Our old lab is 13, had him since he was 4 or 5 (rescue) and he was enormously fat, previous owner had well, basically mistreated him with food and no exercise

Hes been a great dog, very quiet, very good, but his back legs were always going to be his get him eventually, he’s been slowing down and its sort of expected but this morning, he cant get up.

His eyes seem to be everywhere and we’re simply wondering if he’s dizzy? he’s got a bit of a head wobble too?

any ideas,

end of line or ear infection?

vets not open until 9 and we don’t know what the outcome may be.

any advice greatly appreciated., even if its not good news.

Could be a stroke..

Call out of hours vet number.. get him seen to asap.

He’s had a good innings by the sounds of things. You have looked after him well. At 13 he is a real oap, so it may be it unfortunately . Cherish the time you have had with him.

I hope that the vet had promising news for you. Our old spaniel had Idiopathic vestibular disease amongst other ailments and it seemed kinder to say goodbye with a home visit by the vet.

Our staffie cross had the wobble/head tilt/flicking eyes – vestibular event. Made a really good recovery and lasted another 18 months. Believe it was a tumour that finally got him. I don’t want to give you false hope, but don’t give up all hope.

The advice we had from the vet about doing the right thing, was to not be in a rush to do it, we would know when was right.

Either way, thoughts are with you.

Hope coolhand dog pulls through!

How’s your dog doing?

My 14 year old collie had a bad vestibular event on Wednesday. He was in the vets overnight on fluids and anti nausea medication.  He is on steriods and vitofyllin and seems to be slowly recovering, he can toddle a few yards but is still a bit unsteady on his feet.

It’s the second episode he has had. The first was just over a year ago.  He made a full recovery and was still working sheep in the yard this winter.  His father also had the same thing and managed another couple of years.

My sister is a vet and says that there is a good recovery rate although the head tilt may remain. It still had me very worried when it was at its worst.

Were his eyes moving from side to side fairly rapidly. Battle to get up. Looks as if he is having a fit? Look up drunk dog syndrome. Our Staffie had this and the vet said it is fairly common in older dogs. Vet said it is more distressing for the owners than the dog. Ours developed this but seemed to recover well after each incident. He was about 11 when he developed it and lived for another 2 years. Died of acute renal failure.

We had to say goodbye.

Stroke, possibly could have been treated but at hos age it seemed far kinder to let him go.

We are of course absolutely devastated, the hole left is massive.

Looking back through photos thoughtless makes me very happy, he went to lots of places with us, multiple holidays, days out, long walk usually involving water and or mud which he loved.

Oh dear.

Console yourself, that you gave him the two best gifts a dog owner can give.  You gave him a home and a family – particularly as a rescue dog. And then when the time came you gave him this one too. If he could speak he’d be saying thank you.

Time heals, and when it does you can do one more thing for him. Give another dog the chance he had.

Oh, and a mud loving flabrador on cream seats…… are you mad?

Just needs shades on in that last pic….!

As above, console yourself with the knowledge that you gave him a nice life

These threads always bring a tear to my eye.

Reflect on the good times you shared and be glad you knew each other.

I still miss Amber (Irish Setter) she made it to 15 and it broke my heart to let her go but it was what she needed and I couldn’t let her down 😔

So sorry 😞