Can dogs have a stroke ?

[Jamouk]

Didnt see it myself , wife took our gsp out this morning , came back saying the dog had had a funny turn as in her face dropped for a couple of minutes and it was as if she couldn't see or hear , then snapped out of it and carried on running about like a loon ?

 

[bullet chucker]

Some dogs are prone to fits,We had a mongrel'(poodle cross) that suffered these attacks then recovered shortly after.

BC.

 

[shakey jake]

message buchan on here, he will know better than most mate, sounds scary

 

[Essex stalker]

Watch out for seeds in their ears this time of year. A couple of years ago one of my spaniels suddenly dropped to the ground, head fell to one side etc. At first I feared the worst with something like a stroke, it turned out to be a seed in her ear.
Its a nightmare this time of the year for seeds

 

[ndt man]

Yes. One of my golden retrievers had one whilst out he collapsed to the floor then recovered slightly but couldn't get up although he wanted to... Ended up carrying him 1/2 a mile back home.
He also had a second a couple of hours later (so don't wait get him down the vets).

 

[Keith Edmunds]

Watch out for seeds in their ears this time of year. A couple of years ago one of my spaniels suddenly dropped to the ground, head fell to one side etc. At first I feared the worst with something like a stroke, it turned out to be a seed in her ear.
Its a nightmare this time of the year for seeds

Ears and eyes too.

 

[waterford103]

Our old springer Russ had a stroke , He is up and about again but his eyesight and general fitness is reduced , seems happy but lopsided . If I didn't think he was happy I would have taken him for the long walk. Blood thinning pills and increasingly more exercise is slowly bringing him back , joining in with ball games with our other springer , Ziggy , leaves him tired and sleeps a lot but he's 14 yo so to be expected .

 

[urx]

My old Collie had a major strroke when he was about 16/17 years old (rescue so age was uncertain but at leasr that old)
He was unable to move, stand or do pretty much anything except lift his head and the occasional tail wag.
Game over sadly
I miss him still

 

[8x57]

Some dogs are prone to fits,We had a mongrel'(poodle cross) that suffered these attacks then recovered shortly after.

BC.

Fairly common with GWPs apparently. My previous GWP suffered from it from the age of about 4 until his final episode which may have been a stroke aged 14.

 

[jimmy milnes]

Epilepsy perhaps ?

 

[Jon P]

I was picking grapes at a friends vineyard a few years ago, his collie dog had a fit and collapsed next to me, at first I thought he had been stung in his mouth by a wasp as lots about the grapes, as we were on a step bank the dogs tongue has slipped to the back of its throat stopping it breathing,
I did manage to remove tongue and it started breathing again, I did receive a bad bit in the process to my thumb. dog has had a few more since, vet has told owners to video tape a fit do it easier for vet to treat.

 

[Jon P]

Watch out for seeds in their ears this time of year. A couple of years ago one of my spaniels suddenly dropped to the ground, head fell to one side etc. At first I feared the worst with something like a stroke, it turned out to be a seed in her ear.
Its a nightmare this time of the year for seeds

I thought my dog had a seed in it ear this Friday afternoon, dog had vomited a bit earlier in day, then later in day holding head to one side shaking head and bright read ear, I was due to take her stalking that evening, I put drops in ear and she seemed ok, decided against taking her anyway, as I would’ve away until midday next day. Wife’s comes home from work, dog is quite unresponsive, red eyes and both ears inflamed, dog normally hyper so takes her to out of hours vet, £460 later, lots of blood tests and an ultrasound scan for pyometra , no temp but slightly high wite blood cell. - wife did not get back from vets until 12.45 am by which time dog was getting back to normal. Vet thinking it was some sort of pollen allergy, dogs has been fine since and back to it hyper self, ( 11 month old GWP). Has been given steroids for if she starts it again.

 

[8x57]

Our vet advised us to stay away from the dog when he fitted in case he bit us because the dog would not be in control of his actions. In actual fact he used to seek us out if he felt it coming on and sit or lie next to us for reassurance. It was rather frightening to witness at first but you soon knew what to expect especially opening the door to let him out once he had recovered because you needed a very large shovel to clean up the lawn after his trip to the garden.

 

[Jamouk]

she had a seed in the ear a couple of years ago which involved a vets visit , My wife said it was like she had gone blind and couldnt hear all of a sudden and that the side of her face dropped which made me think a stroke

 

[Scotty99]

Some breeds are prone to epilepsy, HWVs for one so I keep an eye on mine, but so far no issues.

We did adopt an old lurcher from the dogs home that had had a stroke he was OK generally but had weakness in his back legs that was not age related but probably due to the stroke. He was a daft old bugger but quite a character.

 

[Buchan]

Lots to digest here!
OP first: Dogs tend not to get strokes as they tend not to get clots in the arteries of the brain or heart. That said, the dog brain is not that different in essentials so it's possible. As most dogs don't get a post-mortem, we don't know for certain. However many older dogs do have "strokes" which are actually vestibular damage. The vestibular area of the brain is responsible for balance, so you see head tilts, wobbling, circling. Some can be so severe it looks like a fit. They get better without treatment, but some dogs have permanent head tilts afterwards.
Epilepsy can also present as a "tuned-out" episode so if it keeps happening, get her checked.

Other posts - yes ear issues can do the same, sting, grass seed or a deeper ear infection as the 8th cranial nerve (OOOTTAFVGVAH for the mediaclly inclined!) has its root in the same vestibular area so similar signs are seen.

 

[badbob]

One of my spaniels had an inner ear problem, possibly an infection lost its balance for a few days. vertigo.
Before my dogs died they became less keen or inclined to go out shooting...a warning sign.
They died in the woods doing what they loved but I should have perhaps retired them.
They snatched at their sides as though a heart attack then dropped.

 

[Stalker62]

... or a deeper ear infection as the 8th cranial nerve (OOOTTAFVGVAH for the mediaclly inclined!) has its root in the same vestibular area so similar signs are seen.

Dear God, just hit full 1982 flash-back.

The twelve nerves are: OOOTTAFVGVAH.

1. Olfactory nerve
2. Optic nerve
3. Oculomotor nerve
4. Trochlear nerve
5. Trigeminal nerve
6. Abducens nerve
7. Facial nerve
8. Vestibulocochlear nerve
9. Glossopharyngeal nerve
10. Vagus nerve
11. Accessory nerve
12. Hypoglossal nerve

 

[Buchan]

Dear God, just hit full 1982 flash-back.

The twelve nerves are: OOOTTAFVGVAH.

1. Olfactory nerve
2. Optic nerve
3. Oculomotor nerve
4. Trochlear nerve
5. Trigeminal nerve
6. Abducens nerve
7. Facial nerve
8. Vestibulocochlear nerve
9. Glossopharyngeal nerve
10. Vagus nerve
11. Accessory nerve
12. Hypoglossal nerve

Just in case folk are asking WTF, these are the cranial nerves - ones that are senses or motor nerves that come out directly from the brain to muscles or organs. Before MRI scanners, docotrs and vets could work out pretty well where eg tumours were in the brain based on these nerves. Bells palsy is a common paralysis of the 7th nerve - the one that Geoff Boycott has.
To remember them in order, there was a smitty mnemonic....

 

[Namman]

Lots to digest here!
OP first: Dogs tend not to get strokes as they tend not to get clots in the arteries of the brain or heart. That said, the dog brain is not that different in essentials so it's possible. As most dogs don't get a post-mortem, we don't know for certain. However many older dogs do have "strokes" which are actually vestibular damage. The vestibular area of the brain is responsible for balance, so you see head tilts, wobbling, circling. Some can be so severe it looks like a fit. They get better without treatment, but some dogs have permanent head tilts afterwards.
Epilepsy can also present as a "tuned-out" episode so if it keeps happening, get her checked.

Other posts - yes ear issues can do the same, sting, grass seed or a deeper ear infection as the 8th cranial nerve (OOOTTAFVGVAH for the mediaclly inclined!) has its root in the same vestibular area so similar signs are seen.

Haven't had to remember OOOTTAFVGVAH for a very long time!