Dog
stroke symptoms can include...
- Loss of balance
- Tiredness and lethargy
- Your dog may choose to
eat out of one side of the dog bowl - the left side or right side -
eating all of the food on one side and leaving the other.
- You may notice that
when you call your dog he turns around and walks the other way.
- Your dog may fall over
for no apparent reason
- Your dog may also
become blind after a stroke
- You may notice
behavioral changes in your dog
- Other symptoms include
loss of bladder control and also control over his bowels.
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The
cause of a stroke in dogs are...
A
canine stroke is caused due to the blood flow being disrupted. This
causes the neural pathways in the brain to stop functioning properly.
After the brain has stopped working properly this can lead to some of
the dog stroke symptoms listed above. You need to act fast as a stroke can easily
kill.
Hemorrhagic
& Ischaemic Stroke
There
are are two types of strokes that affect dogs. The first is when the
blood flow to the brain is blocked due to fat, a tumor or parasites
this is called - Ischaemic . The second type is a Hemorrhagic
stroke - this is when blood starts to hemorrhage from the blood vessels
(due to a burst blood vessel) causing blood to form pools around the
rain - both are very serious and equally life threatening.
Conditions
that cause a Hemorrhagic Stoke...
- Trauma to the head
through an accident or injury
- Brain tumor
- Lung worm
- Your dog may have
developed abnormal blood vessels around the brain
- Poisoning especially
rat poison
- Anything that has
caused your dog to develop high blood pressure including cushings
disease.
Conditions
that cause an Ischaemic Stroke...
- Diabetes
- Fat
- Spinal cartilage
- Parasites
- Tumors
- Hypertension
- High blood pressure
- Over active thyroid
glands
Dog
Stroke Diagnosis...
For
a dog, stroke symptoms can vary so it's important that you get expert
advice and an accurate diagnosis.
- Your vet will start by
asking questions so that he/she can build up a picture of what has
happened.
- The vet will then
perform a physical examination.
- If the vet feels that
your dog has suffered a stroke then he/she may take urine and blood
tests.
- The final diagnostic
tool is the use of a CT or MRI scan.
Treatment...
Unfortunately
treatment for a dog that has had a stroke is limited, The best method
is prevention - make sure that your dog has a healthy diet and you
don't give your dog human food or scraps from the dinner table. Make
sure that you give your dog regular exercise and annual check ups at
the vets will help prevent a stroke from happening in the first place.
Certain breeds are more susceptible to suffering from a stroke
including Bull Dogs and Pugs. It is important to remember that the
faster you spot the symptoms in your dog and get treatment as soon as
possible the more likely that your dog will make a full recovery.
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