Has anyone had a dog that started walking sideways and had a good outcome?

[Springandsummerarecoming]

I’m guessing not, but I’m hopeful. Thanks.

Yes. He was an old dog I can't remember what the condition is called, but it lasted about 3 days. Full recovery. I think he was given some sort of steroids. Emergency vet gave bleak outcome, presumed a tumour. Regular vet, knew what it was. We honestly thought we were losing him, the night it started, and he looked frightened too. Are you seeing a vet?

Could be lots of things. Perhaps a vestibular problem affecting the balance.
Are his eyes looking odd? Any twitching/rolling/flickering of the eyes?

To be honest it could be any number of things, he will definitely need to see a vet.

Have a look at this link, does any of it look familiar? Particularly head tilt/eyes flickering.

vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/vestibular-disease-in-dogs

He’s seeing a vet tomorrow morning. His eyes are fine but I suspect he won’t be coming home. He seems disorientated / confused too.

I’ve seen that website. He has a few symptoms but not all. Thanks for sharing though.

That's a shame. He may have had a "stroke" or some kind of brain/neurological event. Hoping for the best outcome for you tomorrow.

The website says they can improve after approx 72 hours. What worries me is the vet will look at him and say he’s old and won’t recover and suggest to put him down. How do we decide whether to do that or wait a bit and see? Seems cruel to wait and see if he doesn’t get better.

Thanks @RVN123

my 10 year old boxer recently had a severe vestibular attack. He kept falling over, waking into things, eyes flickering, head tilted to one side. this lasted a few hours until we got him to vets who gave him anti sickness tablets and steroids. Turns out he had an horrendous middle ear infection - we had him sedated, ears cleaned and a course of antibiotics. This was a few weeks ago. He still has a head tilt and is a little uncoordinated, but pretty much back to his old self - just a bit more 'doddery'. Hope this helps.

So, totally wait and don't do anything drastic! My dog struggled to drink and eat for the first week after the attack - as he couldn't 'find' the bowls. We hand fed him chicken and syringed water into his mouth until he gradually regained most of his coordination. You may have to nurse him for awhile, but he should definitely improve. Sending best wishes.

Yes my little toy poodle who is estimated to be anything from 3-10 - joys of an overseas rescue.

Anyway he slipped in excitement and went completely limo one Sunday. I was beside myself, he wouldn't even try and stand up.

Went to the painfully expensive out of hours vet and was fearing the worst, especially as he has a poor medical history.

Anyway the vet was pretty amazing and said it either spinal shock - neurological and either would or wouldn't get better in 3 days. Or could be a slipped disc and outcome would be very different. He suggest not action other than pain relief and anti inflammatory.
He was back on his very wobbly feet the next day. Then side walking and just kept improving.

It was truly incredible. We started weekly hydro therapy immediately to try and strengthen him and to prevent such a slip again.

Hope this is a similar scenario for you, if so you might even see improvement in the morning.

Sounds a bit like vestibular syndrome. My dog has had a few attacks of this- apart from being very wobbly where her back legs seem to go sideways out of sync with her front legs but another symptom is nystagmus which is where the eyes involuntarily flicker. It does clear up but she was left with her head permanently on one side. It's more unusual but she has had three attacks of this and each time it has taken her longer to get over it.

Not a dog but a cat, she had had a slight stroke but recovered fairly quickly though was deaf afterwards. Still enjoyed life for a couple of years.

I walked sideways for a while after concussion but it went.

My friends dog has chronic vestibular problems but she's doing ok. Some days she's a bit wobbly and vacant in her gaze and a bit discomboblated but other days she's almost symptom free. Either way she's still living a happy life.

Nothing useful to add except I want to ear rub all these slightly wonky dogs! Hope tomorrow brings good news OP x

An.old dog of mine had a stroke aged 13, I thought omg that's it, but no, the vet just kept saying "give her time, give her time", and sure enough she was fine but she forever had a head tilt, she lived for another 6 years.

Finger crossed and all the best for your pooch

@DimplesToadfoot wow another 6 years at age 13. That’s amazing. I think the vets going to suggest putting down but now don’t know whether to wait. He’s 15 so I doubt they’ll think he can recover.

Vestibular disease, sometimes improves. My dog had it over a year but deteriorated so badly unfortunately we had to make the sad decision.

How did he get on, @Springandsummerarecoming?

My hound has this last summer and it was a middle ear infection. He is 98% recovered, though he also has been left with a slight head tilt and the occasional rear-end stagger. His cornering at speed has got a bit unreliable too (he’s a lurcher, and still doing zoomies!). But otherwise he’s fine. He is 13.

Fingers crossed for you!