likely to have an idiopathic vestibular syndrome.
Your veterinarian may suggest that you carry out additional examinations (or refer you to a structure equipped to do so), in order to make a precise diagnosis for these losses of balance: otoscopy (examination of the auditory canal), blood test, MRI, puncture of cerebrospinal fluid, etc.
