Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 9/17/2009

Question
I have a 5 year old German Shep/Lab mix. He's always been healthy except for some mild allergies (occasionally chewing his paws, takes pills for a week or so & it goes away 1-2 times per year#.

8 days ago, I noticed his right lower lip severely drooping. The vet noted movement of the 3rd eyelid on same side & said it could be an infection. He gave us Prednisone, antibiotics & recommended OTC eyedrops. He was on the meds for 4 days with no change in symptoms, then I took him for a very short car ride #3-4 miles#. He was afraid to jump out of the Jeep & very wobbly after exiting. Then I noticed he was afraid to jump off of the porch glider. I assumed the car ride was a very bad decision & wrote it off to ear infection. It’s been 4 more days & there’s no improvement with symptoms & his balance is actually worsening. He fell down the steps today & is very wobbly on anything uneven #steps, in the yard, the hill he usually runs up & down outside, etc.).  

Vet gave me a stronger antibiotic so now he’s on Cephalexin 1000 mg & Enroflaxin 260 mg per day. I want a thorough work up to check inner ear but the vet is telling me to take him to a neurologist. I’m very worried but we’ve spent hundreds on the visits & meds in under a week. My husband lost his job & we can’t afford a second opinion. We’re flat broke. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t want my dog to suffer but I feel like we’ve spent all the money with the wrong vet & now have no options.


Answer
This does seem like a balance problem and that indicates an inner ear problem.  YOu can ask your vet or a drug called Meclizine and for a dog as large as he is, try giving 2 of the 25 mg tablets twice daily.  This may help the dizziness.  Also, your vet can prescribe 10 mg of Valium to be given twice a day for 2 weeks.  There is really not much a neurologist can do for the problem except to diagnose it.

There may be a middle ear problem that is not being treated.  German Shepherds are very prone to middle ear infections and all of the oral antibiotics in the world will not be enough to get into the middle ear to treat it.  These have to be treated topically, usually by puncturing the eardrum, cleaning out the middle ear and medicating it topically.