As a dog owner, if you notice that your dog is unstable thereby falling or staggering while working, it could come as a very weird and scary experience as many things would definitely be going through your mind. This could happen because of some medical related issues like wounds, stroke, poisoning or even various types of infections.
My 14 Year Old Dog Keeps Falling Over
If you eventually detect that your dog is not as stable as usual, you should have found out that it is gradually losing its sense of stability and is not as strong as before. In this situation you should know that your dog may be suffering from various health related problems.
If your dog is losing balance, it should not be ignored, as this condition could be really serious and be in need of immediate medical help. Knowing this it is actually in your best interest that your dog is taken to the vet clinic immediately.
It is advised that you take your dog for regular check ups in vet clinics because it is the only way to detect things that could cause occurrence like these. Tye check-up you register your dog for acts as a watch tower that informs you of any invading ailment early.
This piece of information would help you in combating these things before it starts getting serious and spreads farther into your dog’s body. There are some reasons why your 14 year old dog could keep falling over, these reasons are;
Ataxia
This is the major reason why many dogs might actually lose their sense of stability. This is a problem that requires immediate solution, so you should never play with your vet doctor if you notice that your dog is suffering from this.
Ataxia is a condition in dogs, whereby the animal has a dysfunction in it’s sensory part leading to a rapid loss in it’s body coordination. This affects it’s head, fore and hind limbs, and it’s rear areas. This ataxia is actually in three parts, there is the cerebellar ataxia, the sensory ataxia and the vestibular ataxia.
- Cerebellar ataxia
This happens when the cerebral part of your dog’s brain is severely damaged. This makes your dog unable to achieve total coordination of it’s body parts and it could cause a total relapse in the dog’s activities.
This is a very dangerous thing as the cerebrum plays a vital role in out survival. If your dog has this ailment you would need to spend lots of time with the mutt. This makes your dog to suffer from falls, tremors, lack or coordination etc.
- Sensory ataxia
The sensory or proprioceptive ataxia occurs when the spinal cord gets compressed slowly. This is usually sue to abnormalities like tumors, or even a protruding intervertebral disk. The spinal ataxia is slower in reducing the total effectiveness of your mutt.
If you actually feel like your dog might be suffering from this, it would be good if you go confirm through tests that may actually help you. The sensory ataxia might result in things like balance loss and gait problems.
- Vestibular ataxia
This is the most common, especially amongst dogs aged 14. This form of ataxia is as a result of issues in the innermost part of the ear, or brain stem.
In vestibular ataxia or “vestibular syndrome’, your dog’s eyes may start moving from one side to the other, you can see dogs suffering from this ailment tilting their heads every time, and spreading their legs apart to stay upright without falling down. The vestibular system is made up of parts o the brain and ear.
It is the part that is responsible for the maintenance of our balance. This is why when there is any issue concerning this particular part, the dog tends to feel all fuzzy and dizzy. The cause of this ailment is actually not known, but it does not actually spread progressively.
This ailment does not grow from bad to worse. This ailments is in all dog breeds, but it usually affects the medium or large dog breeds who are 8 years old and above. This ailment is usually known as stroke and it is very detrimental to any dog’s health.
The signs you should expect to see if your dog is suffering from the vestibular syndrome are;
- Loss of balance
- Tilting heads
- Appetite loss
- Vomiting
There are also some causes of ataxia in dogs. These are;
- Spinal cord issues
- Brain tumors
- Brain stem inflammation
- Low blood sugar and potassium
- Head trauma
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Treating ataxia
You should know that treatment for ataxia is actually a supportive course. This may include getting anti vomiting drugs and various drips that could help your dog recover from dehydration.
It is also advices that you sedate those ones that are very disoriented. If you have a dog suffering from this ailment at home, it would do you good to help it go through some activities like peeing and defecating. You should also keep watch for your dog as it is prone to falling in areas that may be dangerous
Head issues
Trauma or problems to the head could also pose lots of damage to your dog’s cognitive system. If your dog has an injury in it’s inner ears, it could cause an imbalance that would negatively affect your dog. It is really hard to detect the discomfort your dog faces as they usually hide their pain.
There are actually several signs and symptoms that you can use to know if your dog has these issue, these symptoms are; panting, slow reflexes, weakness, appetite drop, change in mood etc. These signs usually come at anytime they like, usually during the first 24 hours after the head issue.
The thing you might want to be cautious of is the conscious level of your dog. You should know how active your dog usually is, so any drop in those activities could actually mean trouble. If you notice anything wrong, you could actually take your dog to the vet doctor.
If you find any wound on its head, you should apply first aid, before finally taking the mutt to the vet doctor.
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Otitis media infection
This is an ailment which comes as an inflammation or increase in size of the middle part of the ear. This infection can lead to pain, head tilting, lack of coordination and vomiting occasionally.
Your veterinary doctor would do ear swab tests and give out antibiotics for your dog’s safety.
Dog poisoning
Your dog might also get poisoned. If your dog is staying in an area where there are various impurities around, it might be exposed to poisoning. If your dog takes in things it should not, it would be advisable that you take it to a clinic immediately. Your vet practitioner would help nullify the effects of the poison before it causes any harm.
Ear issues
This is one major course of imbalance in dogs. If your dog has ear issues, it affects it’s body composure and awareness making it very vulnerable to instability. To know if your dog has ear related issues, you should check it it is paying special attention to it’s ear lobes.
A dog with ear infections, could also shake and scratch it’s head. You should see your vet doctor if you find out that your dog is showing signs of instability.
Stroke
Stroke is a very uncommon occurrence in dogs. But at times it usually happens. This
ailment could occur when blood clots, there is high blood pressure, hemorrhage, disease in the kidney or even moving worms in the body.
If your dog has stroke, it could completely affect its sense of balance thereby totally rendering it unable to move. Stroke is a very dangerous sickness that takes lots of medication to actually cure. To avoid stroke in your dog, you should avoid stressing it and giving it a wrong diet.
Conclusion
When your dog is unable to play and do many things it loves, it is usually a painful sight to behold. As a dog owner you should always be aware of various ailments or activities that could affect your dog, especially when it is 14 years and above.
Being a good dig owner and trainer, is very essential if you are keen on seeing that animal live longer days. Enjoying time with your dog has lots of things to do with how you care for that mutt’s physical health. Always ensure that you properly take care of your dog.
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