Ping Seems Disorientated At Night -- Any Ideas?

[Guest SquanHound]

We noticed Monday night that Ping was shaking his ears a bit and he continued to do it in the morning so I cleaned them out with the ear solution stuff that morning. His ears were not particularly dirty and didn't smell at all. The ear shaking has continued on though and on Tuesday night/early Wed morning he woke up in the middle of the night and was wandering around the house with his ears up as if he heard something. He also seemed a bit confused. DH took him outside to see if he had to go out and, while he took advantage of the late night pee break, it was clear that it wasn't his bladder that had awoken him. All the same, he came back in searching the housing again and after some coaxing finally went to bed. All in all he was up for about 30-40 minutes.

 

Now last I went to bed early and DH and Ping stayed downstairs and succumbed to the all encompassing power of our couch and fell asleep down there. DH woke up at 12:45am to Ping wandering around downstairs - ears up, acting a bit confused again. DH tried to coax him up the stairs and he wouldn't go, but instead kept wandering, so DH finally carried him upstairs at which point I woke up. Ping and I spend the next 45 minutes checking out each room, going outside, etc. I finally got him to lie down in his bed but he was lying there with his head up and quietly whimpering. I then grabbed my pillow and lied down with him and pet him until 3:00 am until he finally fell asleep (keep in mind btw that this was a dog with space issues, who occassionally will still growl if you are sitting with him while he is on his bed -- now last night he was looking around for an hour or so with his eyes wide open, but eventually curled himself into me on his bed and feel asleep-- not typical at all).

 

This morning he woke up ok - not confused, but still shaking his ears. DH and he went to the park - he followed any commands DH gave him (wait, come, etc.). He came home charging into the house looking for me (as he does every day) and it was like a completely different dog than last night.

 

So, I am at a loss for what is going on with him. Part of me relates this to sundowning (a sad thing we went through with my Gram who had Alzheimers), DH thinks it is an ear infection and he is maybe having ringing in his ears (but then why is able to follow commands and is he ok during the day - also no smell coming from his ears) and well another part thinks this is me just over analyzing things and being a worry wort. So, does anyone have any ideas? Also, our vet is closed today otherwise I would be calling her.

 

[NeylasMom]

I had this happen to me last fall with Neyla. I would wake up in the middle of the night to find her wandering around disoriented. She seemed to be a bit anxious and searching for something. I equated it to her having seen a ghost. I would take her out and she would sometimes pee or poop and then come back in, but she'd still be freaked out. Eventually she would calm down and go back to sleep.

 

Turns out it was her stomach. I had increased her glucosamine/chondroitin and it was upsetting her stomach. My vet suggested it - basically, she had bad gas. We put her on probiotics and she was fine after that, the behavior has not returned.

 

Trust me, I thought it was my old(ish - she's 9 now, but we hardly think that's old) girl losing her mind, but it wasn't. I am guessing your dog is in pain, maybe in your case it's the ears. I'd suggest a trip to the vet. An easy way to check for an ear infection is to stick your nose in the ear - infected ears have a nasty smell.

 

Post and let us know what happens. I'm curious if it turns out to be something similar.

[Guest SusanP]

With all the ear shaking, I'd see the vet. If the other behavior continues, maybe it isn't even related, but at least you'd have some idea.

[Guest SquanHound]

Interesting --- we put Ping on glucosamine about a month ago, but we are only giving his a 1/2 dose b/c he does have a sensitive belly and we found that if he got more than a 1/2 dose he went soft on us (not an uncommon thing with this special pupper of mine who already takes a probiotic each morning ). Normally if his belly is hurting though we will here all the gurgles and such. He already got the gluc. this morning, but maybe it is worth exploring. As for the ears - they don't smell and really were not all that dirty when I cleaned them (a little bit of dark wax on the cotton balls, but not a lot).

 

Thank you though b/c this makes me feel better that my 7 1/2 year old boy is not losing it so early on. DH called me around 10:30 and said that he was acting completely normal (horizontal in his bed) when he left. If we have another episode tonight I'll be calling Dr. Sabia first thing in the am (note my earlier post that they are closed today and would have gotten a call today if they were open).

Edited September 11, 2008 by SquanHound

[Guest KipperGrey]

Other than the ear shaking thing, the behaviour reminds me of what our Kipper was doing before we found out he had PRA and was blind. He seemed very confused at night because in the dim light he couldn't see at all. In the bright light of day he could see shapes and outlines. I seriously thougth that he was getting doggy alzheimers because he would get lost in the back yard. I really hope this isn't the case with you but maybe have the vet take a look at his eyes when they look at his ears.

[Guest SquanHound]

Thanks KipperGrey - I'll ask our vet to check his eyes too. He did bump into our one cabinets last night, but I didn't think anything of it since that was all he bumbed into and his eyes were opened wider than normal. Ugh. Fingers crossed that it isn't PRA. I'll let you know tomorrow when I call the vet.

[Guest paulamariez]

How's Ping doing? His symptoms remind me of what happens when Bueller's gum infections get really bad. He keeps wandering around, doesn't want to lay down, goes into places he normally doesn't, seems not to know where he is sometimes, sways his head from left to right, but then other times he's absolutely back to normal. We were sure he had an ear infection, but it actually was his teeth. Bueller has to take a round of antibiotics and usually within a day or two, he's back to normal. Make sure they do a check for infections. Keeping your sweet Ping in my prayers.

[jenn8]

With all the ear shaking, I'd see the vet. If the other behavior continues, maybe it isn't even related, but at least you'd have some idea.

 

Ditto. It's not always obvious, if the problem is further down in the ears.

 

Jenn

 

ETA: Wax build up can also cause problems with equilibrium (i.e. dizziness).

Edited September 15, 2008 by jenn8