Border Collie had a stroke

Hi all,
I found this website through Google as I was looking for info on dogs having strokes. My 13 and half year old Border Collie appeared to have had a stroke 2 weeks ago, or at least that's what the vet thought. He has been on steroids ever since and appears to have made a good recovery, although he is drinking loads of water and left us a huge pile on the hall carpet recently!!
I was keen to hear other stories from fellow dog-lovers.

Sorry don't have a similar story but I do have a 13 1/2 yr old dog, so you have my sympathy. They are such a worry at this age aren't they.

Welcome to dogsey, a friendly forum full of dog lovers and at least a couple of dog remote healers.. You should try posting a picture of him... Can't hurt Anyway, we all love pictures

I have had 2 BCs that had strokes. One was 8 and went on to live for another couple of years..you would never have known. The other was 14 and we had him for another 9 months or so afterwards. He was left with a severe head tilt and other problems though.

It is a horrid thing to happen, I was with our younger collie.
In all honesty though, neither of them had another stroke...the younger one led a full life afterwards.
Try not to worry...the steroids wil be making your dog thirsty...and a bit loose too.

Healing hugs for your dog and a hug for you...it is so lovely sharing your life with an older dog...but hard at times too.

Ooo and welcome to Dogsey. x

Hi, and thanks so much for you kind message. My entire family adores Toby and were all so upset when this happened to him. He always sleeps in our front porch, he won't settle anywhere else and I had gone to let him out one morning, when he came out he was falling about and was finding it difficult to stand up, his eyeballs were twitching as well. We took him to the vet and she she suggested putting him down there and then, my husband and I were completely distraught. I said no, surely there must be something that she could give him before we even went down that route of "giving him an injection"! She said to try steroids, 5 a day at first, now it's down to 2 each morning. If you had seen him fighting with a slipper the other day, you would never have thought that it was the same dog.
What has annoyed me most was the fact that the vet suggested having him put down, without even trying to give him tablets to see him that would help him. We got him when he was 12 weeks and the thought of losing him was so hard to take. Thankfully, touch wood, he appears to have recovered, but we are taking each day as it comes because we don't know what will happen if we stop the steroids.
Many thanks for your reply, it's much appreciated

I have a friend who is a retired vet, and for our 15-year-old BC Kali, she recommended a product called "Vivitonin", saying she had never known a BC on it to have a stroke. Our other BC, Snorri, was too young to get it (he was 10), but he died - we think, from a stroke - on 13 October last year. Ask your vet about it, but beware, it is expensive! You can get it much cheaper online:

http://www.inhousedrugstore.co.uk/pe...vivitonin.html

Snorri

I have never had the experience of one having a stroke, but when I worked at the vets I have seen a good response to Vivitonin, you could ask your vet about it. Best wishes

Thank you both very much for your comments and advice. Toby has now had the steroids reduced to 2 a day, so we will watch and see how he responds to this dosage.
We will need to talk to the vet again when we get low on the existing steroids, but Toby has always been difficult to examine and the vet usually has to put a choker on him and hold him against the wall, whilst another vet would give him his booster each year. So, recently the vet has had to make a diagnosis from a distance so to speak.
I will try to upload a photo of Toby soon, he is such a super dog and loved by us all.
p.s. Thanks for the info on Vivitonin, I will ask the vet and then probably buy it online.

hi
vivitonin will not stop strokes,but it can help elderly dogs,it is very safe,you will either see a difference or not after a month.
the steroids will make your dog extra thirsty and hungry.try not to worry lots of dogs dont go on to have another one.good luck

My friends old labrador had one when she was about 10. The vet said she may have another one or may never. SHe enver had another and was a happy doddery old gal and was finally put to sleep at 13.

Try not to worry x

HML : I was told by a newly qualified young lady vet a few years ago that dogs cannot have strokes. The symptoms that dogs display which appear to be that of a stroke are frequently a condition called Peripheral Vestibular Disease. We as a family christened it "The Colleywobbles" because a darling old collie who we had at the time suffered what we thought was a stroke. He staggered as he walked, frequently on the diagonal, he couldn't walk in a straight line. His eyes "flashed" as the pupils constantly dilated and retracted due to his attempts to focus on the horizon. By all attempts and purposes, it looked like Bertie had had a stroke, but the vet diagnosed this Peripheral Vestibular Disease. If you google this, you will get up all the veterinary stuff about it.