As dogs get older, their health needs change, and pet parents may see more unfamiliar issues; one such health issue may be strokes.
Natural dog food brand Barking Heads vet Dr Scott Miller shares three vital signs you need to look out for if you suspect your dog is suffering a stroke.
What is a stroke?
Like in humans, when pets suffer from a stroke, it’s a sign of low blood supply to the brain, leading to cognitive issues. Advances in how vets can more easily diagnose strokes in dogs have only been made in the last few years.
What causes strokes?
In dogs, there can be two types of strokes: ischemic stroke, which are caused by a sudden lack of blood to the brain, and haemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by a burst blood vessel, both of which can be caused by underlying health conditions.
Underlying conditions that can cause strokes in dogs:
- – Blood clot disorders
- – Ruptured blood vessels or aneurysms
- – Tumours
- – Cushing’s disease
- – High blood pressure
- – Kidney disease
- – Diabetes
- – Heart disease
- – Cancer
- – Exposure to certain toxins like rat poison
Dog stroke symptoms – introducing FETCH
F.E.T.C.H. is an easy acronym to remind you of five vital dog stroke symptoms, just as strokes in humans can be spotted with F.A.S.T. (face, arms, speech, time).
When checking your dog for symptoms, start with their walking. You may find that your dog has some difficulty walking and looks wobbly on its legs, and it may be suffering from falls. As strokes affect the brain, your dog might suffer a loss of balance and need some support to stay upright.
The second port of call is your dog’s eyes. Your pup may lose control of their eyes when experiencing a stroke, be it in one side or both, so be wary if your dog’s eyes are constantly moving, rotating or shifting side to side.
A key sign that your dog is having a stroke is that they may have a seizure, so look out for twitching. Some small twitches can mean nothing, but if you find your dog is having a seizure, take them in for medical attention.
Another sign is a change in character in your dog. As strokes affect the brain, your dog can suffer a change in personality. This may not be an obvious sign of stroke as it isn’t as physical as some of the others. Signs like this can come on suddenly, but it depends on what part of the brain has been affected.
The final sign is a persistent head tilt. Although dogs tilt their heads for many reasons, if you find your dog has its head tilted like it’s listening to the ground and seemingly can’t move position, it can indicate a stroke.
Some other symptoms linked to strokes in dogs are:
- – Walking in circles
- – Gasping for breath
- – Less awareness of surroundings
- – Blindness
What happens when a dog has a stroke?
Salford dog owner Rita Rowe’s bearded collie, Douglas, 10 years old at the time of his first stroke, suffered two strokes, with two neurosurgeons, three triage nurses and four vets treating him during his hospital stay.
“Two hours before Douglas had the first stroke, he was happily wagging his tail and walking around our garden, and then suddenly, he collapsed and had a seizure totally out of the blue. He couldn’t walk. The stroke had affected his whole left side, like a human, he completely shut down.
“He was taken to the hospital, and he was in there for a long time. It turned out to be a bit of a thyroid problem but also elevated high blood pressure. So, he was put on medication for thyroid and high blood pressure.”
Rita shares that he is now fit and well, eating a vet-recommended diet and taking his medication, with the only reminder of his stroke being a slight wobble in his left leg as he walks.
However, not all strokes are the same in dogs, so if you suspect a stroke in your dog, get in contact with a vet so they can diagnose the condition and check to see if it was caused by an underlying health concern in your dog. Depending on the severity of the stroke symptoms your dog is having, you may want to take them to an emergency room.
Your vet may prescribe medication to tackle the underlying cause. If the stroke was caused by a blood clot, your vet may treat your pet with blood thinners to restore proper blood flow. The good news is that pets tend to recover within a few weeks once seen and treated, but there is a chance for them to suffer another stroke.
