Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 8/19/2008

Question
Yesterday I walked my 14.5 yr old male Bichon/Poodle in the rain for 15 minutes, at the time of his usual walk schedule. He is very persistent that I walk him at the same time every day, rain or shine. When we returned home, he slipped and fell on the hard wood floor while he was running around trying to dry himself off. I quickly grabbed a towel to dry him, to stop the running, and he collapsed to one side and whimpered. His body went limp. I got scared and continued to gently massage his body until he recovered about 10 minutes later. Do you have any answers as to what may have caused this? He was okay afterwards, but his tail was down, he did drink some water and ate a couple of treats.

Answer
Nicole -

Your dog may have had a case of vertigo or inner ear disturbance.  Because he is of advanced age, have him examined by a veterinarian.  His vet may want to do bloodwork to evaluate liver and kidney function.  

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM