I have a 10 yr old chocolate lab that has had them since he was 6 months old. The first time I thought he was having a heart attack. He knows when it is coming on and he will come to me with this look in his eyes and we sit on the floor and I hold his head and talk to him until it is over. He seems to act like the room is spinning so I cover his eyes with my hand and hold his head tight. Everything I have read about them say they are mostly caused by excitment but, Max 's can happen in the middle of the night.