Dog losing balance

Q.    My 11 year old cross bred dog has recently started to lose his balance and is holding his head to one side all the time.  What could this be and what should I do?

A.    The most common cause of these symptoms is a middle ear infection.   He needs to go to the vet to have antibiotics and anti-inflammatories prescribed.   The prognosis for and infection such as this is usually good though dogs may take a few weeks in some cases to recover fully.  The external ear may or may not show signs of infection.  The other possibility is what is commonly referred to as a “stroke” – damage to part of the brain that controls balance.  This is much less common but must be considered a possibility in an 11 year old.  These cases also commonly improve with time but it is hard to predict how far.