Any ideas, on this , (german Shephard pup, had stroke)

I was talking to a friend today, who`s friend has a 13wk old German Shephard pup, has had him from arounf 7/8wks I think.

Anyway , pup came out of his bed last Thur, and could not walk on one hind leg, owner rushed him straight to vet, after keeping pup in, and doing tests on him, conclusion , the pup has had a stroke, the vet has never seen this before in such a young dog, the owner has been onto breeder to alert him to what has happened, he in turn has checked with all other new owners, all the others are healthy.

Vet said if pup does make a recovery ( doubts it) he may have to have his leg amputated personally I would not go down that route, but thats just my opinion,

from what I understand she got him from a good breeder, but I dont know of what health risks and congenital diseases GS`s suffer from. or is this just one of those unfortunae things.

any ideas, anyone heard of this before. any info will be appriciated.

Hi Jackbox, I am assuming you mean the puppy has had some kind of cerebral episode, either a 'bleed'' within the brain or a blood clot which has damaged part of the brain and caused immobility in a limb?

If this is the case (and obviously I am not in possession of the full facts and I am not a vet) I would have thought in a puppy so young, if the damage is not too severe it will be possible for another part of the brain to take over from the damaged part allowing some mobility to return (as happens in humans).

With the vets approval it may be possible to use certain exercise (similar to those used in the 'Bobath' system for humans) and hydrotherapy to put the affected limb through a range of movements . I would say amputation is the worst case scenario.

Remember this person can always request a referral to the nearest RVC small animal hospital.

I've not heard of strokes being prominent in GSDs, and at such a young age too

I hope this little lad recovers, even if it does mean amputation Although this is probably the worse case scenario, dogs adjust very well with three legs

Good luck little lad, keep us updated Jackbox xxxx

If this is what the vet is thinking I would ask for a referal to a neurologist, theres a good one in Manchester but any vet hosp should have one. In dogs it is different than in humans and is normaly the result of a head injury it used to be called apoplexy, long term effects can include a change in behaviour and convulsions. There is no inherent condition in the breed that could cause this.
Hope the pups ok, and keep us updated.

How awful - hope he recovers without amputation. However, as someone has said before - dogs can adapt to 3 legs quite well, particularly as he is young.