My dog lost his balance and fell over

13 years ago

I took my dog out to potty this morning and he seemed fine. After running a short distance inside he was standing in the living room and then started wobbling like he was drunk and fell over. he got up immediately and wobbled and fell over again. He stayed down for a couple seconds this time and when he finally got up he seemed stable but a little shocked. i took him to bed with me and he was fine for a bit and then he started this dry cough thing that sounded like he was trying to throw up but nothing came out. This happened for a few minutes and he has now been fine for the last ten minutes or so. Last month I was in the kitchen and he was in the living room and i heard a huge thump. so i ran into the living room and he was on the ground on his side and didnt want to get up for a minute. he looked stunned this time too. i am not sure if this was the same incident as what happened today as i didnt see it happen but its worth mentioning my dog is a 1 yr 9 mo old boxer

Featured Answer

Meghane

13 years ago

I'd be most worried about boxer cardiomyopathy (ARVC- Arrythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy). It causes the symptoms you describe and can be rapidly fatal. Rush to a vet who can diagnose heart problems in boxers for immediate treatment. Coughing is sign of congestive heart failure- your dog is in serious need of emergency treatment. Good luck, and please keep us posted.

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Comments (9)

ilovepoco
13 years ago
Sounds like a seizure, either epileptic or hypoglycemic. Time for a vet visit.

Susan
quasifish
13 years ago
Sounds like vestibular disease to me, though it usually doesn't occur in younger dogs. My old lab had it and it could be very disconcerting at times depending on the severity of the incident.

It might be a good idea to take a trip to the vet to get a firm diagnosis.
beegood_gw
13 years ago
Sounds more like a heart problem. Very common in Boxers. Take him to a vet and have a 24hr Holter done on him. With the right treatment he can keep going for quite a while. Hard to detect unless you do the Holter.Of course it could be something else but for sure I would have his heart checked.
mazer415
13 years ago
Check his ears. They probably need cleaning.
cindyandmocha
13 years ago
Agreed, please do keep us posted about what your symptoms turned out to be.

I have a dog who has epilepsy and it didn't really sound so much like a seizure. But seizures present in many formations -- grand mals, focals, and a variation thereof.

If it wasn't the "variation" then it may be what meghane just posted. Please let us all know so that others can benefit from your experience.

Know that we all have our fingers crossed for you that this is a treatable condition :)
cindyandmocha
13 years ago
mjohnstun have you investigated this and found out anything further? Please do let us know the results. Often anything you can find out can help someone else. Plus, I just wanna know if your baby is ok.
kate_valiant-technology_com
12 years ago
This morning mine fell over too. This was the second time in 10 days. The first time I just caught it out of the corner of my eyes so wasn't sure what happened. Today I was looking at him. We had been playing frisby and he was standing when he started to wobble, looked shocked, righted himself but then fell on his side. He lay on his side, with his herat thumping while I stroked him and comforted him. Eventually he got up and a few minutes later was looking to play frisby again. Instead he went to the vets! They checked his heart and have taken bloods.
While lying on his side, he was staring in from of him, but wasn't shaking, coughing or anything else - just lying there with a thumping heart. He is a 4 year old LabxJR. I had a very inbred retriever that did simliar when she was a puppy but she was diagnosed with a heart problem (still lived a long time though) but this morning vet said his heart was fine. Any suggestions please?
weed30 St. Louis
12 years ago
Other possibilities are Vestibular Disease, and Insulinoma. I had dogs with these problems - both can cause a dog to fall over and appear to be having what I call a "quiet seizure". (no shaking.)