My 9-year-old dog lost balance and was sluggish. Should I see a vet?

If Lily seems completely fine otherwise I think you could monitor her tonight and contact your vet in the morning to see if they would recommend an exam. If she loses balance again, seems disoriented, or vomits is recommend seeing a vet tonight. It’s possible that she had a short seizure or other neurologic problem, or that she has low blood sugar or an electrolyte imbalance.

Since it has been happening for some time and she has recently developed new symptoms, Emma should be examined by your veterinarian. A physical exam and bloodwork (CBC, chemistry/thyroid panels, urinalysis) may diagnose metabolic or neurologic issues, especially in a senior pet. Severe, chronic ear infections may also affect balance.

I'm sorry to hear that Spud is having this issue. It sounds like you need to get him to your vet for an exam. He may be showing early signs of seizure activity or vestibular syndrome. The other options are liver disease, heart disease, kidney disease, toxin exposure - just to name a few. His symptoms unfortunately are not specific for any one disease process or illness. It will take a vet exam and probably some diagnostics (bloodwork, maybe x-rays) to figure out what is going on. This is not something I would ignore in a dog that is almost 10 years old. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

She does need to see a vet as soon as you can as this sounds like a neurological problem. It may be a stroke, an inner ear infection, or vestibular disease. Your vet will examine her and start her on medicine to help with the dizziness and off balance so she can rest. Most regain normal function with time and treatment.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Snoop is having an issue keeping his balance. This can be due to an issue with his vestibular system, or the part of the nervous system responsible for compensating for changes in location (for example, in a human, getting dizzy on a merry go round is a result of your vestibular system getting "confused"). This is especially likely if he is falling to one side consistently. Vestibular issues can come from the nervous system itself or from the inner ear. Snoop can also have a generalized weakness causing him to fall over, which can be due to a toxin, dehydration, low blood sugar, and many other causes. Snoop should definitely be seen by a vet as soon as possible to determine the underlying cause of his loss of balance and initiate the appropriate treatment.

Poor Lucy! This could be a few different things. The most common things would be geriatric vestibular disease, an inner ear infection, a cerebral vascular accident (stroke), or a brain tumor. A lot of times it is geriatric vestibular disease which is a disorder they get when they get older that causes imbalance, but it improves with time. Unfortunately, they usually need supportive care to prevent dehydration. If she were mine, I would take her to your vet for an exam. Your vet may want to run some blood work to ensure her organs look okay and there is no toxins involved. Your vet will likely recommend supportive care and possibly antibiotics or steroids to cover all the possible problems. They may want to keep her there to watch her closely. I would give her a few days to see if she improves. I hope this helps!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would be worried about a few things regarding Bindi with what you are describing. One possibility if a bleeding tumor. If Bindi is older (>4-5 years old) this becomes more likely. You can look at her gums to see if they are pink or white. Otherwise, it is possible she got into a toxin (like marijuana) which can make her sleeping, be normal when 'roused' but otherwise be very flat and tired. If she is dribbling urine this is more likely. There are many other conditions as well. I would suggest calling the clinics in your area and finding one that does out of hours calls to see if they could see you. There are many other causes for her clinical signs, and without seeing her or knowing more it is hard to narrow it down. Best of luck with Bindi.