Old dogs weight loss
Hi Janice, So sorry, it took me a while to uncover this in my e-mail box. He seemed freaked out and wanted to get away from me doing that. He was not able to move at times and stomach felt bloated too but he felt much better after those medicines and got ok very quick. If it is Gentocin based, stop it immediately. Sometimes he is ok and sometimes he shakes his head so bloody hard that it scares me. He could take food from my hand and did not seem to have an issue with eating, appetite or swallowing. I stopped the antibiotics and took him to the vet. I have another case where the dog ended up with severe peripheral vestibular disease (head tilt, nystagmus, ataxia, loss of balance, etc) I hope your Maltese recovered. Or if you can help point me in the right direction so that I can help my vet. Yesterday i noticed he wasnt responding to my voice commands. No apparent issues of discomfort -he loves earrubs as always, no odor, energy and appetite is good. How old is your dog and did you ask if any ear cleaning was done at the pet sitters. I got very close to each ear and spoke right into them. It sounds like your dog had a pretty severe ear infection. Sometimes the brown coffee coloured material comes out. Prior to visit the pet (Maggie) had perfect hearing. I have no idea why your dog is bolting when you cough or sneeze but my guess is that it has more to do with her thinking that you are somehow in distress as she cannot hear that it is a normal cough or sneeze and may think you are having a spasm or seizure. Dogs ears should normally be just like ours- nothing in them, clean skin. Please research this breeder and find out about other puppies placed, make sure that you always get plenty of recommendations for breeders- talk to the people who have obtained puppies in the past and have visited the breeder to make sure they are in compliance with high standards of care. She became alarmed at this lack of response and walked up to him and put her hand on him. This often appears as sudden deafness but is truly hearing loss occurring over time. Check to see if the ear cleaner or meds have gentocin in them, and if so you may want to switch to a different type of medication. Hi Lyn, Nothing is ever silly when it comes from the heart and loving your animals. We found that it was not fungal and it did tend to go away with antibiotics and steroids, though it does come back as soon as we stop treatment. He has never over charged us or did anything but i sometimes feel. While it does seem like they become deaf overnight, generally they have been losing their hearing for quite some time but compensating in other ways (vibrations, certain wavelengths of sounds are heard but not others, etc) and then that compensation goes away for good. He would be better placed in a home where this disability can be accommodated. He was only at the vet for a couple of hours. I would greatly appreciate any information and advice. Thank you. Just like us as we age, dogs and cats care less as their senses grow dimmer. Do you know of anything that can be done to help her regain her hearing. When he was about 4-5 years old he suffered a spine injury. I know that it is very upsetting to us to have our dogs not be able to hear us, but in my experience, they accept this much better than we do. I have a 12 year old Cairn Terrier named Riley. She took him to her veterinarian and he could find nothing wrong with his ear canals and had no explanation for his sudden deafness. Let him have his time of sleeping deeply, just like you would your grandmother or grandfather. My dog just had an Otipak for an ear infection and now it seems that he lost some hearing. The hearing returning depends on what is causing the loss in the first place. This was a new sitter recommended by a neighbor. He during his last injury a few months back was also diagnosed with a enlarged heart. They said they would have to drain the fluid so I left him there for a couple hours. It is a lot of work (especially in Labradors) and finding the cause is important. A small dog need a very small amount and if it is staying deep in his ear canals you need to let them dry out anyway. Your calm answers and sympathy for the dog owners is just so amazing. Otomax is a different medication, not known to be associated with the toxic effects of the gentocin based ear medications. i had to have his eyes removed about 2 years ago. Your regular veterinarian can refer you and it will be good to have the blood work and other data to present to the neurologist, they may need to do an MRI. Even though I am not sure what he can really do I figure it is the right thing to do. His ears do not move even when i sing him his favorite song. I have no idea how a dental and hearing loss would be related. Pets should be kept indoors on anti-anxiety medication for the 4th of July. Very occationally he will respond, but this is only when he is concentrating on what we are doing. By the following morning he was completely deaf. I am suspicious of a systemic (means throughout the whole system- immune, lymphatic, blood, etc) problem. He still seemed a little slower on the uptake after that though his hearing was sharp. His hearing was so precise that locking my car outside my apartment or the sound of crunching gravel outside would cause him to bark and greet me at the door. Her dog behaved completely normally the morning of this incident. Im going to try and get her into the Vet soon otherwise she seems fine. Please tell me if you think he will get past this sleeeping stage. He will ALWAYS know you are talking to him whether he can hear it or not. He has had some high liver enzymes for more than half of his life but is on 1mg pred every other day to keep the allergies under control so the vet has always thought it was probably that. Most dogs do not have attachment to the senses like we do and they are much more accepting when things disappear. My dog was put on liquichlor gel ointment for an ear infection for 14 days. He eventually got it but it seemed sensory or neurological to me, as though something had changed. So its not continuos but does happen often now. If they have been done, has a radiologist seen them and given a report. He had no digestive upset, I could not find anything wrong with his mouth to cause this and gradually that improved. Neomycin is definitely ototoxic and there are still some veterinarians out there using it. Please take him to a veterinarian and ask that they examine his eardrums (tympanic membranes) with an otoscope to see if there is anything on top of the ear drum, blocking his hearing. I am extremely surprised because he has the energy of a puppy and is always very active. Because doc gave me a huge treatment sometimes i get scared of over treating him. In my experience sudden hearing loss in older dogs is usually a situation where they have been compensated for partial hearing loss by being very keenly attuned to movements, vibrations, patterns, etc and lose the ability to compensate. Four days ago he would run to the door if I said anything about going for a walk. Hello Tammi, I am so sorry, my notification system is not working and I did not receive your comment until today (October 1, 2013). Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property. Nearly 2 years ago he had a seizure that left him temporarily blind and without sensation on one side of his face. He has been perfectly fine. It needs to be treated with antibiotics both in the ear and systemic (pills given orally, by mouth) and possibly anti-inflammatory medications. She had an ear infection and it was treated with neomycin. These are both fairly inexpensive tests you can have performed by your vet if they have not done so. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. This past weekend we went away to visit our daughter. She stopped the drops, and will see a specialist today. You are doing the right thing to take him to your veterinarian as soon as possible. Otherwise I would return to the veterinarian who provided the treatment to see if anything else can be done for her. When I got home I called out to Riley that we were home and got no response at all. So sorry, I missed this in the middle of a bunch of spam that I am getting on the site. Please consider having a veterinarian evaluate his hearing and helping you with your decision. He gradually recovered his sight and we took him to our regular vet three weeks later and the blood work was nearly normal. I asked my son if he noticed but he just said that he seemed slower than normal. My Vet put my dog on the medicine Easotic for an ear infection, after a few days use she suddenly lost all of her hearing. I checked her ears no bad odor or build up I could see. Are there any other neurological signs like different sized pupils, head tilt, mentation (attitude, behavioral changes. He can hear loud noises, but gets startled by them and either goes running to my bedroom door or outside. Fast forward to 3 weeks ago we are not sure if he had some other sort of event, but one morning he just seemed unsure how to pick up his food off the plate. Rather than fight against these inevitable changes like we do, they just accept them and go on. When we discussed the possibility of a brain tumor we opted to not have the tests because there is no treatment so we did not want to have to sedate him to do it which presents issues. We have gradually realized since his return that he cannot hear a thing. Hello Debbie, I hope that the decrease in hearing might have been due to the medication or cleaner in her ears. He will never hear praise or love or affection. I thought it could have been the ONE treatment of Otomax I gave him as deafness is a possible side effect but yet, after the ear flushing he still has substantial lack of hearing. Please let me know how things turn out, Take Care, Teri Byrd DVM. Thanks for such a generous sharing of your knowledge and compassion. New years night she could hear fireworks in the distance and if I even picked up her leash she could be in another room and come running. Hi Ryan, So sorry, this was buried in my inbox and I just received it. she is older, almost 12 but very active and alert until suddenly over night she has changed. My labrador is 8 years old and recently went through a treatment for B. Here is a link to some information on strokes: Another possibility is a brain tumor. Want the laest posts from the Vet Pet Connect Blog delivered to your e-mail inbox. I apologize, I did not get notice for your letter until today. Thank you for having this on the web, you have eased my fear about my dogs loss and I have learned so much from your taking the time to write your heartfelt thoughts on each dog. You need to apply a lot of the ear medications twice daily for at least 14 days. This same thing just happened to my 8year old Maltese. It may have been developing already and has worsened, it may be due to the medication being present in the ear canal, or other reasons. They accept changes easily and do not get sad or discouraged about things like this. He always connected w me when I talked to him. She is over 12 and has certainly heard these noises before but I am wondering if the decibel level is now hurting her ears as her hearing worsens. My best friend Charlie is a 12 year old Papillon. I know that hearing is definitely affected by loud music so it could have done some trauma to her ear drums that is healing. Hi John, It sounds like two different things going on- the hearing loss and the needing to get up may not be related. I know that in humans when hearing deteriorates some sounds can hurt the ears but could this be true for dogs as well. The vet put him on antibiotics and told us to clean his ears out. Most of these causes have other accompanying symptoms. Please see your veterinarian and maybe they can come up with a more accurate picture of what is happening. Whenever I cough or sneeze, she bolts from the room or off the bed and goes to another room in the house. You are TRULY in the profession you are meant to be, Teri. There will come a time in our lives when all we want to do is sleep most of the time as well. Has she been tested recently for Feline Leukemia or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. This is not an uncommon scenario that I have heard in my office setting. I am such a dummy it really did not dawn on me til recently that she was going deaf. In my 22 years of practicing medicine it is much more common for me to see older animals that have been slowly losing their ability to hear but have compensated for it in a variety of ways until one day their compensatory mechanisms (picking up on vibrations, smell, habits of their owners, etc) no longer works for them and they can no longer detect any sounds at all. any thought. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. My dog had a kidney removed just over 2 years ago and I understand that this can exacerbate the aging process. She came home that afternoon and called her dog and it did not greet her as usual. Hello Kenny, Yes, you definitely need to consult a veterinarian as damage may have been done to her tympanic membranes (ear drums). He never cared much for the vet looking in his ears so he might just be sensitive. He has a blood clot on the top of his ear flap n both the sides which i am guessing happening because of him scratching or shaking his head real hard. On advice from my vet, I took my Staffie for his ears to be flushed today as well as a cortezone injection. When I say do you want to go for a walk or get a treat there is nothing and normally I could whisper that and he would be all over it. They can substitute vibration for hearing so try snapping your fingers or tapping or stepping on the floor to get his attention. They gave him sub q fluids and said to only clean his ear with saline solution. Saving for vet visit next but so traumatic for him and his old vet is gone super expensive. I do not like the use of acepromazine at all, especially in older dogs. Very loud noises can cause temporary or semi- permanent hearing loss (usually by rupturing the ear drums). Sudden Deafness (Hearing Loss) in Dogs and Cats. This does not really sound like a typical allergic, fungal, parasitic or skin problem in general, it sounds like something more complicated. Please let me know if you have any other questions, especially when the time comes to consider letting him go.
This week we noticed his hearing got significatly worse and now he cant hear at all. I have a female mixed fox terrier, age 11, no prior health problems who suffered sudden bilateral hearing loss following a 3 day stay at a pet boarding facility. It sounds like a bit of a phobia and you may try desensitizing her with smaller jerking movements while you are petting her or rewarding her for keeping calm. Hope you got my email sending condolences for your loss and letting you know that dogs and cats seem to adapt well to the loss of both hearing and sight. The groomer had him sedated with acepromazine, no other medications in his system, and now I have a Schnauzer who has absolutely no hearing. Sometimes ear infections also have a fungal (yeast) component that needs to be treated as well. I hope things are better now that you stopped the Gentizol. Over the past couple of months he was gradually losing his hearing. Please let me know how things turned out. Some antibiotics and ear cleaning solutions have caused this type of deafness. They compensate for the loss by becoming more alert to vibrations and actions. The barking would have to be very loud to cause hearing loss, not normal. I am afraid that he will slip into a deep depression and he will never be happy again. I took her back to the Vet and shows blockage in her ears, the Vet says the hearing loss is from the meds. His blood work was all messed up and they suspected a brain tumor. Be sure to have your veterinarian palpate (feel) her abdomen very carefully for enlarged lymph nodes and they may show up on an xray. My beautiful little friend is completely blind in his ears. Visit to veterinarian demonstrated no physical abnormality post otoscopic exam. If the deafness resulted from the tympanic membranes (ear drums) being covered by a large quantity of medication or ear cleaner, perhaps now things are better. Her dog had no history of ear problems and absolutely no other symptoms of ear disease- no head tilt, no neurologic signs, no odor. The best person to diagnose him would be a veterinary neurologist if you have one in your area. Gentamycin is an ingredient that is commonly used in ear medications but can be toxic to some animals if the tympanic membrane (ear drums) is ruptured (broken) and can cause hearing loss. Is there a possibility he could get his total hearing back or could the procedures he had have caused a permanent hearing deficiency. I felt it was a stroke but the emergency vet seemed to think that was unlikely. He was 9 at the time and had been blind since the sanctuary that took him in at age 1. This has all happened within the last 4 months. Hi, my 8 year old black lab has had a mild ear infection and hot spot around his ear for the last few weeks. Some medications can cause temporary or permanent sudden hearing loss in dogs but is also generally accompanied by other neurologic signs such as a head tilt to one side, stumbling, unsteady gait (ataxia) or walking in circles. she would sleep in my room nightly and only get up when I got up. Dogs adapt easily to many changes with their health. Like a few have commented I feel she has gone almost deaf over night. This entry was posted in FAQ and tagged cats, consultation, dogs, veterinarian. I am so very upset that I ever gave the medicine to her. Now she is up very early needing to go outside. My son and wife stayed at the house and left shortly before we arrived back home. Hi Kayti, So sorry to hear you are having these problems with your cat. I will probably have him do some blood work just to see what is going on. References for the causes of a ruptured tympanic membrane (ear drum) in both humans and dogs can be found at: and And in: The Merck Manual for Health Care Professionals and The Merck Veterinary Manual, Editors: Susan E. He lately has been developing slight hearing problems. She now only responds to a loud clap of the hands which startles he. Everything changed from one moment to the next. I went into the room where he was an called again and he did not respond until I tapped him on the shoulder. I agree with your concern about how his lack of hearing will affect his safety. My 11yr old Staffie went to the vet yesterday with VERY normal hearing. Got medication for an ear infection, then suddenly went deaf. My cat first presented the symptoms of scabbing with hair loss (mostly on belly and small amounts on top of head and ankles). The doc gave medicines which would help him pee more and clear the fluids. You need a veterinarian to look into the ear canals so that they can make sure that there are no problems with the ear canals or the tympanic membranes (ear drums). Granted I have never done that in the past and perhaps it was just the air but it seemed like I got that response when I did it with his left ear but he seemed less affected when I did it with the right. Animals are much more accepting and adaptable about life changes than we humans are. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. Be sure to look deep into ear canals to see if there is any liquid or debris present, but it is unlikely if she has not been scratching them. Are you sure that is the correct name of the medication. Thanks for the links, I will check them out. You also might try Cesar Milan as it sounds like a behavioral issue. My vet said this was rare and he was going to do some research on it and get back to me. It is one of the most graceful options we have in the animal world. He is not shaking his head, tge is no head tilting and no odour. Your dog knows you have given him a full lifetime of love and attention and that is why he has lived to be a very old person. Charlie will be dreaming of all the great times you have had together and he will always be grateful for your obvious love and affection for him. Now he just sleeps in his bed all day in complete silence. Correction to my post above, she has NO blockage in her ears. With the deafness has your vet been able to see the tympanic membranes (ear drums) in both ears. I am dealing with my 13 year old Yorkie-poo in such similar scenario. During his stay, one of her dogs delivered 5 puppies. It sounds to me like it is very likely that Riley did suffer a stroke. Thank you for your kind, encouraging words Teri. Since a month what i have noticed is foul smell from ear which comes occasionally. If there is no response, she is truly deaf. He responded with a startle reaction at her touch but then jumped off the bed and seemed completely normal. They need their naps more and more as they get toward the end of their time here. There are very few causes of sudden deafness in dogs and it is a rare event, especially in a young dog. Your lab may be allergic to something- make sure he is on flea medication and is eating healthy food. Your dog may not be able to hear because the medication is present inside the ear canals. Hi Linda, So sorry to hear about this development with your dog. If I had known I would have taken him right back to the vet at the first sign of hearing problems to remove the medication but did not because I assumed he could not hear because the medication was just blocking the sound and it would go away once the medication dissolved. He is one of those dogs that will tilt his head when you say do you want a treat or for a walk and was always doing that. Hi Medora, It sounds like Blue is indeed losing his hearing and it seems to be a little bit inconsistent. Please let me know how things turned out. My dog just had his teeth cleaned and a broken tooth removed four days ago. I received a veterinary consultation call yesterday from a woman in Florida asking about sudden deafness in her 8 year old Shitzu. For example, if you always keep the leash by the door and she senses you are headed toward the door, she may become more alert to find out if you are taking her out. If that is the case, the hearing should return as his ears get healthier and when the medication is gone. When I picked him up the hematoma was gone but so whas his hearing. Our lovely Silky Terrier went to a pet sitter for the last week of Summer holiday. I would pursue further diagnostics- otoscopic exam, skull x-rays, etc to find out. He recently passed, but before he did he was suffering from some serious hearing and sight problems. I looked in his ears and did not see anything. Thank you for being such a caring pet owner. I think it has to do with the tone of the sound, the inflection of our voice, the amount of background noise and other variables. Her depth perception is diminished and her hearing is no longer acute. Teri, I have read all your comments, as my dog at 13 has lost all of her hearing. gingivitus where he was given fluids via drips and antibiotics. Just this past week something new has been added to the mix. I love Cairn Terriers, they are wonderful personalities. As long as he is not in pain and not anxious about the changes it is best to remain calm and keep things as normal as possible. A good way to test this theory is to creep into a room where your dog is sleeping and without causing a lot of vibration, clap your hand together or make a sound and see if she hears it. She walked into the bedroom, found him lying on the bed and called him again and he did not respond. His hearing came back after a few months, stayed for about ayear and recently went deaf again suddenly and profoundlly. What are the chances his hearing will come back. It has happened in past as i see dogs going through this time times but this time because it is accompanied by hearing loss, it is bothering me. He believes it was a reaction to the medicine because her eardrum is in tact and looks normal. It is just him and me and I am disabled with a lot of health issues so I am not physically able to play with him a lot. Please let me know how things turned out. Reading this blog has helped me so much dealing with this. Gunfire, fireworks, very loud alarms or music can be responsible for this type of hearing loss, but generally the animal recovers eventually. You are as blessed as our four-legged friends. I smelled and there is no sign of infection. Hi Rick, I am so sorry but my notification system was not working and I did not get this comment until today (october 1, 2013) Here is some information from a letter I wrote as an expert witness in a similar case. A few hours back he got up from sleep and did the same but now peacefully sleeping. It is likely that he has been going slowly deaf for quite some time and used to be able to compensate better by paying close attention to vibrational patterns and knowing and caring where you are and what you are doing. The vet had packed my dogs ear with medicine and gave me antibiotics to take home. Here is another link that talks about training for non-hearing dogs. He thought he might have been tired because they had played with him quite a bit that morning. Should, I take my dog to another vet since the vet that prescribed the Otipak did not tell me of any side effects. Ear disease can cause deafness if both tympanic membranes (ear drums) are completely occluded, but is almost always accompanied by discharge, odor, discomfort and scratching at the ears. He has a lot of allergy issues that have been under control for a long long time and generally he has been doing well. Our relationship was based on verbal affection and petting him as I watched TV or when he snuggled up and sleeps pressed up against my side. Hello Maura, So sorry to hear about this problem with your lab. I wish there was a way to prevent them from aging but instead we have to accept it. I cannot always get to these comments as quickly as people would like when I am working full time. It is probable that he had some hearing loss (and believe it or not he can FEEL your car in the driveway) and this has made it much worse. No problems getting around at all. This may sound silly, but I worry he is sad because he thinks we are no longer talking to him. The cute tilting at the sound of my voice is absolutely gone and I am just heart broken. My collie cross, who is 13yrs old, seems to have gone deaf over night. Habitually her patterns have changed. Is there redness or irritation in the areas of hair loss or is the undercoat skin normal and healthy looking. Sometimes i feel paranoid on trusting a doctor. When you are finished there should be no odor and absolutely no material in the ears. We opted to just enjoy him for as long as we had him. Your veterinarian needs to evaluate the ears, clean them gently and thoroughly and possibly take a culture (bacteria test) to find out what is causing the problem. If not, I would discuss this with your veterinarian that performed the procedure and see if there is anything they can do to improve the situation. Up until that moment, he responded to my voice normally so I was shocked that from one moment to the next his ability to hear just stopped. I only put one drop in one ear each day for four days. Please let me know more information, type of ear cleaner and medication in particular. They are attached to us, but not life in general. I have received a lot of responses about this happening so I think it is fairly common. He will learn to adjust to his surrounding much like he did when he became blind, You can figure out ways to communicate using vibrations or touch. Please let me know if your dog recovered any hearing. My heart is broken to think that us trying to improve his health has now led to him losing so much of his hearing. Is there anything I can do to reverse the damage or to help her. So the other day I took my dog (chow corgie mix) to the vet to get a hematoma on his ear checked out. This morning he is still not responding to anythingv verbal. I will say that we have noticed him not being as affected by thunderstroms this past summer as previous summers. We have finished the antibiotics and are not going to continue using the ear cleaning solution. Hello Ellen, Sorry about the confusion but my blog post had nothing to do with your comment. I thought she was ignoring me a couple times yesterday but today thought it was weird so I picked up her leash and jingled it right behind her head with no reaction. Hello Aditya, Your dog has an ear infection and it sounds very bad. He can feel your love and attention in a million different ways that we humans cannot. My dog seemingly overnight has some ( a lot) of hearing loss.
