How to Treat Canine Stroke

If your dog has had a canine stroke, you may have questions about what this means for your dog and how to treat him. Fairly rare, canine strokes happen for two reasons. They happen when blood stops flowing to the brain (Ischaemic strokes) or from bleeding in the brain (Haemorrhagic strokes). There is no treatment for canine stroke damage. Treatment involves diagnosing and treating the cause.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Make sure your dog receives care from vet assistants and from you once he comes home. He needs plenty of rest, help moving around, assistance eating and drinking and lots of love and encouragement. Dogs usually recover from strokes within a matter of weeks.

2. Identify the type of stroke, Ischaemic or Haemorrhagic, through a CT scan or MRI. Different diseases and disorders cause each kind of stroke.

3. Test for heart disease, liver disease, diabetes or Cushing's disease if your dog suffered an Ischaemic stroke. Other causes include hypertension and over-active or under-active thyroid glands.

4. Look for head trauma, brain tumors, lungworms, ingestion of rodent poisoning or certain diseases that cause Haemorrhagic strokes.

5. Get a diagnosis from your vet as to the cause of stroke. Then follow up with any necessary treatment for the underlying cause.

Tips & Warnings

• Canine strokes usually are not nearly as debilitating as strokes in humans.
• Changes in your dog's behavior resulting from stroke rarely reverse.
• Physical and mental recovery depends on the extent of damage and the cause.
• Canine strokes do reoccur, so keep watching for symptoms.
• Avoid exercising your dog too much following a stroke. Wait for walks until he's feeling better and moving around more.