Need Dog Help NOW Please

Hampton

Hampton

Air Defense Dept
TECHNICAL Contributor
Nov 26, 2006
7,628
Panama City, Fl
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2008 44 Sedan Bridge
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Cummins QSC-500's
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Our 14 YO Male Sheltie has had a neurologic event 1/2 hour ago. He tried to get up and can't use his hind leg/legs. His eyes are darting back and forth rapidly (nystagmus). His head is following the motion of his eyes. He is not in pain. He wags his tail and reacts to us. He can see, but his hearing has gone in recent months.

He doesn't center his head. It is favoring 120 degrees to the right (looking over shoulder as he shakes it back and forth at the rate of 1 per second. When we pet his head, he stops moving it. He is reacting as if he were happy.

We live in central time. Vets are closed for normal ops.

He is now standing, but all four legs are shaking rapidly and he is in a guarded stance.
He just got up and walked in circles twice (right). Then, he fell down. He is staggering around and is now beginning to seem sad that he can't make it around.

What do you recommend? Anything we can give him for a stroke?
 
His motion has begun to settle down with the eyes and head. He still has nystagmus, but it has settled down some. He is favoring looking toward the right, but not as much. His head motion is only about 10 degrees back and forth now instead of 45 degrees back and forth.
 
Man I hate that I don't know excatly what to do for him. Try to keep him calm and love on him a lot. Since he made it through the stroke the best you can do is make him comfortable until you can reach a vet. I hope someone on the site can offer more.
 
I'm not a vet , but have had enough dogs to know it sounds like he had a stroke. Try to get a children's aspirin in him if possible and call the emergency number for your vet. Sorry!
 
No aspirin! Two types of stroke. Hemorragic and ischemic( blockage). Ischemic can be helped by aspirin. Hemorragic while certainly kill him or worsen the symptoms beyond hope.

To me the signs and symptoms lean to one of two things. Strokes do not affect both sides right and left in only front or hind legs. They affect one complete side or the other. Right brain= left paralysis, left brain= right paralysis.

It sounds as if he has had a seizure as u stated, is going through what is called a postictal state. The postictal star can present different with each individual being it effects. Usually lethargy, confusion, drooling, moaning, partial paralysis, rapid uncontrolled eye movement, even neurological deficit. Theses symptoms usually pass in varying times from minutes to hours.

What u need to do is find out why he has had the seizure to begin with. Poisoning, trauma, age, congenital, reaction to new meds ( falls under poisoning). Due to the dogs age, I am leaning to age, and possibly meds.

Best thing to do at this point is to keep him comfortable, be patient as he may not be able to control his faculties. Love him and let him know it. If it is a seizure, maybe a one time thing and can wait till tomorrow for vet visit and depakote, or another benzo med for long term treatment.

Due to age and sudden onset of signs/ symptoms. It may be time to let the old friend pass in peace. I know it's a hard place to be. But just love him.

I am sorry Hampton. I feel you I hope it's just a minor bump, and he pulls thru.
 
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Thanks all. I've been reading about seizures and strokes in dogs. His symptoms seem to be those of a stroke, but I can't be sure. Here's a good article:

My Dog Has Had A Stroke, What Should I Do?
If your dog has had a stroke, it is important to remember that dogs don’t suffer as badly from strokes as humans do, and they will recover faster than humans. Once your dog has had a stroke, there is not a lot that your vet can do for him. In most cases, there is no magical cure, or special pill, all your vet will do is confirm that it was a stroke, and rule out the dangerous diseases that may be causing your dog to suffer from the strokes.

However, there are some things that you, the owner of your dog, can do to help with his recovery. Because you share a close owner-pet bond, your dog will recover faster if you are around to care for him, and cheer him on as he starts getting better. Make sure that he has a warm cozy place to rest, and plenty of encouragement, and love from you, to remind him of why he wants to get better.

You may also need to encourage your pet to eat, and drink soon after he has suffered from a stroke, and help him onto his feet, and encourage him to take bathroom breaks outside. Exercise, especially strenuous exercise, should be avoided. Once your dog is feeling well enough, he will soon tell you when he is ready to start going on walks again. After a matter of weeks, he will be starting to get back to his old self.

Don’t forget that once your dog has recovered, he will still need plenty of love, and encouragement, and may not be as agile as he was before the stroke. Strokes can keep reoccurring in dogs, so keep a close eye on him.
 
Cosmo is stable now, can walk (like a drunk), and is resting in front of the football game like nothing happened. He ate a normal dinner a little while ago.
 
See if there is an emergency vet clinic within a reasonable distance. If so, take him there to find out what's wrong and provide some piece of mind either way for you. It's a tough time but try to put the welfare of your old faithful friend ahead of your own feelings. The vet should help you make the best decision for your old buddy. Best of luck.
 
John, sorry to hear this.

My Jack Russell (5 1/2 years old) has had a few seizures. She starts acting funny, and then starts shaking. Her body tenses up, and after its finished she's very disoriented, and looks scared. Its almost the same look as when she knows she's in trouble. She often vomits/poops/pees while this happens.

I know she is very sensitive, she's had to get benadryl after getting some vaccines in the past. I've put her on some special dog food, not the big name brand stuff, and that seems to help. We've also changed it from Heartguard to Interceptor for her heartworm preventative.

We do have a syringe full of stuff to give her in case of a really bad seizure that won't stop on its own.

If he appears fine now I would just comfort him and take him to the normal vet in the morning. They know him. I was tempted to go the ER vet when her first seizure occurred but since all was well, we waited until the next day to our normal vet.
 
Well keep us updated. I am praying for all of you
 
Thanks guys. He's almost completely normal. He's begging for my dinner (cause I'm eating on the couch watching the game). He has a little weakness in one of his hind legs, but is doing well.
 
John, I'm just reading this now. I'm no expert on dogs, but I hope everything is going to be alright. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Sincerely, Brian
 
At his age I say stroke also.

Watch for urine output. A classic early sign of antifreeze poising is a shut down of the kidneys a drunken presence and seizures...
 
Spookeay said:
At his age I say stroke also.

Watch for urine output. A classic early sign of antifreeze poising is a shut down of the kidneys a drunken presence and seizures...
Click to expand...

Spookey, u beat me to it....

John, I was going to tell u to watch the urine out put, smell, color and water consumption over the next twenty four hours. Spookey is right on the kidney failure. However it is not just the antifreeze that causes this. The last four organs in the body to shut down are first the kidneys, then the liver, then the brain and lastly the heart. They fail in that order and thus gives you a time line of things to come.
 
there's plenty of 24hr emergency vets here on long island. If you want I can get you some numbers if you want to talk to them and see what they say.
 
Good luck with your dog John. By any chance are his eyeballs bulging? I had a dog that sounded like your but didn't recover so fast and she had a brain tumor that was putting pressure on her. Poor thing kept falling over.

I hope it works out for the best. I almost tear up still when I see a good dog since mine had her suffering stopped 2 weeks ago.
 
Thanks guys/gals, but he's stable now. We'll re-evaluate in the morning. We had a cat die of kidney failure many years ago - also old.
 
The early signs sure said 'stroke'. Been there done that with a past dog. But the resolution points toward a seizure of some form. One of my dogs had a seizure a few months ago, and it has been, thus far, a one-time occurrance. Vet said that happens for unknown reasons in some dogs. At any rate, you need to keep an eye on him and help him up/down stairs when he goes out; you don't want him to fall and further injure himself. Don't medicate him unless a qualified person tells you to and gives you an appropriate dose, as that could make things worse, or mask symptoms your Vet needs to help make a correct diagnosis. Hope Cosmo comes thru OK.
 
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