Why does my Lab get wobbly, shake, and go blind when suddenly woken?

Poor girl. The fact that she is wobbly and running into things, means that this is likely neurological. I would definitely have her seen by your vet right away for a thorough examination and brief neuro exam to see if we can find the underlying cause for this. One common cause for these types of sudden neurological symptoms in older dogs is vestibular disease, which can be caused by an inner ear infection, a brain tumor, or idiopathic (no underlying cause found). Idiopathic vestibular disease is the most common one we see and typically can improve on its own within a few weeks time with supportive care through your vet. I hope that things work out well for your pet Molly moving forward. Best wishes and take care!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bailey. I recommend that she sees a veterinarian today to have her vision assessed. Any sudden loss of vision is worrisome. There are a variety of of causes of this including cataracts from diabetes, a condition known as SARDS, retinal detachment or a neurologic disease. I hope this information helps!

You are right she could be suffering from a neurological issue, especially if her eyes are larger than normal, and having trouble walking on one side the most. I would recommend taking her into a vet right away for an exam, as time is of the essence in potential neurological problems. The vet can do a physical exam, neurological exam, blood tests, and a urinalysis to diagnose what is causing her symptoms and can treat accordingly.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. If he is still acting this way, he will need to see his veterinarian. Was there any chance that he could have ingested a toxin? That was my first consideration when reading your post. If not, then he could have a primary neurologic disease. His veterinarian will be able to guide you based on his exam findings. Good luck!

It's a bit hard to say, but this sounds like seizure activity, especially with the periods of confusion you're describing after the episodes occur. In a 4 year old dog I'd be concerned about epilepsy, although other possibilities such as a poisoning and brain tumors should be considered as well. Roscoe needs to see his vet ASAP in order to find out what is going on, and start treatment. If these are seizures, the longer they go undiagnosed and uncontrolled, the more likely he will have one that he won't come out of. Get him seen ASAP.

Is he running into things around the house? He could be suffering from some blindness which can make them hypersensitive to anyone coming around their face. If this is all of the sudden, it could be due to high blood pressure and I would have your vet check him out to see if he needs to be on any blood pressure meds. Another possibility is that he may have had a seizure in his sleep which caused the twitching. After a seizure, they can be very hypersensitive to any touch or movement until they snap out of it. If he isn't improving, I would definitely have your vet take a look at him to see if there is anything else going on. If he doesn't snap out of it suddenly, then I would believe even more than it was likely a seizure. I would call your vet and talk to them about the seizure. Your vet will likely recommend a panel of bloodwork to ensure there isn't anything metabolically wrong that could have caused a seizure. I would recommend to start a seizure log which records the date, time and what he did during and after the seizure. If these episodes begin to happen often then I would contact your vet about this as well. I hope this helps!

That depends on if he’s actually having a seizure or if he is trying to get his legs to work normally. The first thing I recommend to do is to record one of these episodes and show it to his veterinarian. While videotaping the episode, call his name as pets who are having seizures are generally not as responsive. If he is having a seizure, the best thing you can do is dim the lights and make the environment quiet. You do not want to create more stimulation. Additionally, if he is having seizures there are medications that can control them and I recommend to discuss this with his veterinarian. If this is not a seizure, I recommend to start him on an omega-3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, a joint supplement, a joint diet and also pursue physical therapy. Jasper is still a young dog and starting physical therapy now can make all the difference when he is older. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.