Our oldest and first rehomed Grey, Shayla (ex Nellie) has always had problems with her teeth and over the last year has had most of them extracted at the vet. She has been having problems with recurring mouth infections which antibiotics have 90% cleared but not completely.She finished her last course of antibiotics on Wednesday.She is neither up nor down with these infections eating normally and does not show any signs of pain. We have tried all the mouthwashes, teeth cleaning routine etc. with little effect. Vet has taken swabs and bloods but nothing has shown up.On Thursday night she refused to come down stairs and has been like this since.We are having to carry her up and down the stairs ( with a mental note to enrol her in canine fat fighters!)We are convinced her vision is the cause but I took her to the vet and he could find nothing wrong with her.Previously she tackled the stairs like a mountain goat on speed so we are at a loss to know what to do.The other three still tackle the stairs in same mountain goat fashion (knocking all humans out of the way like skittles!) but not Shayla.To our knowledge she hasn't slipped or fallen on the stairs so we don't know why she is suddenly so afraid of them.She is sniffing and looking wildly around a lot and this is why I think she has a problem with her eyes.She is behaving as if she cannot see properly ( she actually tripped off the pavement on the way back to the car from the vets) Apart from that her behaviour is normal, eating well and pooing and peeing ok.We are worried sick about her and have been told by the vet to observe and go back if she gets worse.We don't think she has eaten or drunk anything poisonous and her temperature at the vets was normal.I wonder if there is a connection between her current state and her mouth infections but with my limited medical knowledge I am failing to "join the dots" on this issue.Has anyone got any ideas on what we can do. I had considered it might be diabetic retinopathy but she isn't drinking excessive amounts and I presume her blood glucose levels were not raised when the vet got her lab results back. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The other three dogs sense something is amiss, especially our Rosie who has been really sweet with her , watching her and cuddling up to her at night. So at the moment there is rather a black cloud over our house.We just want our old Shay back.It is so sad to see her so suddenly lacking in confidence.Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Keith , Mark, Muskie, Rosie , Isis and a poorly Shayla

I may be completely wrong here, but you mention she is your eldest dog. Could this be a sign of senility? I don't have stairs so that was not a problem with my now sadly deceased whippet, but disorientation was, as well as barking for no reason and hugely increased appetite. He got Aktivait, which took the edge off the symptoms and helped for a while. As I say, this may be well wide of the mark, especially as it seems to have developed suddenly. Urinary infection has presumably been ruled out? I hope you find a solution. It must be very distressing.

If your vet is all out of ideas then I think it would be a good idea to get a second opinion. If you think it might be related to eyesight then I believe Neil Geddes at St Clair vets in Kirkcaldy is an expert in that field - he diagnosed and successfully treated an optic nerve problem with one of our last greys.

Thanks Steve and Kathleen for your comments. Over the course of today I have closely watched her and it is definitely either a neuro or optic problem. She will quite happily allow me to "lead" her down the stairs but not up! So it is not , as I suspected , a sudden fear of stairs.As you say Kathleen it could be a urine infection although she is showing no signs. Senility could also be a cause but she is only 7 ( although living in this house with our wacky crew is enough to turn any creature senile!) Steve I think you are right. We are registered with St Clair but it wasn't Neil who saw her yesterday ( although he has seen her in the past).I phoned them again but Neil is on holiday, however we are seeing another vet on Wednesday who has an "interest" in eyes and she will do further tests..............Shayla is misjudging distances and I found her in the box room where none of the dogs ever go ( just not interesting enough for them!)She is trying to get through doors the wrong way and is banging her nose on things. At the moment she is devouring a soft chew quite happily. I just hope we can get this sorted. Shay has always been the most accident prone and sickly of our crew and Mark and I are keeping our fingers crossed that this is nothing major.

Hi,
In my opinion she should have a brain scan or an x-ray but the latter might be not enough.Especially if it started suddenly. Has she got any balance issues?

Hi Stan,

Yes we think you are right. Although she doesn't have any balance issues she does seem to lack coordination at times which is why we think it is either a visual/neuro problem.Saying that after I posted yesterday she started going up and down the stairs quite happily but is still far from her usual self. I agree that a brain scan is probably best so I am hoping things will get organised when I see the vet on Wednesday ( which was the soonest appointment I could get.)Thank you once again for your advice, it is very much appreciated.

Hi Keith+Mark,
I think most of visual problem that occur suddenly may be brain-based. The ailment my be a result of too much pressure on one of the nerves that are responsible for vision.
Labyrinthitis, which is often directly connected with infection within the mouth i.e. teeth (very close to ears), may cause similar problems, so ears should be checked properly as well. A normal body temperature is typical of this sort of inflammation.
Please, read the new thread on Labyrinthitis I have just created on the forum.
Best wishes,
Stan

Don't want to cause you any further distress by saying this guys but thought it may be worth a mention even though I would imagine the vet has already checked for this. One of my dogs in the past had a stroke (it was a fairly major one in his case) but he had problems with vision and balance following this and the vet said that it would either calm down and right itself or not after giving him an injection of something.Just with you saying that she has started going up the stairs again I wondered if it could have been a mini stroke type thing like humans can get and it has now passed? Like I say i am sure they would check for this but thought it may be worth mentioning x

Good luck Keith and Mark, hope things are diagnosed quicker after Wednesday. We go to St Clair to see Neil Geddes for an autoimmune eye condition that Duke suffers. We originally saw another St Clair vet at a different practice but were refered to Neil for further diagnosis. I can't fault them in their treatment. Star our first greyhound died last year of a pancreatic tumour which is quite rare in greyhounds, but the vet Shona we saw regularly was very thorough and always a great source of information. Hope all goes well and a treatment/solution can be found for Shayla

Hi Joan ,
No vet didn't mention a stroke at all but my colleagues at work did!I am a nurse and we discussed Shay during my last shift and we thought it could be a mini stroke....... I think it may be nearer the mark because she is now back to normal and trying to score a strike with us when she races down the stairs.Hopefully we will see you at the walk this Sunday! (fingers and paws crossed)
Fiona, we agree that St Clair are a good practice. I think in our time we have seen all of their vets and all appear to have the same dedication to their charges.They all seem to have a soft spot for greyhounds too. As I have already said Shay is back to "normal" at the moment but we are watching her closely.We all intend to be at the walk ths Sunday.

Glad that Shay is back 2 her normal self that is great news and Im glad that mentioning the word stroke didnt terrify you all and that it was already something that had gone through you head!!lol Fingers crossed that she shows no further symptoms. I hope to be at the walk on Sunday but havent been to this one so my attendance is dependant on my finding the place...and as folks know my directions are not always the best!!lol But fingers crossed Bambi and I will make it and not be driving aimlessly round Fife all of Sunday!!lol

Keith and Mark, I've been away for a couple of days and am very glad to see that Shayla is so much better. Hadn't realised she was only seven!