Tess turned 14 on October 26th. I figured she would be like her mama Reba who made it to 15 and a half. Now I'm not so sure. You see, she had a stroke nearly a week ago. At first I was puzzled, as in the middle of the night she was having trouble getting up and kept falling down. It happened overnight. I thought she maybe had a pinched nerve or something as the only symptom seemed to be her hind end was wobbly. She would try walking and go splat. But the next morning, she was worse.... and her head was tilted off to her right. That's when I knew it was a stroke, which explained the sudden onset from perfectly healthy old dog to not being able to walk properly.
I did my online research and the type of stroke she had is hemorrhagic. It said low dose aspirin to prevent or remove blood clots so that's what I have her on.
My biggest problem is getting her to eat. She won't touch the food I had been feeding her, so I found some frozen turkey meat and got her to eat that, then went and got her some raw food dog food. She ate that for 2 meals, then started to refuse to eat again. If I can get her to eat once a day I call it a win, but it's about a quarter of what she used to eat.
I sure hope she pulls through.
Update in comments!
15 comments:
Oh Shirley, what a hard time for you and your beloved Tess!! SO sorry! I hope she recovers and continues a good quality of life. Our dogs each found their comfort food when health started failing. The most notable was baking our Cheyenne chicken for about a year and a half, the only thing she would eat, and Sam enjoyed a Costco hotdog every night just about as long with his meds. Hope you are able to get some rest. Give Tess a {hug} for me, and for you too!
Look up old dog vestibular disease...this is classic for that and it does get better. Talk to your vet about anti nausea meds, and about the aspirin. It probably is not helping. Good luck!
A second vote here for anti-nausea meds, and the possibility of it being a vestibular episode. Anti-nausea meds won't hurt and may help eating.
Yes might be old dog vestibular syndrome. I have a grand dog (Miney who is 16) that has it...she walks sideways some times, has a head tilt and goes splat often...some days are real good other days not so good.
Poor Tess it is hard to get old...and even harder for us to see them struggle. My heart goes out to you Shirley. Give good old Tess a hug from me. She may refuse all food...it is just their way of saying enough.
Dancing Donkey- thank you so much! I looked it up and yes that seems to fit exactly what is going on. She is getting better balance as the days go by, has no problem going out to do her business and even goes on short walks with me. I did get her to eat a couple of scrambled eggs today and slipped her some of my bacon. She seems to have an appetite sometimes and other times not, so maybe the nausea is an issue. I will see what I can get for anti nausea for her.
Thank you again!
So my research says bland foods (hence why she liked the eggs) and canned pumpkin, a tablespoon a day to combat nausea.
The nausea in a vestibular issue is equivalent to motion sickness nausea, since their inner ear is off and they feel like the world is spinning :-( If you can get some Bonine or Dramamine Less Drowsy (the active ingredient in both is meclazine) or normal PLAIN dramamine with no other additives (active ingredient is dimenhydrinate) they would help. I prefer the meclazine, 1 25mg tab once per day is probably right for a Border Collie but please check with your vet or do your own online research!
Thanks Tervpack, I will see if I can find any of those products tomorrow.
You guys are the best! Thanks to everyone who has offered helpful advice and well wishes, you sure lifted my spirits.
What an amazing community! You guys are all incredible. Shirley, I hope old Tess outlives her mom Reba! Best wishes for a happy and somewhat stress free holiday season!
I am with the old dog vestibular disease folks. Had it in all three of older border collies. It can be managed at least for a while
Very, very interesting. Our dog Sadie has had a bit of a head tilt for the last couple of years and maybe this explains it. We always thought she had a small stroke. Get well soon Tess!
Bree had two strokes when she was 8, she is coming 14 now, she has a tilt to her head and one ear is pulled up. She recovered well, although she went totally deaf after her strokes and her eating habits also changed.
I, too, was thinking vestibular. Hope she is feeling better! Always nervous when I have to miss a few days checking blogs these days. Glad the title wasn't what I thought it was.
Pumpkin helps with nausea. She will have good days and bad days...hopefully more good ones! My daughters vet put Miney on Gabapentin daily. It seems to help...she sleeps really soundly.
Hang in there Shirley!
Watching our little puppies go through the life span so quickly is very painful. We got our 13 ½-year old collie at 10 weeks old in 2007. She is very rickety now, deaf, can't get up on her own, on three different pain meds, but is still eating and interested in life. It breaks my heart to see her so geriatric, especially remembering her glorious puppy days and growing-up years. She has been the best dog, never putting a foot (or paw) wrong. Ever. My heart goes out to you and your little Tess!
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