Minature Schnaeuzer with stroke and diabetes

[B&B]

Please help . Any information would be appreciated. We have a Schnaeuzer who was diagnosed with diabetis about 1 year ago. She is well controlled on her insulin. 2 days ago we took her to the vet for what we thought would be a routine dental cleaning ( her first ever). We received a call from her vet telling us that she collapsed when he was getting ready to give her the anestetic. Her blood sugar us low and they gave her fluids to correct the low blood sugar. We thought that she would be ok, she started to come around and try to get up. She stayed at the vets until later that day, when I picked her up she could not stand , We decided to take her home because we still thought it was blood sugar related. I ended up taking her back a short time later because all she would do was whine and pant rapidly. Her vet met me at their office and we decided she should spend the night to keep a close watch on her. The next day there was no improvement even though her blood sugar was back down in to her normal range. They are now saying it was a stroke. There has been some improvement in her condition and we now have her at home but very little information is available about strokes in dogs. Please help we feel helpless and want to do what is right for our pet.

[critters]

Strokes can happen, but it sounds like your baby is doing well. What is she doing now? Still panting? Walking? Can you give more info?

[B&B]

Hi Our baby is starting to slowly improve. She is now trying to get up on her own, but is still very unsteady and has a hard time using her right side. We are focusing on the fact that she is in good spirts ie waggs tail when you tlak to her, she is eating and drinking good and by suporting her she can stand to go pee. Our vet is very supporative and feels that with time she will get back most of her function. It is just so hard to see her struggle.

[critters]

Do you know about walking aids?

It's SO good to hear about a supportive vet; so many aren't. Look at it this way--a human with a stroke has to struggle too, so it's normal. Critters, however, don't spend time throwing pity parties, so they tend to recover MUCH faster.

[FYI]

http://dodgergallery.ourdogs.net/recovery/Pennys_sling

[B&B]

We just got back from my sisters house at the lake. Nena loves to play in the water and we thought she might feel more steady trying to walk in the water. She loved it and really tried hard to keep her balance. We are very encouraged with her progress so far. We are hoping that she will be able to regain enough control to walk about on her own. But if she needs a walking assist we will difinetly look into one. After all she is a very special member of our family and deserves all the care we can give her. Thanks for replying. It helps to write to another about what is going on with Nena.[/list]

[FYI]

http://members.rushmore.com/~dds/Inform ... herapy.htm

http://www.abledogs.net/poppy.html

http://www.dodgerslist.com/lit/Water%20Therapy.htm

[B&B]

Thanks for the websites about water therapy. They have given me ideas that I will use with Nena. She loves the water so it should be easy to get her in the tub. Thanks again. She seems to be getting stronger each day. More tail wags and she tries to get up on her own. Hope the progress continues.

[nesikay1]

Our dog had a stroke on Saturday and the vet is having us see if she gets better. Any suggestions on what we can do to help her recover.

[CarolC]

Here is some information on physical therapy.

https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Physical_therapy_for_paralysis

This is a really cute website describing how to do swim therapy at home

http://www.abledogs.net/poppy.html

Is your dog affected in all 4 legs, or 2 legs, or more on one side? Can you describe what she can and can't do right now? Does she have bladder control?