loss of balance & lack of coordination
by Carmen
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
My maltese is 2 years old and 2.7 pounds. Since he was 6 months he never had anymore problems of sugar imbalance. Since 3 days he started to loose his balance and shake his head like a person that suffers from Alzenheimmer disease.I took him to a vet here in Spain where we are living now for 3 months and he made a a glucose test. It was 70 which according to him is slightly low but could not cause such a lack of coordination .He said that on a small dog like him perhaps it could never beeing higher. He walks now like he is drunk and it is getting worse than 3 days ago. The vet suggested that he maybe has hit his head.( But then he should be getting better not worse.) He examed the spinal cord and legs and everything was fine. He performed a test and Croissant could not "find" the floor. He lost the
sense of orientation. He examed the ears and also didn't find anything. He is eating very well but cannot even lift his leg to pipi without falling .I thought about everything : the mad cow disease because he ate an ossobuco the other day,meningites or perhaps a common maltese brain disease that I am not aware.
Please help me with your knowledge. Thanks in advance.
DISCUSSION:
Carmen, sounds very similar to what my 3.5 lb. Yorkie had. It all started with a slight tilting of her head, losing balance, and then hardly being able to stand. My regular vet x-rayed her spine thinking she had a slipped disk, that was O:K. He was at a loss so he sent me to a specialist. First thing she was tested was for a liver shunt. It wasn't that. The next thing was that she either had a brain tumor or occipital dysplasia which is a hole by the brain and spine. (There is a posting under occipital dysplasia in the archives which goes into more detail) So, you might want to mention these two possibilites to your vet or take her to a specialist vet.
Laurie & Emma
When Rooster had his seizures he acted like you are describing, he could not keep his balance, but in a short time he was OK. Might have you vet check for that.. Good luck and please keep us posted.
PK
PK
Carmen, this sounds very similar to what our Sophie did when she began to have problems. Maybe ask your vet to check for epilepsy. Sophie had a very severe case and got to the point where she was having seizures everyday that lasted for hours. If this is the problem, finding it early may keep it from getting worse. Please keep us informed and we pray that all goes well!!
Kirsten
Have your vet check for anemia. Holly seemed to loose her balance when she was suffering from anemia. A blood test can detect anemia or a low red blood cell count. Don't waste any valuable time and good luck...let us know how it turns out.
Katy & Bear
Carmen, this could be almost anything. If he has slightly low blood sugar you should keep high protein food available for him at all times along with a bowl of fresh water. In addition to this you might ask your Vet if you could also keep a tiny bowl of 1/2 cup water with 1 tsp. Karo Syrup added. In other words, two separate dishes of water.
You might try to get a second opinion from a different Vet who specializes in tiny dogs & cats. I wish you both well.
Jay
Carmen, I know how worried you must be. I would suggest you ask your vet to refer you to a vet at your nearest University Veterinary Teaching Hospital who specialises in neurosurgery, and do so STRAIGHT AWAY. I don't want to alarm you, but what you describe sounds very much like what happened to my Rastus, who was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumour (located in the vestibular area, which is why his balance and co-ordination were destroyed) and who passed away four weeks later. He was still eating but needed help because he couldn't pinpoint where the food was and couldn't stand up without wobbling or staggering ..... it was heartbreaking to watch. Rastus was 16, so much older than Croissant, and I seem to remember the vet telling me that there is a condition with almost identical symptoms in young small dogs which responds very well to steroids and is usually completely curable. I hope Croissant will be OK.....get an appointment with the neuro vet ASAP and please keep us posted.
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
| Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advise. |
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