How to Treat Canine Stroke

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Doctor Aimee Beger. I'm a veterinarian, and today we're going to have a brief discussion about strokes in dogs. Strokes, although not very common, we do see them. They are usually caused by a cardio-vascular event, such as a problem with throwing an embolus, or a clot. Typically, what we see is, dogs will come in and they'll have some weakness or even paralysis on one side, even facial drooping, or other neurological signs, such as inability to stand up, or falling to one side. What we recommend is to, after doing a general physical exam and neurological exam on your pet, is to have your dog be seen by a neurologist. They can do further testing, such as MRIs, myelograms, and cat scans to help determine if your dog has indeed had a stroke. The treatment ranges anywhere from just trying a steroid treatment for a few weeks all the way up to surgery, if...if that is deemed necessary by your neurologist."