strokes in dog

[tinkerbell01]

i have a 9 year old german shepard cross he was dieanosed with eperlepsie in may this year and is on medication for his fits at 4 oclock last night he had a stroke his head is tilted to the right and he is walken in circuls some times lossing his balance when he turns right his eyes were flickering side to side really bad last night but they seam to have calmed down a bit this morning i dont understand what has coused him to have a stroke could it have anything to do with his eperlepsie the vet has given him an injection of steroyed and some tabs he has to take 2 - 2 times a day plus his other tabs i was just woundering what causes strokes can any one help please

[carmalee]

my dog had a stroke when she was 15 years old and lived another three years after that. Strokes are caused when an obstruction (usually a blood clot) interferes with the blood supply to a part of the brain. It's usual for the head to be tilted, the dog to walk in circles and for the eyes to flicker. All these symptoms should decrease as the condition improves but in some cases they don't disappear completely. Strokes in dogs are not quite the same as strokes in humans. As your dog is already seeing a vet for his epilepsy, why not have a chat with him/her about it - the more you know the more you can help your dog. I hope he improves soon. Also, google in strokes in dogs and there are lots of sites to help you.

[LoftyLottie]

Our old dog had a stroke when she was 12 and I really thought she would never recover. Within a week she was back to normal, but was left with just a tilted head and one eye that looked slightly odd. Bless her, she carried on until she was 15 having a really good, active life until another stroke carried her off. As Carmalee says strokes in dogs are not quite the same as human strokes.