Seeing your dog acting strange or wobbly can be quite distressing. There are a number of things that may cause an appearance of drunkenness. In this article, we’re going to explore some of the most common of these. But most importantly, try to keep calm, avoid injury to yourself and your dog and call your vet.
Seizures
These can range from muscle twitching and wobbliness to falling to the ground with the muscles spasming. This results in salivating, paddling of the legs and urinating or defecating. There is usually a pre-ictal phase (before the seizure) where the dog may seem nervous or anxious, often whining and trembling. The following seizure may last a few seconds to a few minutes. This is followed by a period of pacing, disorientation and restlessness, known as the post-ictal phase.
During the seizure episode, it is best to turn any lights off in the room and turn any music off, creating a calm environment. Furniture should be moved to prevent the dog from banging into anything and cushions or blankets can be used to prevent further injuries. Once the seizure has finished, you should call your vet. They will then carry out an examination and perform investigations such as a blood sample, urine sample and imaging to help determine if there was a cause of the seizure.
Read more: How do I know if my dog is having a seizure?
Fainting or collapsing
This looks different to a seizure as the dog is usually still. Sometimes the gums will be a pale colour, rather than pink. The dog may appear wobbly and then fall to one side. It may happen during exercise, especially if the dog has been struggling to breathe.
There are a number of things that could cause collapsing and fainting, and it is important that your dog is examined by a vet. Your vet will perform a thorough examination, paying particular attention to the heart and may take blood samples as well as performing x-rays or an ultrasound exam.
Vestibular Disease
Although vestibular disease can be caused by trauma, ear infections and tumours, an “idiopathic” form where the cause isn’t fully understood often occurs in older dogs. The dog will usually be very wobbly, sometimes falling and completely rolling over, unable to stand back up again. The dog probably feels very dizzy and you may notice that the head is held to one side with the eyes moving from side to side or up and down.
Your vet will perform a neurological exam and look inside the ears to try and find a cause for the signs. In idiopathic cases, the dog usually improves over the course of a few days to a fortnight. Some dogs will always be a bit wobbly, with a slight head tilt.
Heatstroke
Dogs can’t cool themselves through sweating like humans do, so if they become too hot and panting isn’t helping, they will overheat. Overheating can happen if a dog is exercised in hot weather, especially if they already have trouble breathing, such as in the “flat-faced” (brachycephalic) breeds. The signs of heatstroke include wobbliness, red gums, excessive panting and collapsing. This condition is preventable and during hot weather it is important to make sure you think carefully about whether your dog will be able to cope.
Measures to prevent heatstroke include:
- Only walking your dog in the morning or the evening when it is cooler
- Ensuring that you always have cool water available for your dog to drink
- Providing shaded areas for your dog when outside
- Using cooling mats or coats
- Avoiding leaving your dog inside the car during hot weather
If you have a brachycephalic breed you will need to take extra care during the summer. Having an assessment carried out by a vet is essential for brachycephalic breeds. They often need surgery to help them to breathe more easily, preventing collapsing episodes. Read more: What is BOAS surgery, and why is it needed?
If you notice any signs of heatstroke, your dog should be taken to the vet immediately, where intravenous fluid therapy and cooling procedures will be carried out.
Spinal disease
Problems with the spine can cause weakness and wobbliness, known as ataxia. A “slipped disc” can occur in any dog but is often seen in dachshunds due to their long backs. The dog should be taken to the vet for an examination, where a neurological assessment will be carried out and further imaging may be required to identify where and what the cause of the ataxia is. It is important to be careful when moving the dog, not allowing them to jump into the car or go up and down steps, if the dog is small then carrying them carefully will help to support their back.
Toxins
Toxic substances such as antifreeze, slug pellets and mould from food waste can cause a dog to be wobbly. Often resulting in collapsing or seizures. If you think that your dog has had access to any toxic substances then you should call the vet, sometimes the dog will need to have an injection to make them sick so that they will bring up the toxin.
However, if the dog is already showing abnormal signs, further treatment will be required to help the body to eliminate the toxin and prevent other signs from developing. In some cases, toxin ingestion can be fatal so rapid veterinary attention is essential.
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Discussion
I have a one year old husky female that has been scratching a lot as well as whining a lot. Off and on she acts wobbly and unbalanced, any thoughts on what can cause this?
I think from what you’ve said, there are three main possibilities.
One, she has a skin condition and the itching makes her lose her balance periodically. I’ve seen this, and personally I think it’s not that uncommon.
Two, she has a skin condition (very common) and also something else that’s making her wobbly. It’s possible – but wouldn’t normally be my first thought.
Three, she has a neurological condition that makes her both itchy and wobbly.
However, it’s not really possible to diagnose any of those remotely! So I’d strongly recommend a vet check and get her fully checked over. Good luck!
Hi I have a one yr old mini poodle, he has been healthy but clumsy. He was vaccinated 2 days ago. He was fine all day, was playing and eating. I gave him a sweet potato chew with his supper at 5pm. At 5:30 he was acting very dizzy. He was leaning not able to walk straight but responsive. By 6:30 I had him to the vet. They assumed because I occasionally smoke marijuana he must be stoned. He improved at the vet so we took him home. There’s no way he had any. My husband has very strong pills and he didn’t eat those either.. his condition improved for the next hour until he vomited at 7pm. It was a blade of grass, his food partial digested, the sweet potato strip was not digested. His vomited is very mushy and very yellow not like his food. It didn’t smell too bad. I am curious what else could be wrong with him. He has had an ear infection, which cleared up months ago. But it does still itch.. he is always bumping into things while playing. He doesn’t like jumping at all. He is still being tired and wobbly. We never go outside of our yard and we use a leash when walking so he can’t get into stuff. He doesn’t usually eat everything he sees..I’m very puzzled and worried. I’m watching him to see if we should go back to the emerg vet. Any suggestions?
It does sound like he’s eaten something odd, and that change in behaviour is a concern. If he’s not actively vomiting any more, I’d give it over night and see how he is, but if the vomiting, disorientation or wobbliness get any worse I’d certainly call the emergency vet for advice.
My dog is fine one second and the next is acting like she is stoned and just lays down and goes to sleep for like 4 hours and then wakes up like nothing is wrong
That is odd! I would suggest a vet check, to be honest, to make sure there isn’t anything really nasty going on… but of course it might just be her!
My one year old dog throws up this morning and has her head wobble like she is drunk she is still walking fine and her head wobble has decreased over the past few hours
I would still get a vet check to make sure there’s no nasty underlying cause; a head wobble at this age is NOT normal!
My 10 year old blue nose has been acting uncoordinated and clumsy for a week or so. She peed on the floor once and wants to run seemingly in a circle. She shakes her head a lot. I cleaned and examined her ears real well and started her on antibiotics ear drops. Even though she didn’t appear to be yeasty. Still off so far. Any advice??
Hmmm being clumsy like that might be ears, but probably not an infection: it could be vestibular syndrome, or something more serious; I would suggest a vet check to be sure though
We have been going to our lakehouse for years now and from time to time our dog will randomly start wobbling and acting drunk and her eyes will be red. After awhile she will throw up and be back to normal. I’m guessing she’s getting into something toxic outside but I don’t know how to find that out.
Without knowing the regional botany of the area, impossible to say! Unfortunately, there are very few reliable tests for determining exactly what a dog is allergic to; an IgE blood test may help, if interpreted by a good veterinary dermatologist, but be very cautious and don’t over-interpret the results.
In general, though, it;’s probably more helpful to talk to your vet about preventative approaches when you go to the lakehouse, in other words, is there anything that can be given to prevent the allergic (if it is!) flare up.
I was playing fetch with both my Aussie’s (5 and 1). My younger one goes all out bat shi* crazy when playing but today after only 20-30 minutes he was panting super hard and was walking like he was drunk. He finally just fell on the deck and panted for a couple minutes while I gave him some water. 15 min later he’s back outside ready to play again. I’m worried because it’s definitely not hot out, he’s still young, and Aussie’s have sooo much energy. Thoughts on what happened?
It’s possible it was exertional hyperthermia – he played so hard he temporarily overheated; other options would include dehydration, or even some form of seizure. I think if it’s a one-off I wouldn’t worry too much, but he might be more sensitive to heat so make sure you have lots of cold water around for him to drink or (even better) jump into on hot days. If it happens again, though, definitely vet time.
My 14 year old dog suddenly vomitted yellow bile and what looked like thick egg whites, walking as if drunk and disoriented. The vet thinks she has an infection. 3 days now, getting better, but only about 60% her old self. Can’t do stairs, and still wobbly.
Give her time – at that age, it’ll take a long time to recover from even a fairly mild infection! And stay in touch with the vet – if she seems to plateau or go downhill again, straight back.
My older dogs head shakes slowly from side to side. And she is weak in her rear end.
If this has happened suddenly, then get her to a vet ASAP – there are lots of possible causes, including Vestibular Syndrome, but ti does need to be assessed.