# Mango has Vestibular and Horner's syndromes



## emmaluvsmango (Dec 15, 2008)

*Mango is 7 and has had many probelms in her life including elbow dysplacia, which she has been quite porley with recently, Just as mango seemed to be improving and summer was looking like it could be so much fun for her everthing has gone wrong. 

Yesterday when we were out on a walk, the sun was bright, and mango was squinting, but the squinting was only present on her left hand side. The right hand side was wide eyed, she was blinking at a normal rate, but her eye on the right side just didn't look quite right. I check eyes ear and mouth but couldn't see anything which could expalin her acting so strangly, Later in the evening she was slobbering so much more than usual, only on the right hand side, and when I looked at her more closely I noticed on her left side she had her usual retriever smile, which on her right side her face was flat and this was the reason for the slobber. I was so worried about her, my poor little girl has now lost her smile. 

Shes been to the vets this morning, she has Vestibular syndrome accompanyed by Horner's syndrome which the vet said is most commonly found in golden retrievers. He said quite often they are not able to find the cause of the syndrome, although it can be caused by a small bleed in the brain or damage to a nerve. 

She is on antinflamatories incase theres an infection causing it, she isn't allowed walks over 15mins (once again), she isn't allowed out in bright sun light as she is unable to protect her eye by squinting, for the first time in my life im praying for the weather to be really cloudy and dull. The vet said she may recover from this completly or may be left with some of the symptoms. Im just hopeing she gets contol of her eye back its very worrying. 

Has anybody every had any experience with this disease because ive never heard of it before now. 

Thank xx*


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

Oh gosh I am so sorry for all you have been though wuth mango, I have never even heard of it so have no experience to offer...just I hope she recovers with no lasting symptoms, poor girl. Ive been at the vets already this morning too...they certainly know how to worry us. Poor Mango, give her a big hug from me.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I don't have any advice or help, just wanted to say I'm so sorry for your poor girl, and for you.


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## emmaluvsmango (Dec 15, 2008)

That you for the good wishes, yes thats so true they are definatly good at worring us, when I don't think she realises all that much her self lol. I will let you know how she gets on over the next few days


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## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

My Lyndi had both of those syndromes occur to her at the same time as well when she was only 4 years old. Both take several weeks to get over. Sometimes there may be some lasting effects from these. Lyndi did have side effects more from the Horners syndrome than the Vestibular syndrome. One of the more notiicble things that happened to Lyndi was her eye balls slowly receded and thus gave her very small looking eyes. Luckily it never changed her vision nor did she need any surgery. Some of the facial muscle, especailly around her mouth, never really fully recovered. However she was able to eat and drink just fine. It sort of resembles someone that may have had a stroke and not all their facial muscles quite recover. This is not to say you Mango may having any lasting problems, I just wanted to share what Lyndi went through with these conditions.

I hope Mango has a good and full recovey.


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## twinny41 (Feb 13, 2008)

I have experience of a dog who had vestibular syndrome and know of others too. However, my Meg was older and they do call it old dog syndrome but I believe they can get it at any age, just more prone the older they get. My understanding is it depends on the cause. Ear infections are one reason but sometimes it could be as your vet says a bleed. Meg had 2 episodes and recovered fully and all the other dogs I have known recovered too, therefore I think these were the peripheral vestibular syndrome (ear related). There is a central vestibular syndrome (abnormality in the brain)which is more serious and treatment depends on the cause.
I must add Mangos symptoms dont fit the picture of the dogs I have seen with vestibular disorders but then they dont all comply with the text books. I have no experience with Horners syndrome but read this...Trauma to the neck as with a strong jerk from a collar or straining against a leash can also produce *Horner's syndrome*. damaging a nerve to the eye. At least your vet has seen her and they are the experts not me!! I hope she makes a good recovery.


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## Hudson (May 18, 2005)

Wishing Mango a full and speedy recovery, sorry I have no knowledge of this problem.


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## emmaluvsmango (Dec 15, 2008)

Thank you for your story about lyndi Im glad it didn't effect her vision, that was something i was worried about.

I think the horner's syndrome is present to a greater extent in mango's case, the vestibular I think is causing a slight head tilt and caused her to fall over a couple of times. I read a bit more about trauma, I don't think it could be her collar causing a problem, as she wears a halti. What I did wonder is could it be caused by the elbow dysplasia, when she was diagnosed with dysplasia she was already quite a way with this disease, she also had bad arthritis. She hadn't shown any signs before 3 years but I imagine she had elbow dysplasia very young. The small shards of bone which are floating about near her joints,do you think these would beable to do nerve damage? I will definatly be asking the vet this question. The reason she didn't have the opertation to remove these shards was because she already had bad arthritis and the op could have made this much worse.


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## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

My vet had told me that the Horner and Vestibular was a condition that can usually happen together. 

I had also remember reading this after I was researching both....



> Many different problems result in inner ear disease; however, the clinical signs caused by these diseases are similar, indicating the location of the disease rather than the specific cause. These signs are those of peripheral vestibular dysfunction, including head tilt, nystagmus, circling and imbalance. On the other hand, since the diseases which cause inner ear disease are usually slower in evolution, these signs are generally less severe than with idiopathic vestibular disease. In addition to the vestibular signs, there are also varying degrees of facial nerve dysfunction and often Horner's syndrome. Anatomically, the facial nerve and the sympathetic fibers heading to the eye pass near the inner ear in the osseous petrous temporal bone. Damage of these neural structure, in addition to the damage of the vestibular nerve is a hallmark for inner ear disease. It is possible to affect both the facial and vestibular nerves together in the calivarium.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I am so sorry. I hope she feels better soon!!!


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I am not familiar with these syndromes but hope Mango will make a full recovery. Give her a big hug from me and my gang.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

_I have never encounter either of these, but I am here to wish the best and a full recovery for your dear gil._


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Praying for Mango*

Praying for Mango and you.

I googled Vestibular and Horner's Syndromes in Dogs and found this:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Vest...ox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7SUNA

*I found some forums for Horner's Syndrome, too, just by googling:*
horner's syndrome - Dog Breeds Discussion ForumDiscuss horner's syndrome, on Dog Breeds Discussion Forum, the best Forum in the ... Most dogs that suffer from this ailment would be golden retrievers. ...
www.dogluvers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27 - 32k - Cached - Similar pages
horners syndrome3 posts - 3 authors
our golden retriever is a golden oldie ...14 years old ...she has just been diagnosed with having horners syndrome ...it is more probable in goldies than ...
www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/61558.html - 9k - Cached - Similar pages
losing control of third eye lids.... - Golden Retriever Forum10 posts - 8 authors - Last post: Feb 24, 2008
Golden Retriever Health, Anatomy, Physiology & Breed Standard. ... We took him to the vet the next day and she said he has horners syndrome. ...

*VESTIBULAR SYNDROME:*
Web Results 1 - 10 of about 1,610 for Golden Ret. Vestibular Syndrome Forum. (0.21 seconds) 
Search ResultsHow do I escape the Gold Rush line? - Page 10 - Golden Retriever ForumI have had several with geriatric vestibular syndrome, which is sometimes ... Golden Retriever Health & Nutrition Forums, Golden Retriever Health, Anatomy, ...
www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?p=750750 - 53k - Cached - Similar pages
Prayers please for Max - Golden Retriever ForumPlease please make sure it is not vestibular syndrome-it looks scary but virtually .... Golden Retriever Health & Nutrition Forums, Golden Retriever Health, ...
www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=54747 - 82k - Cached - Similar pages
Vestibular Disease - Helpful Dog Info - Yankee Golden Retriever RescueVestibular means 'a problem with the connections between the inner/middle ear and brain' causing ataxia. Dogs with ataxia stand with their limbs braced, ...
www.ygrr.org/doginfo/health-vestibular.html - 17k - Cached - Similar pages
How To Spot Vestibular Syndrome In DogsVestibular Syndrome is a common disorder in older dogs but can affect middle aged ... In some dog breeds such as Golden Retrievers, Lymphoma is a fairly common ... We also have a forum where you can ask all your pet health questions. ...
www.articledashboard.com/Article/How-To-Spot-Vestibular-Syndrome-In-Dogs/812779 - 17k - Cached - Similar pages
Vestibulr SyndromeCANINE VESTIBULAR SYNDROME. For the last few months, my oldest Golden Retriever hasn't really been himself. He will be 13 in July and has Cushing's Syndrome ...
www.everythinggolden.com/vestibulr_syndrome.htm - 15k - Cached - Similar pages
Vestibular Disease in DogsVestibular disease typically affects older dogs with an average age of 12 to 13 years. .... labrador retriever, golden retriever, yorkshire terriers, ...
www.petplace.com/dogs/vestibular-disease-in-dogs/page1.aspx - 98k - Cached - Similar pages
Geriatric vestibular syndrome - Pet forum for dogs cats and humans ...Geriatric vestibular syndrome Pet health - Dog health - Ask members * If your pet is ... Briar 12 year old Golden Retriever Shadow 11 year old GSD & Husky X ...
www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=56189&highlight=Ginger+vestibular+disease - 88k - Cached - Similar pages


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## desilu (Nov 2, 2006)

My late, great, Winnie-the-Pooch (a collie/golden mix) was diagnosed with Horner's syndrome. The symptoms she showed were a recessed eye and visible third eyelid. It was caused, we discovered later, by a thyroid tumor that was pressing on the nerve. The symtoms never caused her any discomfort.

I have no experience with vestibular disease.

I hope your Mango recovers quickly.


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## emmaluvsmango (Dec 15, 2008)

The vet put her on rymadyl this morning just for the week, but she has been sick on this, so ive just rang the emergency vets and he said stop the rymadyl and he will give me metacam for her in the morning. My poorly girl shes having a second attempt at eating tea, lets hope she keeps this down.


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## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

Any updates on how Mango is doing?


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## emmaluvsmango (Dec 15, 2008)

Hi thanks for the concern about mango, the horners part of the syndrome has begun to improve, her eye is pretty much back to normal, and she is able to dribble at a normal rate now lol. 

The problem is now that the vestibular syndrome went quite a bit worse, her head tilt its extremily bad now and she really doesn't have a sense of which way up the world is ment to be. She keeps falling over and walking/running into everything, she nearly fell down the stairs again yesterday which is really scary because she likes to run down them at full speed. So ive been having to walk her down them slowly ready to catch her if needs be. 

The vet is giving her till next tuesday to see improvement and if there isn't then he will have to re think.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I pray that Mango will start to improve with the vestibular syndrome.


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## pamulrey (Feb 28, 2016)

*Horner;s and Vestibular Disease*

My 13 year old Golden developed Horner's in her right eye in August 2015. I was told it sometimes resolves on its own but saw no signs of this happening. In November 2015, she developed Canine Vestibular Disease (CVD) in the middle of the night. She had a rather severe case of this and spent a week at the veterinary hospital before she was able to stand up on her own and eventually walk. I was told most dogs nearly fully recover from CVD. True to this, she did recover with only a residual head tilt. It took about a month before full recovery occurred. With the onset of the CVD and the rapid eye movements (nystagmus) surprisingly the Horners completely resolved. Now just this past week (Feb 25, 2015) she developed Horners in her left eye. The third eyelid is completely covering her pupil so she has no vision in the left eye. She is adapting well to this but I am now fearful that the CVD will eventually return too.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

What does the vet say? There are drops that can be given that will help some cases. If you can, I would go to a veterinary opthamologist. When my girl had Horner's, my regular vet was of little help but the opthamologist was very helpful.

My new vet will consult with specialists if necessary, so that would be something to help as well.

Horner?s Syndrome in Dogs - Signs & Treatment | VCA Animal Hospitals

https://www.vetinfo.com/horners-syndrome-in-dogs.html

In my girl's case, she was very young and the opthamologist was able to diagnose the cause and ease my worries (it was an irritated nerve in her neck caused by her 6 week old puppies hanging on her neck).


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