Only just seen this post.
Big hugs to Patch and Gremlin. Good to read she is on the mend. Big licks from my collies to hers.

Helloooooo

Thank you all so much for the messages, Madmare read them all to me [ fank yew Bev :smt058 ].

I stayed offline while Gremlin was wobbly because she was under vets orders to rest and the best way to ensure that was for me to literally be the other side of the room from the PC, [ next to her favourite snoozing spot ], so that I`d be more relaxed which kept her relaxed and meant every time she wanted to get up I was within immediate reach to prevent her falling over.

My vet said it was definately vestibular and not a stroke which is a huge relief. The frustrating thing with vestibular though is the actual cause often remains a mystery when there are no very obvious signs like ear infection etc. The main thing is that he expects her to make a full recovery as she has done so well in just a week [ vestibular recovery can take a few months ], and now that she is allowed to exercise a little more she is doing brilliantly, she`s much more confident with her balance so she is getting her speed back nicely and is much happier in herself as a result of better mobility now

My vet has discounted any possible connection with Grem and my moglet Cleo both having it happen, [ Cleo had it a while back ], he said it was just sheer bad luck and coincidence. There was definately no toxin cause and no ticks or other parasites, he said its something which can happen at any age and in many cases no initial cause is ever found so its really just management until improvement starts happening.

Re Vivitonin, I swear by it for older dogs especially if becoming mentally or physically infirm through age but thankfully Grems vestibular is not age related, [ she`s 11 now ], so she won`t be needing it for a while yet hopefully. Collies generally tend to become `geriatric` much later than many other breeds and my vets assessment of Grems overall condition is that of late middleage at the moment, [ he attributes her speedy improvement re the vestib as being down to her being so fit for her age ].

I was interested regarding Vivitonin preventing strokes but sadly it didnt prevent my old girl [ now at the bridge ] from having two makor strokes in close succession. That said she was 19 1/2 at the time and the Vivitonin kept a wonderful spring in her step and a twinkle in her eye right up until the strokes, [ the second being too major for any hope of recovery ], and I know it was the Viv which gave her a brilliant and utterly happy last two years before the end.

I shall wrap up now as there are so many pages of posts to catch up on, but thank you all again for the support, having them passed on over the phone during the last week has meant more than I can express :smt058 :smt058 :smt058

Glad to hear things are better

Good to see you back Patch. Glad that Gremlin has improved. I still haven't phoned.

Good to see you back on here again Patch, and that Gremlin is doing well. :smt023

Yay Patch, so glad you are "back" and mainly that Gremlin is feeling better!

I have a small agility question to ask you, I will PM you in the next couple of days if that's OK.

Give you a chance to settle back in first

Wys
x

Hi Patch there are different causes of Vestibular disease . How old is Gremlin, older dogs can get a condition called Canine idiopathic vestibular syndrome, this clears up in a few weeks . I am posting an interesting link here for you.
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/vestibular.html

Good to know Gremlin is getting better