My dog had a stroke yesterday

[Canadiangreengirl]

We've been through this with two dogs - one was diagnosed with epilepsy and treated with daily drugs that were not expensive (same as for people). The other dog had several seizures and after much investigation, it turned out to be her thyroid! She's been on thyroid medication (very cheap - $6/month) ever since and has not had a seizure since. Her activity level has returned to normal and she looks great. The only problem she has is maintaining body temperature - she gets cold easily and needs to be in a warm house (or vehicle) if she's not running around.

Many dogs who had had strokes seem to recover well from them, especially if they are younger. Sounds like he's getting the best of care, so we wish you the best with his recovery!

 

[dave1949]

Sorry about your dog Tom. I hope he is recovering.

We've not had that situation. We did have an elderly dog that seemed to suffer a series of mini-strokes that became progressively worse. She just zoned out like she didn't recognize us, and became very lethargic with no interest in eating, etc.

 

[Furu]

Now I have access to a real computer I will go into more detail than in my brief post yesterday.

Seizures and strokes are obviously not the same. While nothing can be said as an absolute let me say the following: A stroke can result in damage to the brain that could result in seizures occurring in the future but a seizure is not likely (but possible) to cause a stroke. Your dog may have developed idiopathic epilepsy causing a seizure but the severe ataxia you describe does not sound like it is just a seizure side effect.

Severe ataxia in the rear of an animal/dog can be caused by many things. Since you got your dog to a specialty care hospital I am certain that you are getting great care and should listen to the specialists.

My story/experience with a dog that suffered a stroke follows.
I had a 9+ year old female that was a very active and a nationally ranked performance dog. She was also a chow hound and would eat just about anything. Unfortunately she ingested a wad of dry grass that blocked her GI track. Nothing conclusively showed on X-ray so exploratory surgery was performed. In a multi-hour surgery her entire GI track was gone through by the surgeon feeling his way until he found the blockage. End result the blockage was removed but when the dog came out from anesthesia she was totally ataxic in her rear. Initially it was thought to be the result of the pain meds (side effect) but was determined after 48 hours to be the result of a vascular stroke that occurred under/during the surgery.
We had a difficult decision and nearly put her down as she was unable to stand, walk or anything. We were convinced to give her a chance and to watch her for the next week or so. We brought her home and using a belly sling helped her get up to eat and go out to urinate and defecate.

That is where we started to see a very interesting phenomenon. This dog was a very active dog and in addition to her daily workouts for competition she got a mile walk every morning and also evening. When we took her out for the bathroom breaks, she wanted to go for her walk. She would try to drag us and her self using the front legs to drive her body, out the drive as though she wanted to go on her beloved walk. This went on and we started to see slow improvements in her ability to stand upright She could not stand without weaving unsteadily for months. She slowly regained the ability to walk in a very unsteady fashion. Months went by and she showed slow improvements. Eventually she regained almost full normal movement and gait. For the rest of her life she did exhibit severe unsteadiness when ever she lost visual stimuli. I discovered it by accident and confirmed it by blindfolding her and found she could barely stand/move in a straight line.

I wrote an article on this case years ago and have given you just the bare minimums of the story in this posting.
Bottom line her desire to go on her beloved bi-daily one mile walks somehow gave her the will, motivation, whatever to do what was thought to be basically impossible. Her brain somehow rewired the neurological pathways such that she was able to regain near full functionality with almost no deficits. There are so many factors that can be involved in any injury and the subsequent recovery that nothing is a given.

Don't give up hope. Give your buddy a good quality life and give him a chance to see if the wonder of the dog's brain can do anything.

I wish you and your dog the best and hope that things turn around and you see improvement.

 

[Canadiangreengirl]

What an inspiring write-up, Furu!

 

[Tomtint]

His stroke was at 7am Monday morning. He was at the first vet in about 15-20 minutes where they gave him a injection of Valium and maybe something else so I could get him to the next hospital. VCA in Weymouth. He was there and being treated by 8am. At that time he did not look very good and that night his eyes were still darting and had lost all his ability to stand or even balance. Tuesday am his eyes stopped rolling and he began to look a small amount better but still could not stand. Tues night he managed to prop himself up in his pen into a sitting position. The staff has helped him "walk" with harnesses. He can not figure out how to get his legs to go where his head is looking. This morning when we went to see him, he was able to stand with someone supporting him but he still can not walk on his own. I hope he gets a bit better every day. It breaks my heart to see him this way. I can see him try so hard to walk and when we leave he tries so hard to follow us.

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like he is going to make progress. Hope he comes home soon. Good luck.

 

[Tomtint]

View attachment 357674



View attachment 357675

He is a happy guy

 

[Thomas]

Pulling hard and speedy recovery for your love one.

 

[farmgirl19]

Sorry to hear of the stroke. I hope that he makes a complete recovery. As long as he is making progress, it is a good thing.

 

[dave1949]

I sure hope he continues to get a bit better everyday. Good luck.

 

[devildog1]

So sorry for you and your friend Tom, But you never know, he may just bounce back, strokes are un-predictable in the out come but, I wish you and your best friend the very best from the bottom of my heart.
DevilDog

 

[Pixguy]

My best wishes for you and your best friend.

 

[cqaigy2]

Keep it up Tomtint:thumbsup:

Looks like your doing the right thing.

 

[RobertBrown]

I hope he gets a bit better every day. It breaks my heart to see him this way. I can see him try so hard to walk and when we leave he tries so hard to follow us.

I hope so too.

 

[Tomtint]

The Dr called is this am and said he is able to get himself to stand up with out help. His gate is still very awkward and unstable so he requires someone to hold him up while he walks. They also said that he can come home today . I pick him up at 2:30. I think he has a long road ahead but he won't go it alone

 

[IslandTractor]

The Dr called is this am and said he is able to get himself to stand up with out help. His gate is still very awkward and unstable so he requires someone to hold him up while he walks. They also said that he can come home today . I pick him up at 2:30. I think he has a long road ahead but he won't go it alone

Wonderful news. I have a feeling he is going to be getting lots of loving attention at home during his recuperation so he should be a happy camper.

 

[MoKelly]

I believe he will progress even better at home, in familar surroundings with the people he knows and loves. Best wishes.

MoKelly

 

[Tomtint]

Thank you everyone for the well wishes. There are obviously many animal lovers here that can relate. He is home and happy to be on his own bed. Still very unstable on his feet but a bit better than yesterday. I'm sure he did not get much rest over the past 4 days at the vet and he passed out about 5 minutes after he got in the door at home. I see many nights of me sleeping on the floor with him in my future.

 

[dave1949]

That's progress. Glad to hear that. I know it's hard, but try not to transfer your anxiety to him. Remember, he is still worried about you too.

 

[Thomas]

Special thoughts and prayers.