Stroke in dogs
Stroke in dogs is an absolute emergency situation that should prompt an emergency visit to your veterinarian or to a veterinary hospital.
Although less common than in humans, stroke is a brain problem that can still plague dogs of all ages and breeds. In order to give your dog the best health prognosis, it is necessary to know how to detect the symptoms of a stroke in dogs and to know the right reflexes to adopt.
What is stroke in dogs?
Stroke in dogs is similar to that of humans: it is a dysfunction of the blood circulation that prevents the brain from being properly irrigated.
It is an absolute veterinary emergency because a stroke can, in some cases, leave sequels in the dog's brain. There are different types of strokes that can endanger the health of your four-legged friend.
• Ischemic stroke, also known as cerebral infarction, occurs when an artery is blocked and can no longer allow blood to flow to the brain. This type of stroke deprives the brain of oxygen and glucose, preventing it from functioning properly and causing neurological problems.
• Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when bleeding occurs around the animal's brain, resulting in severe compression of the brain. The accumulation of blood in the animal's skull increases the intracranial pressure, which can cause damage to the central nervous system.
Hemorrhagic stroke is relatively less common than ischemic stroke in dogs, which is good news when you consider that it is also more complicated to treat!
What are the causes of stroke in dogs?
One of the major causes of stroke in dogs is age, just like in humans. Aging of the blood vessels can lead to blood flow problems that can cause clots to form in the arteries or hemorrhagic lesions in the dog's brain.
Another factor that cannot be influenced is heredity, as blood circulation disorders can be passed on from generation to generation in dogs as in humans. In addition, certain breeds of dogs are more prone to stroke, such as the tireless German Shepherd, the gentle Labrador or the cheerful Poodle!
However, it should be noted that young dogs in good health and without any particular predisposition can also suffer from a stroke: age and heredity are therefore not the only criteria that favor the appearance of this pathology!
In all dogs, but especially the most daredevil, head trauma is a relatively common cause of stroke. A shock to the skull can cause bleeding in the brain, which can lead to a hemorrhagic stroke.
Aneurysm rupture is also a fairly common cause of hemorrhagic stroke in dogs. An aneurysm is an arterial dilatation that weakens the wall of the affected blood vessel in the dog's brain and can rupture more easily than a healthy vessel.
Fortunately, the presence of an aneurysm in the venous system in the animal does not necessarily imply that the animal will one day suffer from an aneurysm rupture. However, it should be noted that this risk factor is unfortunately very complex to detect before a stroke occurs in the dog.
Hypertension is also known to increase the risk of stroke in dogs. The development of tumors, benign or malignant, can also cause ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.
Depending on its location, this type of abnormality can either compress the artery that carries blood to the brain or cause an intracranial hemorrhage. Finally, other diseases of cardiac, renal, systemic or endocrine origin can increase the risk of stroke in dogs.
Nevertheless, in more than 50% of the cases the cause of the dog's stroke is never identified by the veterinarian. This is called an idiopathic stroke, which is not related to a disease or whose cause cannot be determined.
Stroke symptoms in dogs: learn to detect them!
Unfortunately, most strokes occur suddenly without giving owners the opportunity to predict their imminent arrival.
In this type of case, the symptoms are said to be acute or super-acute and will mostly be neurological. The dog may present an asymmetric paralysis, which manifests itself for example by an impossibility to move certain parts of the body or face, stiffened limbs or uncontrollable snapping of the jaw.
In other cases, a seizure may be a sign of a stroke. In these cases, the dog will have one or more of the following worrisome symptoms:
• Vague look
• Sudden weakness
• Phases of unconsciousness
• Trembling
• Vomiting
• Sudden loss of balance
• Nystagmus
• Wobbly gait
• Head tilted to one side for no reason
• Loss of consciousness
• Convulsions
• Disorientation
• Feeling like you are staggering
• Jaw snapping
• Not responding to your call
• Does not respond to your voice
In all cases, it is the extremely sudden appearance of this type of symptoms that remains characteristic of the pathology and must absolutely alert the master.
What should I do if my dog has a stroke?
If you suspect your dog is having a stroke, the most important thing is to not waste a minute! Immediately call an on-call veterinarian or go to the veterinary emergency room if there is one near your home.
Try to stay calm - easier said than done! - and reassure your pet as much as possible to help him/her through this ordeal. Try to make eye contact and verbal contact with your pet to see how it reacts and behaves in your presence.
It is also important to note all the symptoms that you can spot: fever, breathing, stability of the eyes, gait, posture... As well as their order and, if possible, time of appearance. All this information will greatly help the veterinarian to establish a precise diagnosis and to choose the most appropriate treatment for your pet.
Some strokes are less severe than others, in which case the symptoms presented by the dog are relatively discreet. However, this type of stroke requires emergency intervention to prevent your dog's prognosis from being compromised.
If you notice any of the symptoms described above in your dog, but his condition does not seem critical, do not hesitate to contact a veterinarian to get his opinion on the matter. It is estimated that for every hour lost in the care of a dog suffering from a stroke, he loses 20% of his chance of survival.
What are the consequences of a stroke in dogs?
The consequences of a stroke in dogs vary greatly depending on the severity of the stroke and the speed with which the animal is treated by a veterinarian. Deprived of blood and oxygen, the brain necroses very quickly and can be permanently damaged after only 3 minutes without irrigation.
Some of the after-effects of a stroke on the brain are irreversible, while others will disappear in whole or in part with appropriate rehabilitation. Finally, it is important to note that a stroke can lead to the death of your dog, especially if it is not treated early enough or if its severity does not allow the veterinarian to set up an effective treatment.
Different types of after-effects can occur following a stroke, such as:
- Different degrees of paralysis of the dog: total or only partial
- Problems with his senses
- Gait and movement problems
- Cognitive sequelae: no longer recognizes places or people
- Pain
- Incontinence problems
How do you treat stroke in dogs?
Once your pet is in the hands of the veterinarian, he or she will begin by examining your pet to try to identify the cause and measure the severity of the stroke. Once this is done, the veterinarian will be able to determine the best treatment for your pet to relieve the pain or avoid the after-effects.
The veterinarian may perform specific tests to locate the lesion that caused the stroke in order to treat it properly. If an underlying problem such as a tumor, high blood pressure or other pathology caused your dog's stroke, your dog will likely be prescribed long-term treatment to avoid the risk of recurrence.
If your dog's stroke has caused neurological damage, he may also undergo a period of rehabilitation to regain the use of his limbs, for example. In the days following the stroke, your dog will need to rest for a long time to recover his brain capacity as much as possible.
Sleep is one of the best ways to allow the brain to recover and regain its full function. As a general rule, the prognosis for stroke in dogs is quite good if it is treated early enough and the stroke is not the result of a more serious condition.
In the majority of cases, the dogs evolve positively after their stroke and often manage to recover completely. Moreover, the risk of recurrence is extremely rare, unless a pathology is involved.
How to manage the post-stroke phase?
The dog will be extremely tired and the period of remission will be very variable.
It will be necessary to go very slowly and progressively.
- It will be necessary to prevent him from running as much as possible and to prefer slow walking.
- Rest will be the key word. The dog will need to rest as much as possible to heal.
- Make chewing easier for him by giving preference to a food based on pâtée. Avoid foods that are difficult to chew, such as kibble or bones.
- Spend time with him to reassure him. Morale is very important in any recovery.
- Make his life as easy as possible so that he expends a minimum of energy.
- Bring his bowls, toys and other soft toys closer together.
- Install a comfortable and cozy bed.
- It will be necessary to help your dog as much as possible by limiting the efforts he has to make. Rest will be his best ally.
The treatment protocol provided by the veterinarian must be followed to the letter. And if during his convalescence the slightest doubt about his health appears, do not hesitate to ask your veterinarian for urgent advice.
Stroke prevention in dogs
Preventing stroke in dogs is complex, especially when the causes are unknown or unrelated to physiological conditions. However, a healthy lifestyle based on a balanced diet and physical activity appropriate to your dog's breed and age can slow the aging of his cells and reduce the risk of him developing high blood pressure and obesity.
Maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle is often the only way for owners to prevent their pets from having strokes. Regular veterinary check-ups can also help diagnose pathologies that can cause strokes.
The veterinarian will be able to prescribe a preventive treatment acting on the underlying pathology in order to reduce the risks of attack. Stroke in dogs is a real ordeal for the animal as well as for the owner, but by learning how to react correctly, you increase the chances that your companion will come out of it as well as possible, or even recover completely!
Loving and educating your pet also means protecting it against the hazards of life. This is why we strongly recommend that you take out health insurance as soon as possible. This will save you astronomical veterinary fees in case of accident or illness.
