Proposed Treatment for Geriatric Vestibular Disease in Dogs

Margaret Kraeling, PT, CCRT^,^,

doi:10.1053/j.tcam.2014.04.004

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Sudden-onset vestibular dysfunction in the canine is a commonly seen condition in veterinary practice, with some veterinarians reporting several cases each month. However, traditional veterinary medicine has little to offer these patients other than symptomatic relief for the severe nausea that accompanies the vertigo and supportive advice for the owners. Owners of affected dogs are informed that these symptoms usually resolve within a few days. As physical therapists, we often see cases of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in our human practice clinics, and effective protocols for diagnosis and treatment of the condition have been developed for this condition. A modified testing and repositioning postural maneuver used successfully on 12 canine patients in our canine rehabilitation clinic (The Canine Fitness Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is hereby described.

Keywords

vestibular dysfunction;
equilibrium;
idiopathic vestibular disease;
ear;
BPPV

: Address reprint requests to Margaret Kraeling, PT, CCRT, The Canine Fitness Centre Ltd, 509–42nd Ave SE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2G 1Y7.

Cheryl & ethnovet

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Friday 29 May 2015