# My Puppy Walks in Circles



## SpanielLover (Jul 26, 2010)

Hi everyone.

I have an 8 month old cocker spaniel who has walked in counter clockwise circles since I have had her, which has been for 6 months. Long story short, I found her stuck underneath a shed when she was about 2 months old and was completely emaciated and tiny. I took her to the vet, and she said that she had loss of vision in her right eye, but could possibly have some brain damage or an under developed nerve. She does this about 85% of the time. She runs straight when she is playing fetch and sometimes when you call her. I took video of her when she was a pup and posted it on you tube if you are curious to see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9YskmOOiS4

I took her to the SPCA this morning to get spayed, and the vet there said she was not comfortable putting her under anesthesia until she was looked at by another veterinarian. I have an appt next week at a new vet for a second opinion. 

I was wondering if any of you have seen or experienced this before?


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Yeah... watching that video... your dog def. has a neurological disorder. Further testing by your vet is required and there are medications you can give to help ease spinning behavior. Make sure there are no deep inner ear infections that could be causing this.


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## SpanielLover (Jul 26, 2010)

The first vet ruled out any infections in the ear. She also gave me some steroids to see if that would help the circling, but it didn't help at all.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

Awww, poor little thing! I'd definitely have her further tested and see if you can find a medication that will help her. She is a beautiful pup, by the way!


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

looking like vestibular disease. does the head tilt at all?


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Ya know I kinda thought that too since I've seen some bunnies with "head tilt" do this but I wasn't sure if dogs could get it. I saw one point in the vid (like around the .18 mark) that it looked like the cocker spun himself silly and he kinda stops biefly and you can see his head tilted as he tries to collect himself. Looking more into vestibular disease for dogs it says it's usually a geriatric disease. This dog is only 8 months old. Is there a possible parasitic invader that could produce similar symptoms? Maybe he has a foxtail in his ear canal or an earwig bug.


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## SpanielLover (Jul 26, 2010)

She never tilts her head while circling, but does tilt it like a normal dog would if they hear something that got their attention. I watched the video again, and around the 18 second mark I think that is at the same point where I call to get her attention. As far as it being something in her ear, do you think she would have felt increasing pain or discomfort? Her circling has been going on for at least 6 months, and I clean and touch her ears regularly and she shows zero signs of discomfort. Thank you so much for the replies!


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

If there is something in the ear I would suspect the dog would show some level of discomfort but then again if there is neurological damage that side might be devoid of sensation. Watch when the spinning has been going on for about 10 seconds if the dog pauses and if there's a head tilt. It will be subtle and I'm pretty sure I saw her tilt to the left (left side pointing downward) briefly. It was quite subtle but I know i saw it a couple times and it was before you spoke. Does she always spin in the same direction?


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## SpanielLover (Jul 26, 2010)

I have never really noticed her head tilting, but I will definitely keep a look out for it. She does always spin counter clockwise, but she also has no vision in her right eye, only in her left. To me it looks like she is using the peripheral vision out of her left eye to see as she spins. I recently moved in with my mom, and she has a great dane/shar pei mix who walks normal, and I have noticed an improvement in Squirrel (that is my cockers name). She has definitely stopped circling as much. And when I take her on walks she doesn't do it as bad either. I have one of those retractable leashes and I let her go as far as it lets out, and we will walk about 8 feet before she does a wide circle around me (I swear, sometimes I feel like we look like a circus act, lol).


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## littlegreenie (Jul 14, 2010)

Okay so...one, that made me dizzy. Two...is it possible to find a vet which specializes in neurology in your area? It definitely seems like a neurological problem, she otherwise seems to be healthy and happy.


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## SpanielLover (Jul 26, 2010)

I will have to call around and see if there are any vets that specialize in neurology, thank you for the suggestion. She definitely is the happiest and most life loving pup I have ever encountered. I am really blessed to have her.


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## parallelbarking (Feb 16, 2010)

My friend was raising a littler of newborn kittens, and sadly, when they were about 5 weeks old, her son tripped and stepped on one.  The kitten spun in circles like that for about a week, but thankfuly has fully recovered.

Coupled with the fact that your baby has a vision disorder, I think it's reasonable to suspect that she sustained some sort of traumatic injury as a youngster that's left her with a neuro problem. I hope you find something that can help her.


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## vabird (Jun 5, 2007)

To find a board certified neurologist in your area go to:

http://www.acvim.org/websites/acvim/index.php?p=3

and use the pull down menus to plug in neurologist and your state


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## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

We have a pug that comes into the clinic that does the same thing. His is neurological. Happy little guy just spins in circles all the time. When he is excited it becomes more pronounced.


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## SpanielLover (Jul 26, 2010)

Squirrel definitely speeds up her circles when she gets excited. Do you know if they are doing anything for the pug to help him?


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

I know that there are some training techniques you can employ to help control the spinning, but right now it's so engrained in her it will be difficult with out accompanying med therapy and diagnosing the neuro issue to see if it too can be treated. It could be as easy as a blood clot pressing on her brain from the trauma that made her go blind in that eye, then the opposite end of that pole is it could be a birth defect that caused both. Cockers are prone to juvenile cateracts, progressive retinal atrophy, and several other eye issues that could lead to blindness. Honestly I think you should have the neuro work up done ASAP.


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

Okay, all of you are being very kind about it, but I am just going to say it. You've let this go on for six whole months without having her seen by a veterinarian?!? That wouldn't have gone on for a DAY in this house without being taken to the vet appointment or not.


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## That'llDo (Apr 13, 2010)

BooLette said:


> Okay, all of you are being very kind about it, but I am just going to say it. You've let this go on for six whole months without having her seen by a veterinarian?!? That wouldn't have gone on for a DAY in this house without being taken to the vet appointment or not.


BooLette, the OP does mention taking the puppy to the vet in the first post. You could argue it may have been a good idea to get a second opinion sooner, but I don't think there is any real evidence of negligence here. 

I agree with the others about a neuro workup though. That looks like neurological damage of some sort, but it may be treatable. And with puppies, as with humans, the nervous system is more plastic in younger animals, so sooner is better in terms of mitigating the outcome.



> I have an 8 month old cocker spaniel who has walked in counter clockwise circles since I have had her, which has been for 6 months. Long story short, I found her stuck underneath a shed when she was about 2 months old and was completely emaciated and tiny. *I took her to the vet, and she said that she had loss of vision in her right eye, but could possibly have some brain damage or an under developed nerve.* She does this about 85% of the time. She runs straight when she is playing fetch and sometimes when you call her. I took video of her when she was a pup and posted it on you tube if you are curious to see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9YskmOOiS4


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

That was when the puppy was eight weeks. She is now eight months and she hasn't taken her to figure out if this is something that can be cured. THAT is negligent. I wonder if it would be considered negligent to let a child go with a problem such as this. The answer is no, and it is not alright with a dog either.


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

She's going to another vet next week she says. I probably would not have waited as long either but screaming about negligence isn't helping anyone.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Boo, she's been to a vet who told he she could have some brain damage from being starved/neglected and it sounds like the vet may have minimized the problem to the owner. There's nothing neglegent about what the owner has done.


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