Sudden Disorientation Issue

[hashimotoirritable]

Hi,

My 9 year old Lab-husky Wolf suddenly had a disorientation problem while on a walk. This has happened 2 times but seems to be doing better now. He also had a 10 second seizure-confusion right after a blood test. All this has happened in the last 4 days.

Can someone help me figure out what to look for? These are some of the causes I am thinking:

-Chronic Ear Infection: He has always had ear infections every few years, lately I may have cleaned his ear the wrong way and deposited into his ears too much of a certain ear cleaning product where I was maybe suppose to just rub his ears with it.

-Chronic chewing/licking of his paws as well as minor infections: He's always had minor infections and very sensitive paws. We examined them with the vet and noticed there were 2-3 small red infections between his toes as well as redness right under his paws.

-Lack of attention by me: Have been neglecting his long walks and attention lately due to other causes, but am quickly solving this issue with long 1 hour walks nightly as well as his morning walk and more attention.

-Lack of vaccinations/Medications: His last vaccine was around 4-5 years ago, is this normal?

Thank you!

[hashimotoirritable]

I forgot to mention that in the end of the blood work report it says:

Biochemistry: light hyperglobulinemia : indicates the presence of a chronic antigenic stimulation as during bacterial infections (presence of gingivitis?) Or chronic viral neoplasm of chronic inflammatory lesion (such as pancreatic) or autoimmune disease

[hashimotoirritable]

Hi there, thank you for taking your time to help me out. I will try and answer each question.

What was the vet testing for with the bloodwork?
- First ever complete blood test to rule out liver and other diseases

What were the results of the test?  
-Everything looked normal except for a bit of high Globulin (41 out of 18-39) g/L and low ALP (21 out of 24-141) IU/L

What type of medication are/were you using in his ear that you suspect you may have used too much of?
-It's called Virbac Epi-Optic Drying Ear Cleanser, I may have been using too much...I was pouring around 7-10 drops in his ears and than massaging them.

When you say he has confusion, what were the exact symptoms?  Did he lose his footing?  
-It looked like he lost it in the very deep snow, his head was bobbling left and right for 5-7 seconds, this happened 2 times.

Did he just seem to not know where he was?  
-For those 5 seconds kind of, but not really, recoverd quickly.

Did he vocalize at all?
- No

When he had the episodes, how long had it been since his last meal?
-Good question, not sure, I also had him on Taste of the Wild and just changed him back to Wellness Core which he used to eat and I find is better.

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions but they will be beneficial when trying to figure out what this might be.  
-No problem

I am also happy to say that we have gone on 3 straight long walks 3 nights in a row with a lady and her 2 dogs which are Wolf's friends and he has not seen in a few years and everything is going VERY good so far, he had a small little disorientation episode (2-3 seconds) the first night but that's about it, and that was probably due to the pheno medication.

He is looking very good and tomorrow I am bringing him to a good vet in the area to check him out. I am also bringing his medical files, he has had 2-3 ear infections in the last 5-6 years it shows. As well as one paw and 1 skin infection.

If you have any clues or things you think I should ask the vet tomorrow please post them :) Everything helps, have a great weekend and thanks again.

[Ghilly]

It's not likely that not having gotten his vaccinations for the last 4 or 5 years has anything to do with what is happening.  In fact, recent findings prove that most animals, as long as they had their complete set of puppy/kitten vaccinations with a booster a year later, have a pretty good natural immunity to disease as long as their immune system is not compromised by anything.  To the contrary, some animals have actually DEVELOPED problems from being vaccinated every year, so it's probably even a good thing that you haven't had him vaccinated every year.

I also don't think it could be from lack of attention from you.  While it could contribute to boredom or exacerbate his foot licking, since that can be a neurotic behavior as well as a signal that there is an irritation of the paws, it would not cause seizure-type activity.

With regard to the confusion episodes he is experiencing, however, these sound like some type of seizure activity.  You said that he had one of the episodes immediately following a blood test.  What was the vet testing for with the bloodwork?   What were the results of the test?  

What type of medication are/were you using in his ear that you suspect you may have used too much of?

When you say he has confusion, what were the exact symptoms?  Did he lose his footing?  Did he just seem to not know where he was?  Did he vocalize at all?  When he had the episodes, how long had it been since his last meal?

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions but they will be beneficial when trying to figure out what this might be.  

Ghilly