Dear Dr. Forsythe: My 12-year-old golden/shepherd mix woke up this morning with his head tilted, and he has difficulty walking in a straight line. His appetite seems OK, but I noticed that his eyes were flickering back and forth. I took him to my vet and they wanted to do some X-rays. Could you explain to me what might be happening? I love my dog and want to find what the matter is. Is he just getting old?
Gracen,
Novato
Dear Gracen: Flickering eyes back and forth indicates something called nystagmus. This usually happens when a pet has a neurological problem. Vestibular disease can make a pet feel dizzy and off balance and can be due to a degenerative process, cancer, trauma, infection, inflammation, or a cardiovascular problem.
In my opinion, your veterinarian is wise to take X-rays and may be justified to run some blood work as well. A 12 year old could suffer from something as simple as an inner ear infection that could cause loss of balance up to and including a cardiovascular event such as a stroke. There is a disease called “old dog vestibular syndrome” which has a sudden onset and is startling to see in dogs because they appear to lose control of their bodies almost completely. However, they often recover gradually over a period of days or weeks with supportive care. I often have to remind my clients “age is not an illness,” but a time in life. As pets age, it is more common for them to face serious health challenges like this. Good luck with your senior pet and betting to the bottom of this dizzying problem. I hope everything works out.
Dr. F.
Dear Dr. Forsythe: My dog, Simpson has been having rear-end problems. He has to get his anal glands expressed every six weeks. I’ve tried switching foods with no luck. He’s had infected anal glands twice in the past year and has to be put on antibiotics. Is there anything that you can suggest to help out? A friend said there might be some kind of surgery to alleviate the situation? Is this safe, or should I just keep doing the monthly butt squeeze?
Tired of the scooting
Dear Tired: There are few things clients seem to hate more than a pet that is scooting around the carpet trying to alleviate that “indelicate itch” located where no pet can gracefully or tastefully answer natures call for relief. Expressing the anal glands, which involves placing a gloved, lubricated finger into the dog’s anus and squeezing out the contents of the small bean-sized glands, is one of the grossest yet most helpful procedures we perform as veterinarians. The glands fill up quickly and perform little known function other than to get infected and cause embarrassment to poor unwitting dog owners, especially grossed out teenage dog owners, across the globe. A few of my clients have requested to have the glands surgically removed from their pet if their dog has suffered more than one anal gland abscess or needs constant emptying every month. Pets that have undergone this operation generally go home the same day as the surgery and their owners have been very happy with the outcome. Perhaps when it comes to the pungent scent of the anal gland, “less is more.” Thanks for a great question.
Dr. F.
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