Stroke in Dogs

"Stroke is uncommon in dog's"...? I find that terribly hard to believe after reading all of these heartbreaking stories. Well here's mine, & I think I know how it's going to end but I will post later & let people know.
I have a German Shepard cross lab whom is around 14 y/o. I woke up to him panting & so I got him some water & his eyes were darting left to right but he "could" walk, he seemed ok. After he drank I called him onto my bed "which I never allow, he has his own bed just as comfy" & he leaped up onto it. After 14 or so years with your dog u know when they're upset so I laid with my head next to his & patted him slowly. The next day my dog limps into the lounge room with rapid eye movement & very shaky legs. My uncle said he was laying in the sun for an hour or so & he seemed fine just 5 minutes ago. I immediately took him to the vet. 600$ later (the exact amount I had left on my vet pay as I spent another 6-700 just a month earlier on his coat) So 600aud$ later and 3 hours I come back & the vet say's "Nystagmus" & gives me some anti nausea medicine & some steroids. The vet said her dog had the same thing & was fine after 3 weeks. Now "11 hours later" my companion is here next to my bed, can't stand on his own refuses to eat food but loves to drink (only when I hold the dish under his face). The vet says that she's not 100% sure its Nystagmus, it could be a stroke. I've looked at so many people's similar cases & I know there's a possibility for recovery but that depends on where the stroke hit in the brain & how long after intervention was administered. I also question the vet when she said "my dog had the same condition & recovered" not many cases here recover. I'm going to finish with what my aunt said to me, it's the best advice I've had yet: "Do what you feel in your heart is right, you will know what to do". It;s good advice.
So from now on I will regularly turn him & stretch & massage his muscles, toilet, water a feed him. I will serve as his companion as he would I. But I am not blind to what may need to be done, doe's he have quality of life. I dearly hope the vets don't just use me as a sponge for money at my pets expense but that's something I will never know because I will shed every dollar & sell my car if need be. I truly hope he recovers. I guess if I could ask one question, it is: What are the expected recovery results for a dog with Nystagmus that had immediate intervention & are there any fundamental ways to tell a stroke & Nystagmus apart. Also I've learnt a lot from everyone else's posts & I thank everyone for sharing it really helps to air your problems & doesn't just help you!

Sadie fell asleep at night around 9:30pm. She woke up at 11:30 barking. She has never barked at night. We rushed to see what was the issue and found her in her bed with her tongue hanging out of her mouth (tongue appeared to be swollen) and foamy saliva everywhere. We picked her up and realized that she had soiled herself. She continued to bark and whimper. Her breathing was labored and she had rhythmic twitches. Her back legs would not hold her weight even though she insisted on trying to walk.
Her attempts to get up and walk lasted well over an hour. She did accept water several times. Within two hours of restlessness she finally started to calm down and began to rest on my lap. She did rest in the early morning hours. Upon rising, she has refused to eat or drink. However, her paralysis in the back legs has gone away and she is able to walk again.
We are bringing her to the vet this morning for an evaluation.

I hope nobody reading this EVER has to go through this with their pet.
Our boy was nearly 15. For a medium-sized dog that’s pretty good. His eyesight was going a bit but he was still fairly active. His health steadily began to decline, however, when we started having renovations done to increase the size of the family room and add on a decking to the back patio. Suddenly there were all strange noises and lots of people, and he’d never exactly liked strangers to begin with. His back legs started to play up and his age really began to take a toll on him, but it was the night day of my 24th birthday when everything changed.
We came home from dinner at a restaurant and Ranger walked inside the laundry cupboard and gotten stuck, so Dad had to guide him out.
My parents got up at about 11pm the night before “on a whim” and he wanted to be taken out. Dad took him out and when he brought him back in, he said that Ranger pretty much collapsed onto his blankets. His breathing could only be described as a “death rattle” - it was hoarse and rattled on every outwards breath. His eyes were open but he was unresponsive (although my sister swears that, when she stopped by in the morning to say goodbye to him, she put her hand by his nose and she was wearing perfume and his nose twitched). Dad sat up with him all night and all morning, and phoned our vet in the morning, after which he woke me up and asked if I wanted to say goodbye to Ranger.
I could hear the horrible breathing halfway down the passage, as I half-ran out to him.
I had wanted to stay with him when his time came but looking at him I knew that I couldn’t. Don’t judge me, please. Besides, Dad was with him, and it was fitting because Ranger had been like Dad’s shadow all these years. He rubbed Ranger’s ears just like Ranger liked as the vet shaved off a bit of fur on Ranger’s right thigh. I kept that fur, by the way. The vet then administered the injection, whose liquid was bright green for some reason.
Dad says that, about 30 seconds into that, Ranger’s breathing returned to normal, and everything was really peaceful as his heart gently stopped beating. Had we known how peaceful it would be then Dad would have suggested to me that I stay. The vet waited for a few minutes, checked Ranger’s heart, and then it was all over.
When our vet had arrived he had shone a light in Ranger’s eyes, and said: “Poor old boy, you’ve had a stroke. I don’t think that there’s much else we can do.” So, he knew almost immediately (he was SO good about it, by the way, he knew how we felt, he owned a 16 German Shepherd at the time and he knew how hard this sort of thing was, of course). Dad called what Ranger was in a coma, although the vet said that he was brain-dead. Dad also maintains that Ranger died the night BEFORE my birthday, as his brain had died but his heart and body just needed to catch up. I maintain that Ranger wanted to make sure that we remembered which day it was on (September 17th, a Wednesday). Dad said that something broke inside of Ranger. He still blames himself for having those renovations done which sped-up Ranger’s decline or so he believes.
Either way, this was what happened, and strokes in old dogs, although apparently reasonably common, are still one of the most heart-wrenching things to watch your pet go through...

I have been dreading every day knowing her age is taking a toll. She hardly does anything but lay around, but when we go outside she acts like a puppy. However w her age then her breed. Arthritis is really keeping her down and she has difficulty getting up and down from bed and stairs. I watch her every time so she will be ok. However tonight I am sitting here watching TV as she lays asleep so I thought. Next thing I know she falls to the floor running scared and urinating all the way to me as she falls repeaditly. She collapsed at my feet then I get her aware and she is in a confused state and daze with her head swaying side to side then as it fades she starts panting uncontrollably. She is still acting odd but seems to be maintaining her composure. I know it's a stroke and she has had a few. You just know after seeing both parents and then yourself that has gone through it. My problem is. When is it enough? When do you make that final decision. I'm disabled and can not afford an outrageous vet bill as I am still waiting to receive my disability. I am completely heart broke over this. I look at her and still see her as a puppy. But with her issues that she tries to not show plus her extreme anxiety I'm just torn. I seen my poodle die of old age when I was 13 and she was 14 and it was not a pleasant thing to see. I had her since I was born she was my best friend. I have had tons of dogs since. Have had them put to rest but none were like this one. They were all truly sick and I just knew it was best. She don't look sick at all and still I feel bad keeping her around knowing she is in pain.

My 13 year old Pekingnese just had an episode of whimpering, scratching her left ear and trying to rub her left side of her head into the bed. She jumped off and on the bed all while whimpering and severely tilting her head to one side. I initially thought something was wrong with her ear and tried to scratch it for her but she's being aggressive. (She normally is) I tried to rub her back but she wasn't having it. It's like her hips go out at times as well....It lasted a good 5 minutes.
She has now taken herself under the bed and has calmed down...
I'm worried about her.. she's an old girl...

When we got up this morning, our 14 year old Black Lab could not walk; he crawled on the floor from the bedroom to the kitchen. I tried to lift him with an assist that I purchased from Orvis; but to no avail. Now, 4 hours later, he can get up and walk (a little shakey), but can get around. Went out to go to the bathroom, and didn't collapse. We initially scheduled a home hospice to come later to put him down, but are now re-considering.

Our Daisy Duke had a stroke the other night around 7pm. I was trying to get her up to get a treat, which normally she wouldn't miss for anything!! I noticed she was a little wet once I was able to get her up. Once up she walked like she was drunk. A few minutes later her eyes started getting milky and crossed as well as going up in her head. We laid her down to rest and gave her a turmeric pill....she ended up wanting to get up and she went and drank a ton of water...she was able to eat treats slowly. She ended up soiling her bed soon after that. Around 4am Sunday we got up to take her outside and she seemed fine, her walking was improving and her eyes were getting better....by that afternoon she was totally back to normal with extra energy! Is there anything we need to give her to ensure this doesn't happen again. Or is this doors opening to something else happening. I would normally take her in but I just had a dog get hit by a truck and I need to pay that bill off....I know that sounds horrible but as a single mother I have no other choice..please no comments I feel bad enough as it is..TIA What ever advice i can get I appreciate it!!

My dog almost once a month gets left sided paralysis. Most of the time you can tell he gets scared but other times he growls at me. When these events happen, he usually wants me to hold him, but sometimes if I try to remove him from my lap or arms, he growls like he is scared for me to let him go. These episodes usually last about 30-seconds to a minute and then everything goes back to normal.

Is this start of a stoke

My dog had a seizure then while I was at work I think he had a stroke he has all the symptoms he probable stayed in a seizure like state for 2 hours by the look of the situation. I took him to emergency vet they gave him a shot and calmed him, now every time he lays to his right he starts to go into a seizure he had been digging at that ear for a while could this be an infection or something much worse?

Hi I had a 16 year old maltese poodle. Yesterday morning Bubbles was fine with no problems. Around 10 am she was lying in her bed and suddelyher neck went stiff facing her rear and she went paralytic.. she couldnt move anything. Ten minutes later she stood up but was a little off balance and didnt respond to me at all. 20 minutes after that she was perfectly fine without problems yet the vet I took her to decided to euthanize her.i was reading through everyones post and my mind is tearing me appart, was this the right decision I made and what happened to her?

My 9 year old white boxer had a stroke about a month ago, or so I was told by a veterinarian. She is healthy as a horse but is very unbalanced and constantly leans to the right. She is so unstable that sometimes she runs in to things and in worst cases falls over. To top it off she was born deaf, so to paint a picture my 80lb deaf boxer has become a ping pong barreling around the house... I try to supervise as much as possible but there are times when she just goes stumbling. Any advice or tips on how to help my poor pooch by changing her diet or by somehow trying to counteract the imbalance?

Will my dog die if she has a stroke and is not brought to the doctor soon

We took our 17 year old pekangese mix to the vet today and he said she had a stroke. No testing was done he just suggested we put her to sleep. He also said she is blind and she is not. We brought her home on pain meds. Is it possible to diagnose stroke in 3 minutes.

My dog had a seizure and the next day had paralysis in back leg. I was told it was paralysis and no mri was suggested. A month later, the vet said the dog had Adela in that leg that was never diagnosed. Did this cause the paralysis?

Hello.
We took our dog (8 year old border collie) for a walk on Sunday and after about half hour or running she ran round in couple of circles her head was tilting and eyes were darting. After half hour of sitting down with her and having a drink she was perfectly fine. She has been eating and drinking perfectly normal and personality is the same. Two other times this week on a walk she had a 10 second head tilting and eye darting. Again back to normal after. Took her to the vet today and said she was suffering from strokes. She didn't do no scan just went off what symptoms we told her. But her behaviour is perfectly normal and so is everything else. The vet has gave her tablets to help air flow to the brain and said she could have another in an hour or even years. I now feel like we will be living on edge with her. But read some comments and sounds like dogs normally recover from strokes. Do you think we should get a second opinion?

Good day... I would really like to know what are the chances of a pikanise pup 10 monthes old really recovering from a stroke? Will he be the same or have more strokes and complications?

He started walking desperate leaning to the bed to my husband and mine side to make us aware something was going on, next am I saw all the symptoms of stroke but he was still walking a little very bad and falling with no balance and leaning to the wall, took him to vet yesterday in the pm they check his ears and all seems ok with no infections, I believe he had a stroke cause by anemia cause he is anemic since last year august and we give him daily denamarin and pet tinic to help him and he was happy old so this was just from nowhere, they sent him Prednisone and to keep the pet tinic and denamarin, but today he seems to be worst just laying down in the bed looking at me with those really open eyes with some white part, and he tries to get up with no luck only when he needs to use the bathroom I made him eat and drink during the day but he didn't see o really want until I forced him a little, I just want to know if he can get better at least to the point of walk and move a little more? I do t care if its running he is old and I would take care of him. Ur want for him to be able to get up or lay down when he wants not when I do it for him :-( and if I need to tell the vet to give him anything else to help that maybe they didn't send? Going to call vet and try to go in again with him tomorrow pm if he continues to be like this, the vet didn't see this bad cause when he was there he walked around a little just with head tilt once we were out in reception area he start having another episode with the legs cramping or something like that and they get tense and he can't move them and can't walk, I just don't know wha to do to help him, and I was told he was not in pain but he looks like he is so is he and is it a lot or not?

Hello, I have a 14 year old Chihuahua and for the last week he's been having these episodes where he falls to the floor yelping like he is in serious pain and then once he gets up his head is tilted and he can't seem to walk straight. We brought him to the doctor last week and he prescribed pain medication. Within the last couple of days the episodes which I am thinking might be strokes are more frequent and now up to 2-4 times a day and one of the times he lost control of his bladder. He hasn't been himself and seems to be very uncomfortable, with no energy and doesn't want to be around anyone. He is still eating but going outside to use the bathroom is a struggle - it almost seems like he is afraid to. We called the doctor again today and they prescribed something stronger. He does have heart disease and on 3 other medications. Is there anything I can do that will help him or anything I should avoid? Any advice is very much appreciated. Thank you...

Hi i just need a second opionion. I went to vet to have my dog checked out but they say she is brain dead. But she know what she is doing. She tries to repond back when i talk to her. She tries hee hardest to walk but she cant. My baby is a fighter and i dont wanna give up on her. She is one tuff lilttle pug.

Our 5 y/o male dog Levi was attacked after going to the vet for is injuries Levi had to have surgery. All went well until the following day when Levi developed nystagmus and the vet fears Levi had a stroke. My question is what are Levi's chances of making a full recovery?

Hi, when I brought my dog home today from her boarding facility. Her hind end was contorted to the left and she could not walk straight. Honestly, she looked like a dressage horse performing a 'side pass'. She loses balance and falls down. Her left side is stiff and bulging and her left leg is weak. The vet said she wasn't all "there" in the head too. She theorizes that she may have had a stroke. Without an MRI its not possible to have a definite diagnosis. She is old. almost 16 1/2 years old. Otherwise, she still tries to move around the house and barks at us to give her treats. She is eating and drinking fine. The vet confirmed that she is not in pain. I don't think she wants to give up just yet. They put her on prednisone. However, I am worried since we don't know when she had the stroke, she wasn't given the proper care. Is there any bright outcome for her in terms of recovery? I have added the Vet's assessment. I've had her since I was 9 and she is my best friend, even at this age she still tries to chase squirrels. Please give me your opinion.

So, my dog was acting weird awhile back and I don't know why. He couldn't walk. Then after a bit he was able to but became very nervous. And he would look and something then look at this painting on the wall. He would go back and forth. Then when I put my hand and waved it over his face it seemed like he couldn't see. His eyes seemed a bit clouded. Then after about half an hour to an hour he was ok. Also, a few months ago he lost his balance and fell on the floor and wouldn't move. Then a few minutes later he got back up and was fine. Do you think he had a stroke? Or was it something else?

Looks like my dog Donnie had a stroke. 4 days ago I woke up to my dog crying and barely able to move. I immediately took him to his vet and he initially though he most likely has a spinal disk desiese. He countinued to give him a bunch of meds such as steroids, antiinflamatory drugs etc .. basically Donnie lost use of his back legs, tail and back side of his body. An MRI wa suggested so I drove him to a vet hospital where they performed the MRI and diagnosed him with having a stroke. They said that it also may be inflammatory desiese but that's very unlikely. In the 4 days that he was on all the meds he made progress and is actually able to move his tail a bit and is able to stand on his own for about a second for two. He also is getting use of his right leg back a little but but not so much of his left leg. The hospital surgeons suggested to keep him there for a week in order to countinue to administer the meds and to do physical therapy and rehab. They said prognosis is generally good to him getting back to normal. So 7000 usd later I would like to get a second opinion if his prognosis looks good to getting back to normal or is he going to have permenent damage where he is unable to move his back legs. He is 5 year old pitbull who had absolutely no health issues before this and was in excellent shape.

My dog got a stroke and I took her to the vet. They told me she has an infection in her right ear and that the stroke affected her right side so she drools and can't keep her balance. They prescribed her some prednisone 20mg, cholodin tablets and of course some entederm for her ear infection. My question to you is what are the chances of my female dog getting a stroke in the near future? She eats fine and drink's plenty of water. She's still active. I had to switch from hard food to soft because it would just fall out of her right side where I suppose the stroke affected her.

Could it be stroke? My poor Jack has been acting very strange in the last 24 hours. I first noticed it when we woke me up out of sleep (he sleeps with me) - he kept getting up, laying down, immediately getting up again (struggling each time) and then lay back down again. It was like he couldn't get comfortable or was confused of what was happening. I chalked it up to an upset stomach or something along those lines since he's had tummy troubles in the past. This morning he seemed slightly better but I noticed he wouldn't eat and was extremely clingy with me. If you knew Jack, he's more like a cat - very independent and isn't the "snuggliest". So for him to be so clingy, is out of character. Again I didn't want to panic so I left for the day to run errands. When I cam home a few hours later, he was walking strange and unbalanced. He then looked very confused and would stare at the wall or nothing. I also found vomit on the floor and he still hadn't touched his food. It's now nighttime and I'm worried that he's had a stroke. The unbalanced walking, confusion, no eating, vomit, random spasms or twitches in his head or neck, and lag in eye reflex has me worried. I can tell something is up but I don't know what. I don't want to be the overreacting mom. Should I take him to the vet? If he truly had a stroke and doesn't get checked in the first 24 hours, could he get worse or his recovery be worse? I'm so concerned that I didn't take him in fast enough. He's my therapy dog and I would be beyond devastated if it was my fault that I didn't take him to the vet in time causing him to be worse off. Help!

I think my dog has strokee because his mouth keeps vibrating and his tongue withdrew. It also have difficulty eating as it cant open its mouth. Is this a sign of a stroke? It happened after we visit the vet medafter it was given antibiotics and vitamins. The dog still looks healthy and activr but his mouth never stops moving up and down

I have a 5yr old schnauzer-chihuahua . She has had some blindness for few months but still totally normal. A few weeks ago she did this 24 hours where she was totally lethargic, but still eating, drinking and potty. Late yesterday she started doing same thing except NOW she can walk, Front legs are limp more so on one side, head droopy, and tilted more to one side, She only took a treat if I hand fed her and is drooling. She NEVER drools. And was a lot. I have her resting on her bed. She will go potty if we carry her out and in. Vet in AM Just don't know what to do tonight. And limited. Negative limited funds. Husband in middle of chemo for cancer. I work at school and off for summer no checks!!

What is the best thing that I an do at home for my dog following a stroke.....I am out of work and have no income due to illness myself and have no credit. I have been giving him a 3 ml syringe of water an hour for hydration and he did eat a half of a piece of bacon this morning. The stroke occurred yesterday at about 5:30 central time.

I have a small 12-14 yr. old pomapoo. Night before last she was herself ate very well and we went to bed. I noticed she was not settling down to sleep. I was up with her all night. I noticed she couldn't walk on the bed without falling on her side. I took her outside to the bathroom and she continued to fall. The next morning we took her to our vet. He has sent her home last night and tonight, but keeps her through the day giving her fluids and antibiotics. She will go back tomorrow for another checkup and I will continue to give her antibiotics. I have been reading about giving blood thinners witch I think she will need. But I am very interested in the "massages" for stroke dogs, how do I find out about how to do this. Her appetite is good, but she is not drinking much water. She seems very confused about what is happening to her. She wants me to hold her when she's not at the Vets. As months go by, will her problems improve? Can I give her a baby aspirin daily? Thank you She has been taking heart meds for some time Enaliprilsry??? 2X daily. (Can't read Dr;s handwriting.

Could my dog have had a stroke or a vestibular disease or a tumor? It all started last night, my dog getting up fell to one side and cannot walk straight, falls from time to time. Her head is tilted to the right, eyes are wobbly. She will drink water from bowl, but her eating is not that great(she will eat meat cut up in small pieces, but will not eat her dried dog food(she tried but she keeps dropping it out of her mouth). She also did throw up once today. Oh! and she has had issues with her ears for a while, was treated for ear infection, till about two weeks ago.

My dog (a 17 yrs old Caniche, 10 kg or around 20 lbs) had a stroke on Friday, the 14th. It came out of nowhere, one moment he was fine and then he can't stand up and his head is tilted to his left. He had some temporary losses of mobility in his back legs in the last year due to his old age, but he recovered each time, although he was kinda wobbly on his feet.
After we realised that something is wrong, we went to our usual Vet, he tells us that his condition is called Ataxia, gave him some Mannitol and something to relieve the inflammation. The next day nothing has changed, my dog doesn't want to eat or drink, so I decide to get a secondary opinion from a bigger clinic. There, all the Vets confirm the stroke and put him on an IV with cerebrolysine, glucose, some B vitamins (not really sure about the vitamins though). They also gave him Amoxicillin (not really sure again, they told me it's an antibiotic and they administer it ''just in case") and a mild sedative (phenobarbital or something like that). They checked his heart and found nothing wrong, also his blood pressure which was a bit high, so they gave him furosemid. This is the second day of treatment, he is a little better, ate and drank a little, no more nystagmus, he tried to stand up, but his legs aren't very "cooperative". How can I help him do his business, especially number two? Also, in your experience, what are the chances for such an old dog to regain his mobility? The vets told me that if in 3 to 5 days his condition doesn't improve, we will have to put him to sleep.
I care about Miky very much, I have him since I was 7 and I really want to do the best for him and to make sure he is not in any pain.
Thank you very much in advance, your answer will be greatly appreciated! Also, I am sorry for my lack of farmacology accuracy, English is not my first language.

Best regards,
Livia

Took her outside when she was peeing she had trouble staying balanced and just starting to fall over and couldnt get up she was real stiff and shaking. 20 minutes later she seems fine but shaking a little. Did she have a stroke this is the frist time it happened and she is only 3 years old

My boxer started pacing in the middle of the night non stop. After many hours when I got up to check on him, his eyes were very large and dialated - he was panting and could not focus. He was uncomfortable and refused to lay down. After all night pacing I was finally able to get him to rest, but noticed that his tongue was hanging from him mouth and that he was walking sideways as well as having problems focusing.
The next morning he could not get up and would not eat or drink. We made him as comfortable as possible and have tried to pamper him. We now have him eating small amounts and drinking a small amount, but he still isn't himself. His left rear leg isn't working which causes him to fall often.

My 12 yr old 80 lb border collie- black lab suffered a stroke 7 weeks ago. Her R side is lame, she sometimes loses control of her bowels. She stumbles over herself, has very little interest left in playing, but still eats and drinks a lot. The vet first put her on a tapering dose, now a steady dose of prednisone, but that's it. She's unfortunately gotten worse, not better and I cannot afford expensive tests. Is there anything else at all I could try to give her other than the prednisone?

My dog had a massive ear infection in both ears.Took him to the vet, and they put him on 3 weeks of antibiotics and 2 weeks of steroids. Then brought him back 2 days later to have his ears flushed and to have a antibiotic ointment put in that would last for 1 month. About a well before his follow up appointment I noticed that he was staggering, stumbling, and falling. So I brought him back in early. The vet and I assumed it was probably an inner ear infection, and they put him back on steroids. However I have noticed that he drools a lot out of one side of his mouth and his eye on the same side of his face is a little droopy. So I now think he may have had a stroke, which I plan on talking to the vet about when I take him in for his follow up in a couple of days. However I would like your opinion on this matter. Do you think I may be right on believing he had a stroke? By the way Mayhem does seem to be regaining his balance.

We have a 7 year old Pomeranian. 10lbs. Always been healthy - yesterday we noticed she was curling to one side and could not stand, wasn’t shaking or anything. But was acting very odd. It lasted a few minutes and then she got out of it. She proceeded to vomit after the episode. Acted fine after that... this evening it happened again and she vomited and pooped on the floor this time. Drooled and was shaking afterwards for about 20 minutes, now she’s asleep. Could it be a stroke or seizure or something else?

I have a 2yr old tea cup chiwawa and she's paralized first it started off with just her legs then her body now her neck shes eating and drinking but we have to give it to her she can't use the restroom and she just started foaming today it's her 3rd time and like every 4 min she makes like a screaming cry and when she does that her throat gets stiff and then when she stops crying it's not stiff no more in really scared cause my family loves her so much and she too young to die but little by little shes starting to be able to move her neck and kick her legs a little but that's it right now plz help me with information and no one was there when she got the stoke or if she got hurt but all we saw was a bruised leg and she getting like little red bumps on parts of her body

My Silky Terrier (Yorkshire/Australian Terrier mix) has undergone anesthesia on 3 occasions for teeth cleaning; the first in 2011, 2nd in 2013 and 3rd in 2015. She is now 13 yrs old (2018). After each instance, approximately two weeks after the surgery, she exhibits symptoms of TIA/mini stroke including going completely still with a blank stare, going limp with her tongue hanging out and very shallow breathing, or spinning in a circle prior to going limp. After the 2013 surgery, she went completely limp for an extended period (20 min) and we rushed her to a nearby vet who put her into an oxygen chamber for approximately an hour, then we took her to a neurological specialist who immediately drove her to a children's hospital 2 hours away and completed an MRI. The MRI confirmed that she had experienced a series of strokes. I don't know if all of these episodes which have occurred post surgery (approx. 2 wks post) have all been episodes of strokes, or if that was the only one, but she is clearly reacting, albeit an odd period of time thereafter, to the surgical procedure. She has met with two neurologists who have both indicated that they have no idea why she is reacting this way or if her reactions are generally seizures or have all been strokes. Her vet used a specialized anesthesia protocol for neurological issues during the 2015 surgery, with a similar result three weeks post surgery. She needs to have teeth cleaning/removal again and I am very concerned that one of these times she will not survive the procedure. Any thoughts that you can share?

Having TIAS.

First, thanks very much for allowing me and others to ask questions.

My dog has TIAs. She is 15. My spouse does not want medicine for her because Jazz has gotten ill from previous medications and fears damage to the kidney/level.

She wants Jazz to die as peacefully as possible. I am unsure of the course of action.

Perhaps a low does aspirin? Some online sites seem to recommend it, others do not.

Loses balance, head tilt, recovers in less than a couple minutes as though nothing happened.

Our 13 y.o. English setter Layla collapsed suddenly 2 days ago following her normal morning routine of relieving herself and eating a normal dry food breakfast. She has been immobile ever since with no attempts to get up or stand. Her head & body curls to the right side when she is positioned on her left. Positioned on her right side, she is practically unable to move, barely able to lift her head. Her right eye also appears to be drifting, not focusing. She has no appetite beyond a few pieces of torn cheese slices & appears unable to open mouth or chew. She can drink. She does relieve herself, even more so when held in a normal standing position. When held in a standing position, the left legs search for the ground, but right limbs stay drawn up towards body. An immediate trip to the vet (not normal vet due to office closure for vacation) was diagnosed with a traumatic neck injury, but seems unlikely given the circumstances of the sudden collapse in a confined sleeping kennel at the time of incident. She was given a shot of some anti-inflammatory (unknown at the moment) & prescribed 20mg of prednisone 2x/day to reduce swelling. We continue provide the meds and frequently rotate her body position and gently move her limbs. The past 2 days have shown no improvement of health with treatment. We have already scheduled follow up appointments with the vet. Any ideas or suggestions?

I have a miniature schnauzer 8 years old. In march 2016 he had a suspected fibrocartilagenous embolism (FCE). When we found him, he could not move any of his legs and we rushed him to Texas A&M. By the time we got there, he was able to move his front legs but was still umable to move his two back legs. After they examined him they found localized a lesion to the T3-L3 region of his spinal cord (mid back). He was given rehab (underwater treadmill) and got movement back in one of his back legs. He was there from march 16 through march 22. When he was discharged, he still did not have full motion of the other. He had to be helped with a sling and after approximately 1 week he was able to walk on his own, with a slight limp. He still has a slight limp, but can walk just fine and we have had no further problems. About 2 weeks ago, he began sleeping a lot, not wanting to get up and go outside or play with his ball (both his favorite things to do) and I have also noticed he has trouble getting up. He can still get up, but he struggles more than usual. Also he loses balance occassionally, but gets up right. He also wont jump up on the couch and he is scared to jump off the couch or bed. We have been helping him up and down. Tonight I had my hand on his back hip and felt a spasm. I dont know how long it has been going on or if it is bothering him, but should I be concerned? Also, he licks A LOT...and he licks everything. The floor, his bed, and the couch.

hello my american bulldog roscoeis 10 1/2 years old, he started having seizures about 3 months ago he is on medication to control them and was doing fine. he has always slept a lot but was always alert when someone came over and would run for attention or a knock at the door. well last week or two he seemed to really start slowing down he wouldn't get up when my sons would come by or pay much attention to much at all, he also started doing his #2 in the house (he never did that) also for the first time he growled at me which he has never done to anyone. he had a seizure the other day while being on the phenobarbital. he also is urinating in the house everyday he is walking in circles and seems to not see where he is going he also stares at the wall, he will also start panting , he drools uncontrollably and a few times just drops to the floor his tongue even just hangs to one side. it seems its an effort for him to hold his eyes open. I'm taking him to the vet this afternoon as soon as i can get help getting him in the car. what is your opinion ? thank you so much , francine

My dog did something very abnormal after being boarded for 10 days (first time). She's a 9 year old Labradoodle. She woke up from a deep sleep and started running around the house rapidly. I left her out and she started running back and forth and in to my neighbor's yard and almost on to the road. (I have Invisible Fencing and she never leaves the yard.) It was like she couldn't hear or see me. I tool her to the vet -- blood work normal. I don't know if she had a stroke or a nightmare. She's normal now. No other signs after two and a half weeks.

A few weeks ago I was given advice for Venus, a 6 year old golden, in regards to head tilt, not blinking, balance etc... Not long ago I received an email from Wag to provide recent events as a follow up for other pet owners. Unfortunately every time I try my email states delivery failure so I've posted the follow up here.

Thank you for the advice which I did follow. Monday of this week we had an appointment at the Bush Vetinary Neurology Service in Leesburg and had the full run of tests. We had an initial exam, MRI, spinal tap and blood work done for her thyroid. As it turned out the only thing noted that may or may not have been the root cause were very minor shading areas on the MRI, stated to me if it was a stroke it was very minor. End result I was given today either idiopathic or a minor stroke she will recover from over time.

I recommend anybody with unexplained issues such as this run through the tests, the local vets can only go so far with the equipment on hand. The staff at BVNS was exceptional, professional and they hold up to all promises made in their literature. They've already followed up with me several times and sent all necessary paperwork to my local vet. Thanks to your team as well with the advice given.

Today my boy Duke experience what we think was a stroke. He was walking tilted, and he did as well vomit. When we took him to the vet she examined his eyes and it turns out he lost sight, is this common as well? We figured he could've lost hearing but he was also very tired which is very unusual for him. We did not go through with any tests because the vet said she was certain it was a stroke and that dogs don't typically survive after. With that being the case, we decided it was time for Duke to go. Was it the right decision? Could he have found his sight and recovered again? This all happened in the span of 2-3 hours (showing symptoms, vet, and putting him down).

YORKIE WAS WALKING TO THE ONESIDE.WAS SKEDULED FOR A KNEE OPERATION.DOCTOR WENT FORWARD WITH OPERATION AND SAID THAT DOG HAD A VERY BAD INNER EAR INFECTION.SO THEY TREATED WITH CORTIZONE AND ANTIBIOTICA.DID NOT GET BETTER,sO AFTER WEEK SHE GOT SO BAD DID NOT WANT TO EAT OR DRINK AND HER HEAD WAS ALOT TILTED THE OTHER WAY(NOT THE SIDE OF INNER EAR INFECTION) SO THE PUT HER ON DRIP AND ANTIBIOTIKA.IS IT A STROKE,SHE IS ON DRIP FOR 4DAYS AND NOT BETTER.THE SAY NOW WE MUST PUT HER DOWN,

Please help, my 2 month old baby bumped head on sink while bathing. She hasn’t been the same since, I can’t afford the vet cost right now and I don’t want to put her to sleep but I know she’s in pain. For a day she couldn’t open her eyes, eat, drink or use restroom. Now she keeps her eyes open and turns her head some, she drinks a little and eats a little but she gets antsy when she tries to stand up and can’t. She’s not walking and can’t hold her balance. She whines all night sometimes a whimper and sometimes loud

My 13.5 Golden Retriever has suffered a stroke. We have been providing 24 hour nursing care for about 9 days and plan to meet with her Vet tomorrow AM. She is slowing gaining some mobility (with our help) but is unable to get up on her own and continues to defecate while laying down. She barks incessantly while not taking the anti-anxiety medicine. She certainly is not happy. Given her age, and anticipated need for continual care for the near term, should we consider putting her to sleep?

my dog has a a stroke. He has 2 tiny and one small micro bleed. It has been 5 days. He had an MRI yesterday. He has a little improvement but they say he should have a near to full recovery. I am a ER nurse and have to work 12 hr shifts. I have a dog sitter that stops by 3 times a day. I have to go back to work and I don't know what to do because he screams all the time. He screams less if I hold him, though he screams at times even when I am holding him. It can't be healthy for him to scream all day while I am gone. They gave him trazodone but If I keep him sedated how can I work with him to start standing and walking again. They said they don't think he is in pain but he hasn't barked in years. He's a chill relaxed dog normally. I just don't want him to be hurting. Is a stroke painful to the dog?

I have been doing some research on both Fibrocartilaginous Embolism and Ischemic Paralysis and need a second opinion as we are considering euthanasia this Friday for our 11 year old, female, Labrador Retriever. Symptoms began about 1 1/2 months ago with a stiff neck, hunched back, and weakness (paw turned under) on her front left leg. Tramadol and Prednisone were prescribed and all symptoms seemed to disappear (other than excessive panting and and quivering, which we attributed to the Prednisone). However, when medicine was tapered, symptoms returned and seemed worse. Another 2-week treatment of same medicine was prescribed. Again, all symptoms seemed to disappear. However, when medicine was tapered the second time, her symptoms returned and were much worse. Now, not only was her front leg not working, her back legs were giving out as well. He used a harness on her to help her walk and often would carry her outside to relieve herself. After starting a 3rd round of the same treatment and not seeing much of an improvement this time, we took her to the vet clinic and left her for treatment and observation. I do need to add that early on an X-ray was done that did show a cervical disc issue. All other tests and bloodwork came back normal. While at the vet clinic, they used laser cold therapy and started to see a slight improvement, thus lowered the medicine dose after 7 days. At this time, her symptoms became severe. She has been at the clinic for 11 days and is unable to walk, let along stand. She hasn't eaten from her food bowl for 5 days now, is on an IV, and will only eat when food is placed directly in front of her mouth. It seems she has also lost control of her bladder and bowel function. I realize that a more testing would need to be done to be conclusive as an X-ray doesn't show everything, but at this point we are needing guidance as to her prognosis. Even with the additional testing to confirm or rule out a spinal cord stroke, can we expect a full recovery? We want to give her every opportunity for recovery, but at the same time, value her quality of life and don't want to see her suffer. One other thing, other than seemingly paralyzed, she is still fully alert, following us with her eyes, and appears pain free.

My dog woke my parents up in the middle of the night late Sunday night/early Monday morning making a weird noise like she was going to vomit. My mom tried to get her to go outside but she wouldn't move. She's also drooling a lot, which I believe started a few days before. They took her to the vet and they did blood work and x-rays and determined that she has arthritis in her front legs and in her back and has heart worm. They started her on the medications mentioned.

It's now Tuesday afternoon and she hasn't shown much improvement. She's still not walking, but now she is eating some moist food and still drinking. She's still happy to see my parents, but they seem convinced that because she isn't walking, she's in too much pain and are talking about puting her to sleep so that she isn't suffering. My worry is that it's something that could possibly resolve itself, like vestibular disease, or something that she could possible recover, from like a stroke. I really don't think the arthritis is to blame since she was walking around normally the day before and I don't want them to put my dog to sleep if she has a chance.

I have a 15 y/o Black Mouth Cur. She has always been extremely active and healthy. Within the last week she has started acting strange and it seems to be getting worse. She is tripping over things, in the house she seems to lean to one side of the wall. She is not walking right. We are wondering if she had a stroke. I know there will be nothing they can do if she did. Can you give me symptoms please?

Two months ago our four-pound, nine year old Maltese Sassy had what appears to be a stroke. She lost her balance, was circling, had a severe head tilt, appeared to have partial paralysis in her left legs and was blind in one eye. She could not walk without support, would flip over and would not eat. Her personality was gone and she was in a fog. After about a week we were considering euthanasia and then she regained some motor skills and after a month and a half her personality came back. She had greater control of her body, no more head tilt and was eating, but has great difficulty swallowing. At first she did not appear to have pain and could urinate and defecate with a lot of work. She almost seemed normal except for difficulty walking and the swallowing issue. However, lately she seems to be in pain making a strange growling noise and whimper. She buries her head into corners at times and other times does not want us to touch her head. She shakes her head frequently and it ripples down her entire body as though she is trying to shake something out. We have been seeing a veterinarian who feels Sassy had a neurological event and has suggested two possible courses of action. One is to see a neurologist for consultation, understanding they will want to run a lot of tests and give an MRI, but we will not likely be able to get an appointment until four weeks out. The second course is to try steroid treatment regimen. However, our veterinarian said we should not start a steroid treatment if we would like to take our dog to the neurologist because the steroids muddy the waters for the neurologist trying to treat her. I feel four weeks is a long time to wait if our dog is experiencing pain and if ultimately the neurologist will just put her on steroids. We will not put Sassy through a battery of invasive tests or separate her from us at night for neurology observation. We are her reason to keep trying and she does her best with us. Because she is only four pounds we will not consider surgery and probably not even an MRI. So, what might a neurologist come up with through their observation/consultation that would be different from out veterinarian's suggestion to try steroids since we do not want an MRI? I know an MRI might indicate the cause of the neurological event, but is the treatment ultimately the same if surgery is not an option? What other tricks do neurologist have in their veterinary specialists' bags? Our veterinarian said the advantage to a consultation is the experience they bring to the table seeing dogs in Sassy's condition daily as opposed to her experience once or twice a year. Should we try to wait it out for Sassy for four weeks or get her some relief now? Will what a neurologist do, with the limitations I provided above, be much different than our veterinarian's recommendation? Thank you for your help.

My dog is a 12 year old white German Shepherd. He is getting old, therefore he is always a little stiff in the hips and occasionally needs assistance getting up off of the hardwood floors. Yesterday he wouldn't even try to get up off of the floor when I called him to go outside, he just looked at me and whined a little. I helped him stand up and he took a couple of steps and fell down. I helped him up again and he took a drink of water, stumbled a few steps forward like he was losing his balance and then fell completely over to one side similar to a cow that had been tipped. When he fell, he proceeded to urinate all over himself and laid on the floor for about 20 minutes until he was able to get up again. Once he got up, he was drooling a lot and had an unquenchable thirst. After he drank for a while he was back to walking around and acting normal. Does this episode sound like he had an acute stroke? I'm fairly sure that is what his symptoms match up to but wanted to get a 2nd opinion before our vet appointment today.

I have a 10-year-old Maltese & a 1-year-old Husky. Recently, they’ve been getting very close to one another as the Maltese tries to jump on the Husky & the Husky gently pushes him off. When we left for dinner tonight, we left them alone together like we always do. When we came back, our Maltese had severe weakness in his left front & back paws. We tried to massage it out but he would randomly growl out in pain. He can put some weight on it, but is unable to stand or walk. Is it possible he had a stroke or is it more likely that the two dogs fought & he got hurt? We tried to go to an ER but they had a 4-hour wait. How serious is this? Should we take him to an ER tomorrow or wait until Monday to see his regular vet?

I am a stage IV cancer patient looking to "forever foster" a senior dog. Dixie, a sweet 13 yr old basenji/terrior mix, which I've been told "has had a stroke", is available. She loves to be cradled like a baby & sleeps cuddled up by owner on bed. But when put on the floor, she continually and rapidly circles counterclockwise. When put on a leash, she walks 6-8 ft before she circling into me. I'm also told she "has accidents" when staff have taken her home for the weekend. My question is: Are these stroke "symptoms" that can be changed/corrected or are they more likely to be permanent? Wondering if we're a "good fit" at this time in our lives.

My dog has had a pretty rapid onset of symptoms in that he was fine one day and had the aforementioned symptoms the next. After no change of symptoms for a few days I took him to the vet who prescribed the listedmedications. The only improvements I've seen is that he is no longer walking crooked (it was almost like an s or c shape) but is still limping and appears to have a weak left front paw. He wags his tail but is not fully himself. His head is also very delicate and can't be moved too much or he whimpers. He walks very slowly and sways when when he is at a stop. His appetite is still great however he has trouble eating food/treats at times but for the most part is able to eat without issue. He had several teeth removed earlier this year which caused his tongue to stick out a bit but now a larger portion of the tongue sticks/hangs out to the side. I suspect he had a stroke but am unsure. What can I do for his head pain? Should I change his diet? (I.e. does he need to only eat soft food?) Will he need to stay on this medication for the rest of his life?

My dog's vet told us she had a stroke in her spinal cord. She has the inability to walk completely on her own. We take her outside by lifting her and when we do lift her to take her outside she just tries to lay down. She will not go pee/poop. I am talking to my vet but it is hard to understand the vet... I try to help my dog but all she does is lay down every five seconds.

My little dog was run over by my bigger dog and she looked like she lost control of her body and she was then stiff coming to me and her eyes were squint and then she finally came to normal

My dog took ill a few day after my other dog died which happened about four months ago. At that time there was gradual change in behaviour although I thought it was down to losses the other dog she experienced these sysptoms and the vet though it could possibly be menegites or a stroke and was hospitalised at the time she was fine for about a month and now every day or so she experiences the same symptoms she currently on medication but I guess the question i want the answer too will she ever get better i know she won't be 100% but I hate the fact she has to go through this she's just so general reguardless how much pain she in kind regards Agnes

Our 9yr old English Bulldog is currently hospitalized for what is suspected to be a stroke or possible brain tumor. Symptoms came on rather rapidly, in that Thursday evening she just seemed a little off, tired, but still eating/drinking/toileting normally just not quite as rambunctious as she normally is for a bulldog. Friday, she was the same. Saturday morning, I woke up and she was circling, walking into walls, vomiting, and was overall just seemingly very disoriented. We went to the vet Saturday morning and she has been there since. They gave her IV mannitol, have her on IV dexamethasone, IV fluids, and even IV clindamycin, just to cover all the bases. We were referred to neurology but declined testing due to costs, and if the diagnosis is a tumor we will not treat. However, I know the prognosis with a stroke is variable but better than a brain tumor. My question is if this is a stroke in what time frame could we possibly see the beginnings of a recovery?

Hello I have Cavalier King Charles female that is almost 9 years old. 15 days ago started to have cough and seemed to be tired. A week ago after the problem continued we have been said by our vet that this is a heart problem and we started giving medication. 3 days later the dog had hematouria (blood in urine) we did several blood and urine tests (no problems found on tests) and we concluded that this was infection. We also had an ultrasound and found out that she had pain on her right kidney which was quite smaller that the left one (3.2cm vs 5cm). So we started antibiotics. Suddenly last night the dog started not to be able to get up and when she did her legs where moving up and down with no stability. After a few seconds everything was back to normal. 20 minutes later another similar episode but this time her head was turned left. We got her to the hospital but till now they have not come back to us with anything specific as they say they do not know yet what happened. They said them she had another episode during the night more severe with her being unable to stabilize her head.

Based on this information do you believe is a stroke? Do you believe is related to the heart disease? Do you think kidney problem has anything to do with heart disease? Any thoughts or recommendations?

Finally do you believe that is recoverable situation?

I have a 14 year old mini eskimo, very youthful, energetic and healthy. He got stung by a bee or wasp on Friday night and by Sunday he couldn't walk properly (loosing balance, walking in circles, dragging the left front paw and hind leg) took him to vet that Sunday, they ran a complete blood test, urinalysis, and fecal tests for infections, parasites etc, all came back negative, meaning no infection, parasites where present and blood test all within normal ranges with some very slightly on the higher range but vet said nothing to be concerned, however he prescribed, doxycycline (antibiotic) and prednisone (steroids). He suggested a visit to a neurologist. Took Misho to neurologist on Tuesday and physical test was looking good so neurologist suggested to finish the medication course and scheduled another visit for next Tuesday. Tuesday evening Misho had a full blown seizure and I rushed him to ER, he got anti seizure shot and spent the night at the hospital. Picked him Wednesday, he seemed weaker and disoriented for moments, somewhat like in and out of consciousness, Wednesday night he had a crying/barking anxious episode, and went back to sleep. Thursday he was still having problems walking, and disoriented and in and out of consciousness, sleeping most of the time, waking up for eating (hand fed), short walks for potty and back to sleep in my arms or bed. I massaged his legs and did gentle physical therapy on this left front and hind legs as they would stiffen up for moments (left side is unable to keep balance), Thursday evening after a potty walk out he started getting anxious and loud whimpering/crying/barking with focal seizures, rushed him again to ER where he spent the night and did MRI today (Friday). Vet cannot confirm if it was a stroke which I believe it was, or if it is hemangiosarcoma. At the moment he is spending the night at the hospital for recovery from MRI anesthesia and is on keppra (anti seizure) and prednisolone (steroid) and his long term levothyroxine.
I have the MRI report and images and I would like to get a "clearer" opinion on wether it was a stroke or hemangiosarcoma and what treatment to follow.
Neurologist says, she cannot tell which of the two is so basically Misho will be treated symptomatically, hoping that he will improve rather than decline over the next days.

My dog was chasing a ball and fell into a crack in the ground spun over and cried out she has MRI and vets said it is a stroke and they will keep her in to give her physiotherapy. Will she regain use of her legs

George is a 9 year old Chihuahua. We believe that he had a stroke or TIA a few months back. He is prone to seizures also but this time he fell over and tried to get up only to walk in circles and his eyes were bugged out more than usual (for this type of dog). He was fine writhing minutes just very tired. Since then an already anxious dog from noises has become a terrified dog afraid of even his own shadow. Hates going outside. Even terrified of the noise his dog bowls make when they hit his tag. Can this be related?

Me and my husband were out side when our chihuahua came up to us holding her front left paw up like she had stepped on a thorn. She then switched and was holding up her right paw. We examined both paws and there was nothing stuck in either one. We set back down on the grass and she then was holding up her back left paw. And look like she was completely disoriented. She couldn't walk in a straight line, she looked drunk. She was tilting her head almost upside down. We immediately took her to the emergency vet. They did an exam and said that everything looks okay. She seemed okay. And thought it sounded like she had a seizure. We took her home, and kept a close eye on her. She was not herself for about 72 hours after. And the more educate myself it sounds like a stroke. Wondering what options i have at this point. I don't want it to happen again.

My 11 year old Labrador had a stroke on Sunday night, took her to the vets first think Monday morning. She examined her thoroughly, took her blood pressure and listened to her heart. She confirmed that Hannah had had a stroke.
She gave her an injection and put her on Vivitonin 100mg, to be taken on an empty stomach.
Hannah, 3 days later seems very much recovered. She is eating well, walking normally and only has the slightest of head tilt. She is desperate to go out walkies but I am only letting her out into our neighbouring field for pees and poos.
When is it safe to start short walks again, we are seeing the vet next Monday.