I'd guess shes had a stroke, or some form of diabetic attack. Disorientation & weakness are usually a sign of a stroke, or the worsening of another medical condition that causes the same symptoms, like diabetes that is not controlled.

I've had the decision to make like yours whether to treat or put down. Your vet is your best quide as to what happened. Usually with just a physical exam they an give you a pretty good idea. You have to decide what you can afford to do to keep her alive, and what needs to happen if her quality of life just isn't worth the pain & suffering.

Its not easy. Sorry.

M

Oh, Kristen...I hope Paloma is ok. Please call your vet asap and I hope she is ok. Thinking of you.

Duane

Yup, my first thought was stroke.

Ok, since I'm/have been dealing with this sort of thing, and have done extensive research online LOL. Here's my 2 cents. While it's quite possible she suffered a stroke, there is also the possibilty she is suffering from vestibular syndrome, which can mimic a stroke. Does she carry her head off to one side, maybe circle...they're not sure what causes this syndrome, but it knocks out their equilibrium, makes them nausaus, and it appears that they're having a stroke. The good news is that a little dramamine type drug helps them out, and they usually recover in a matter of days, maybe a couple of weeks. Now the other possiblity is cancer, like my dog has. Check her gums, do they look pink, or are they pale/white. Bob had somewhat the same symtoms when his tumor ruptured, they are basically bleeding out. I actually lost my Aussie this summer due to the same cancer. Cross your fingers that it's just vestibular syndrome, very possible. Hope all goes well with your pup.

I am not a dog expert, but I was thinking maybe inner ear infection (like Vertigo).

Hope she's okay.

Go to the vet. I can't imagine looking to gardenweb for answers for a dog in need.

Sorry to be blunt but TAKE THE DOG TO THE VET!!!!

It will be the best thing you can do for the dog and yourself.

Gary - who cried like a baby when I had to put my cocker down after 14 years.

Yep, I agree that this dog needs to be seen by a vet....and I understand that it is NOT cheap....or at times even close to reasonable but that is a part of taking on the responsibility of having a pet.
At first I thought you were just talking about an older dog who was just all "stove up" (arthritic/having trouble getting around). In that case I wanted to share with you all the absolutely near-miracle producing results that I had with an old (she lived to 17 & 1/2) min pin who was just very stiff and had great difficulty getting around. I gave her some of my (1/2 tab daily) glucosamine-chondritan. Within a couple of days she was moving with so much ease that it was just hard to believe.....and, yes, they do make the stuff for dogs but when I checked with the vet he said it was more expensive than what I was giving her and just to continue as I had started!

My very best wishes with your "baby" KristenMarie. Let us know how you do with this, OK?

Judy

Please don't put Kristen down because she comes to us before she goes to the vet. Some of us don't even take ourselves to doctors because we simply don't have the money. It sounds to me like this is a case for a vet to look at, but it also seems like something that won't be fixed very cheap.

We have a 13 year old dog that has been to the vet for yearly shots and one problem with her back a few years ago. Other than that --- doctor free. I am 64 and the last time I visited a doctor was when I gave birth to my last baby -- over 30 years ago. Husband- same record. Please don't assume that everybody depends on the medical profession for all of their information.

Some of us like to try to get other information first.

These symptoms are very generic for an old dog that is sick. We all get more easily confused and stumble around more when we not well. Stroke is unusual in dogs. There is no way to diagnose this. Besides whats the point? Kristin posted this on Monday, left town Tuesday and where did the dog go?
I don't want to preach - we can all have unexpected downturns in life but if more people would try to visualize their future BEFORE getting a pet sometimes these situations wouldn't happen.

Kristen,
First let me get on my soapbox and tell you all to please not put Kristen down. She's been on this forum for longer than most anyone, and she is a good animal owner. She's cared for more types of animal (and well at that) than most of you have ever even touched. She is not negligant in any way.
From there...
It was not Bernice, but rather boopster's dog that had these symptoms.
I'm not sure what to tell you. Good luck! And keep us posted.
Erin

Roberta, I, for one was not, in any way putting Kristen down...just giving what I felt was SOLID advice to help her do the very best for her pet.

Now...........I have to tell you that what you are doing (not having gone for a simple medical checkup) is a serious gamble. My mother had a similar "theory"....after all her mother had lived to 100 with very little medical care! Well, Mom "sprained" her ankle....suffered with it for six months...when she FINALLY went to have it x-rayed the bone in her leg was "the thickness of a potato chip"....the rest having been eaten away by a metastatic kidney cancer....she had had NO symptoms of that disease but the disease was "miles" past where any treatment was going to be of value when she went for that exam. She lived her last months on heavy pain killers, weakening quickly, with the cancer continuing to spread despite x-ray treatments. Hers was a horrible end....I will pray for you....God forbid that your "independence" ends as my Mother's did.

PLEASE rethink what you are doing. Please, Please.....your life is worth more than that!

((HUG))

Judy

Sheesh, these animal things on this forum always get funny! I think there's a split on this forum between people who , well, have a lot of animals and who are living in what is maybe a slightly old-fashioned way-- where you go first to your friends and neighbors (which for me includes you guys!) who know a lot about animals... and we take them to the people who empty your pocketbook only as a last resort (and usually for an animal that is very valuable, not for a dog that was old and half-blind and crippled with arthritis to start). Then there's other people who think it's some kind of crime to not take an old dog to the vet immediately ... or a crime to have animals if you happen to be lower income!!! :)

HOWEVER, I'm pretty attached to my girl, even if she is old and limpy, and I did call the vet-- I have recently found a vet willing to help over the phone for free (as long as I take my animals to her when I DO take them to a vet, which does happen periodically). She said it didn't sound like the vestibular sydnrome (although that was a VERY good suggestion thankyou!) because she wasn't tilting her head and her eyes seemed ok.

BUT, Another friend suggested poisoning, which got me to thinking, and I did some Internet searches, and came up with this:

I'm pretty sure my dog got poisoned by IVOMEC, which I had recently used as a goat wormer. I think she got into the Ivomec which I'd mixed with some yummy things to convince this goat to eat it. I think my dog might have got to it first (she loves hanging out in the goat pen with the goat). I looked up Ivermectin on the web and dogs and apparently MOST breeds of dogs can take Ivermectin safely (in fact it's prescribed for heartworms) but certain breeds-- including many of the shepherds, including AUSTRALIAN shepherds, which is what my dog is -- have some kind of genetic predisposition to reacting extremely negatively to Ivermectin. I think collies are also extremely susceptible as well as a few other herding breeds. Anyway, by the time I figured this out, my dog was doing quite a bit better, and by the time we left for our vacation, she was just sort-of tired and droopy but walking straight. She's entirely fine now, but the scare has convinced me to put her back on the very pricey Old Dog supplements I had her on last year-- in case anyone has an old, sick dog I can really highly recommend Synovy G3 which is a glucosamine supplement ... it was really good for her but it's $50 for a 60-day day supply so I hadn't kept up with it. But I think I'll order some again and maybe try to do every-other-day to stretch it out for 4 months or so... Anyway, thanks for all your advice and thoughts!!! All's well that ends well, I guess... poor old dog. Lesson learned: Closely monitor the ivermectin!

Kristen

P.S. to Roberta: My MIL is 71 and until last year hadn't been to a doctor since her last child was born 42 years ago... she takes care of all these things herself and doesn't trust the medical profession at all... she has some weird awful things on her face which I feel really worried could be skin cancer but she puts garlic on them and sometimes they go away. (It's hard for me to tell which ones are persistent, but it's been five years now... and she's still alive... )

She did finally go to the doctor last year when she got shingles (mostly because she was so freaked out and didn't know what was going on). So I understand your point of view and it really is your choice-- some people would not WANT to go through the Medical Establishment treatments for these diseases, including kidney cancer. On the one hand, I sometimes get mad at my MIL for not going to the doctor for things that could potentially be life-threatening but would be easily cured (like little skin cancers caught early) because dangit, she's not just hurting herself, she's hurting us, and my kids, who love their grandma. But it's her body and she feels SO strongly about it, it's really important to respect that -- to her, it is "worth her life" to stay away from what she considers to be immoral drug pushers. My best friend, her mother got bladder cancer , and she ignored the early symptoms, so when it was diagnosed her cancer was fairly advanced ... the docs of course urged all sorts of treatments, which she turned down... she checked herself into an old folks home and off she went a few months later. My friend is sad but also grateful that her mother was able to exit so gracefully and peacefully. Which isn't to say that would be the right decision for everyone, but it was right for her, and for their family.

Kristen

Kristen, just a quick suggestion. Before you order the pricey Glucosamine supplement for your dog, have you tried Walmart Glucosamine + Conjointen (for people)? It is relatively cheap and comes in orange flavor chewables. My Lab/shepard mix is elderly and it worked miracles with her rickety bones plus she loves the taste.

Just a thought, glad your girl is better :)

-Sheila

I'm glad she's ok, Kristen! You're right, collies can also be affected by Ivomectin. I have three that I have to worm carefully.

[quote]Sheesh, these animal things on this forum always get funny! I think there's a split on this forum between people who , well, have a lot of animals and who are living in what is maybe a slightly old-fashioned way-- where you go first to your friends and neighbors (which for me includes you guys!) who know a lot about animals...[/quote]

Agreed. An important part of farming as a way of life is learning to take care of your own when possible. It's important to learn and share these skills with others. I assume people have small farms as a means of providing for themselves and possibly others. Why shouldn't this include tending sick animals, pets or otherwise?

Another important point - it's not fair to assume someone isn't taking care of their animals based on a few paragraphs. This IS the Farm Life forum. Why wouldn't someone ask an animal question here? It does happen all the time. Obviously, Kristen cared enough for the dog to ask for advice and she did call the vet. She didn't say she wasn't going to call, only that she was leaving, lives an hour away and couldn't afford a vet visit.

Hi Kristen,

Glad to hear your dog is back to her old self again!

I give Synovi G3 to my two dogs. I just got a 960gm tub of the granulated G3 (120 doses for 60-100lb dog) from 24hourpetmeds.com for $41.99 w/free shipping. I switched to the granulated form awhile back, it always seems to be less expensive than the chewable tablet form.