# Dog non responsive and walking along the walls



## carly418 (Aug 18, 2008)

Our 5 year old Yorkie has been occasionally been getting very lethargic, won't eat, hardly drinks but urinates a lot, and when we let him out and about he walks the along the walls and doesn't stop when we call him. He is not very responsive while he is doing this. He is usually a very active, jumping, licking, happy dog , eats well and when this happens to him, he is just wanders like a zombie, we have to put him in a little kennel to get him to lay down, doesn't want to eat. We force feed/water him to keep him hydrated and he slowly comes out of it after several days. He had a week of normalcy and it is happening again. The vet said possible strokes, depression, not sure. He just stares at you and his mouth hangs open slightly, no energy and moves very slowly. I read up on Vestibular disease but not sure that is it. he doesn't have head tilt and doesn't walk in circles but just walks along the walls like a zombie.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

carly418 said:


> Our 5 year old Yorkie has been occasionally been getting very lethargic, won't eat, hardly drinks but urinates a lot, and when we let him out and about he walks the along the walls and doesn't stop when we call him. He is not very responsive while he is doing this. He is usually a very active, jumping, licking, happy dog , eats well and when this happens to him, he is just wanders like a zombie, we have to put him in a little kennel to get him to lay down, doesn't want to eat. We force feed/water him to keep him hydrated and he slowly comes out of it after several days. He had a week of normalcy and it is happening again. The vet said possible strokes, depression, not sure. He just stares at you and his mouth hangs open slightly, no energy and moves very slowly. I read up on Vestibular disease but not sure that is it. he doesn't have head tilt and doesn't walk in circles but just walks along the walls like a zombie.



why aren't you just taking him to the vet?????? 

GO to the vet!!!!!!


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## carly418 (Aug 18, 2008)

Of course we took him to the vet. He spent two days on IV's and the vet suspected a stroke, thought he may permanently be that way but he pulled through and was himself for week and it is happening again. Two vets now and they don't know what it is.


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## Annamarie (Oct 14, 2007)

the drinking and urinating is cause for concern and indicates kidney failure. left too long this can cause permanent damage.

Has the vet done a blood panel? I would do a full tick panel as well.


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## Yorkie Fan (Feb 15, 2008)

This sounds an awful lot like liver shunt.
LS is usually diagnosed early in life but can be diagnosed later.
Another possibly is microvascular dysplasia (small shunting thorughout the liver).
Dogs with either LS or MVD sometimes don't want to eat because they don't feel well afterwards. Urination issues are common along with ammonium urate stones (only seen on ultrasound...not xray). Lethargy and depression are common. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) can occur if the toxins from food aren't being filtered by the liver properly and start affecting the brain. HE symptoms are neurological and can include seizure, head pressing, circling, weird walking/movement (like along the walls)... GI upset can be a symptom.

I think a full blood panel should be done but even if nothing comes out low or elevated a bile acid test should be done. 

Hopefully it is not this but Yorkies are 36 times more likely to have LS than all other breeds combined, so it wouldn't be wrong to bile acid test a Yorkie even if the vet doesn't think it is this.

What food is he eating?


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## Sophie82649 (Jun 20, 2021)

carly418 said:


> Our 5 year old Yorkie has been occasionally been getting very lethargic, won't eat, hardly drinks but urinates a lot, and when we let him out and about he walks the along the walls and doesn't stop when we call him. He is not very responsive while he is doing this. He is usually a very active, jumping, licking, happy dog , eats well and when this happens to him, he is just wanders like a zombie, we have to put him in a little kennel to get him to lay down, doesn't want to eat. We force feed/water him to keep him hydrated and he slowly comes out of it after several days. He had a week of normalcy and it is happening again. The vet said possible strokes, depression, not sure. He just stares at you and his mouth hangs open slightly, no energy and moves very slowly. I read up on Vestibular disease but not sure that is it. he doesn't have head tilt and doesn't walk in circles but just walks along the walls like a zombie.


Any updates on this? This is happening to our puppy right now.


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## LeoRose (Aug 20, 2015)

This thread is thirteen years old, and the OP hasn't been back since. Your best option is to either take your pup to the closest emergency clinic or else contact your vet to see what your after-hours options are if you don't have an emergency clinic nearby.


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## Sophie82649 (Jun 20, 2021)

LeoRose said:


> This thread is thirteen years old, and the OP hasn't been back since. Your best option is to either take your pup to the closest emergency clinic or else contact your vet to see what your after-hours options are if you don't have an emergency clinic nearby.


I posted this reply in case the original poster would see her email and could just let me know what happened. I can’t even believe I am explaining myself, but we are booked for an emergency visit in an hour. Of course I am scanning the internet for answers while waiting. Thanks for your concern.


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## stbob (Apr 15, 2021)

Sophie82649 said:


> I posted this reply in case the original poster would see her email and could just let me know what happened. I can’t even believe I am explaining myself, but we are booked for an emergency visit in an hour. Of course I am scanning the internet for answers while waiting. Thanks for your concern.


Gods speed with your dog... As for always getting rebuked and quite often shut down for replying to an older post makes no sense, especially considering how the older posts are usually promoted in the "recommended reading" section... 🤨


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

@Sophie82649 I hope your pup gets seen quickly and has a fast recovery, this is a scary situation!

Unfortunately we have multiple old threads revived daily - it's one of our main jobs as moderators. From experience, leaving them open results in confusion as people try to reply to members who haven't been here for years, giving advice for situations which are no longer relevant, and missing any questions the new poster asked at the end of the thread. This happens so frequently that old threads can also drown out new threads with immediate questions and concerns, meaning it'll be difficult for members to get timely advice and input on current topics. The mods do agree that the 'recommended reading' situation is confusing, but unfortunately we have no control over how the site owner formats the forums.

So I am closing this thread to further replies. If anyone had suggestions for other ways we can mitigate issues with 'zombie' threads, you can certainly comment in the suggestions subforum or private message any/all of the mod team, but currently closing these threads as they pop up is the most effective and feasible solution we have.


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