The dog lost consciousness: reasons and what to do

Sudden loss of consciousness, or fainting, can threaten not only a person. Animals also faint, and there can be quite a few reasons for this. In any situation, fainting in a dog is a threatening condition that requires a mandatory visit to the veterinary clinic. It can be an indicator of serious ill health of the animal, which in a neglected state can even cause its death.

If the dog repeatedly loses consciousness, a visit to the veterinarian or even inviting him to your home if the dog is in serious condition is an urgently necessary and vital action.

Fainting in a dog is most often caused by a cerebrovascular accident. But it can have many causes, caused by diseases or various conditions.

Causes of fainting

A dog faints for a variety of reasons. Some of them may be caused by external factors:

Overheating, heatstroke or sunstroke. Our smaller brothers, just like us, are exposed to high temperatures and direct sunlight. An animal can overheat not only on the beach, but also in its own home if it is very hot and stuffy. Dark-colored shaggy dogs especially suffer from heatstroke, but sunstroke and even burns can happen to any dog if it is kept under the scorching rays for a long time. Chinese Cresteds and other “hairless” and short-haired dogs can even get very sunburned, so they need to be protected from the sun in every possible way.
Hypothermia. Extreme cold or a sudden transition from a very high temperature to a very low one can provoke a spasm of the blood vessels in the brain, which will lead to fainting.
Stress. Fright and nervous shock can cause the dog to suddenly lose consciousness.

Fainting may have other causes related to diseases or disorders of the internal organs:

Shock after injury, getting into an accident.
Large blood loss.
Vascular spasms caused by a sudden change in body position.
Falling blood glucose levels. A hungry dog, especially one who does not get enough water, can easily pass out, especially in a stuffy room.
Respiratory diseases.
Various problems with the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Most often, fainting is caused by an attack of angina, tachycardia, bradycardia, or age-related disorders of the blood supply to the heart.
Old age in weak and emaciated animals.
Pregnancy, especially if it comes with complications.

The most dangerous are fainting caused by cardiovascular problems. They often lead to serious disorders in the body and can even cause the death of the dog.

Types of seizures

Why does your Yorkie tremble at home and stick out its tongue: reasons

It happens that a dog's fainting is accompanied by convulsions or they precede loss of consciousness. Some of them are not dangerous, others require immediate attention to a veterinarian.

The following types of seizures are distinguished:

convulsions. It is not always easy to notice them; the dog’s paws twitch slightly. In this case, the animal is usually conscious and responds to the owner’s voice;
tonic convulsions. Muscles contract after a certain period of time. The dog feels discomfort and even pain, so it may whine;
clonic convulsions. The muscles tense and then relax. The time interval between convulsions can vary: from 30 seconds. up to a couple of minutes. The dog has difficulty controlling its body at the moment of muscle tension and may fall on its side;
epileptic seizures. The pet's condition resembles a seizure. He cannot move, he is constantly tense. His body relaxes for only a few seconds, and then the muscles spasm again. He is unconscious, his eyes are rolling back. However, they are not necessarily closed. This condition is dangerous for the dog and requires medical attention.

Symptoms accompanying fainting

Sometimes symptoms of an impending condition appear long before the dog faints. Signs of a sharp deterioration in the dog’s health may include the following manifestations and conditions:

Nausea, vomiting not associated with direct food intake.
Weakness and lethargy of the animal. The dog may try to lie in a corner and avoid even human touch and not play.
Shallow rapid breathing.
Decreased body temperature. First of all, the extremities get cold.
Salivation.
Pallor, and sometimes even blueness of the mucous membranes.
Slowing heart rate.
Sometimes involuntary discharge of urine and feces is possible.

Since the causes of fainting are quite varied, it is best to show the dog to a doctor, especially if it is an elderly animal or suffers from various chronic diseases. Also, a mandatory examination by a veterinarian requires a pregnant or puppy dog to faint.

Possible consequences

Dog fainting should not be ignored. With the help of a doctor, you need to determine the cause in order to prevent the pet’s health problems from worsening. If you do not find out what causes loss of consciousness, then such cases may become more frequent. Your pet may be developing heart problems that can be prevented at an early stage. This will prolong the dog's life, and it will be happy for many years.

Note! In any case, when the animal is unconscious, oxygen does not reach its brain: for a puppy this can affect its development, but for an adult pet it can end extremely sadly.

A dog's health depends on careful care

Pet owners need to carefully monitor their health. After all, the quality and duration of their life depends on this. It is imperative to find out why the dog loses consciousness, especially if this happens more than once. You cannot self-medicate, trusting to chance. Only a veterinarian can find the factor that provoked fainting and help avoid this in the future.

Emergency assistance rules

Every pet owner should know exactly what to do if the dog loses consciousness. First aid is provided in several stages:

Remove all obstructive objects from the dog: leash, muzzle, harness or tight blanket that restricts breathing.
The animal must be placed in a convenient place, if possible, removed from the street if fainting occurs outside the home.
In case of frostbite or heatstroke or sunstroke, the dog should be brought into a warm room or placed in the shade, in a cool, well-ventilated place.
If the dog is cold, it needs to be warmed up as quickly as possible by wrapping it warmly or placing it on a heating pad. It is most convenient to use special self-heating salt heating pads.
The animal should be in a position with its hindquarters elevated to allow blood to flow to the brain.
An overheated dog needs a cold compress on its head, moisten its withers and face with water, and fan it with newspaper to increase the flow of cool fresh air.
If the dog is vomiting, you need to make sure there are no traces of vomit in the mouth and throat, and wipe the face with a soft, damp cloth.
When fainting, it is important to give your dog a drink of clean, fresh water if he is already able to lap on his own. While the animal is unconscious, you should not try to force it to drink; the dog may choke.
You can feed the dog only when it has fully recovered and can eat on its own. First, you need to give light, nutritious food that the dog can easily digest. Portions should be small.
When the animal recovers from a fainting state, it must be taken to a veterinary clinic, even if a loss of consciousness was observed in a young and healthy dog. Fainting may be the first symptom of a dangerous disease.

Giving medications, including heart medications, can be very dangerous for the dog's health. This can only be done if the dog has been suffering from heart disease for a long time, and medications are prescribed by its attending physician.

Calling a veterinarian to your home

Many clinics provide doctor-call services at home. If the animal is weakened and moving is a big stress for him, then it is better to take advantage of this opportunity.

Private veterinarians acting independently also work this way. It is advisable to contact them only by recommendation, so as not to run into incompetent specialists. If you have time, it is better to read reviews about organizations. Some of them may not be genuine, especially neutral comments without details or specifics.

Important! If a clinic has a lot of reviews describing its specialists without names and without revealing the problems that they solved, you should doubt the reliability.

On the websites of some clinics there are online consultants who will answer your questions and tell you whether you need to transport your dog or whether it is better to wait for the doctor at home.

Experienced doctors arrive with all the necessary instruments, the sterility of which cannot be doubted. It would be good if they had the opportunity to do an ultrasound at home and take a cardiogram.

After fainting, the dog immediately feels better

The cost of services depends on the list of procedures performed and the qualifications of doctors. So, when calling a specialist or a doctor with a Ph.D. title, you will have to pay more than for a standard examination.

Vestibular syndrome

Vestibular syndrome is caused by dysfunction of the inner ear. Because the symptoms come on suddenly, they are sometimes confused with stroke symptoms. Along with loss of balance and falling, signs may include tilting the head, walking in circles, vomiting, nausea and eye twitching from side to side, also known as nystagmus.

Treatment for vestibular syndrome depends on the cause. Many dogs need support for secondary symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and dehydration.

Diagnostics

It is important to provide your veterinarian with as much information as possible about the episode of syncope, this will help him/her differentiate seizures from syncope and determine the underlying cause. Since most episodes of fainting occur in the presence of the dog owner and not the veterinarian, it is important to pay attention to how the dog passes out. If possible, making a short video and showing it to your veterinarian can be a great way to help your pet.

Fainting is not a disease, but a syndrome; therefore, it is important to determine what is causing the attacks in order to adequately treat the patient. Diagnosis begins with a thorough physical examination and collection of the patient's medical history. Owners should tell the veterinarian about any medications the patient is taking.

The veterinarian will begin with a thorough physical examination to look for any abnormalities, especially in heart function. Careful auscultation will detect signs of cardiac disease such as murmurs, arrhythmias, pulse deficits, or signs of decreased cardiac output such as pale mucous membranes. If there are signs of cardiovascular disease, the following diagnostic test may be needed:

Electrocardiogram (ECG) to evaluate resting heart rate and rhythm.
Echocardiography to assess heart size and function
Complete hematology and serum biochemistry to evaluate for signs of decreased organ perfusion and/or other systemic disease.
Chest radiographs to determine signs of congestive heart failure.

Treatment

For therapy, drugs are used whose purpose is to reduce the activity of the cerebral cortex. Their action is designed to reduce the frequency of attacks, and then completely eliminate them.

Most often, drugs based on phenobarbital and potassium bromide are prescribed to control attacks. Medicines should be taken according to a clear schedule, on a daily basis.

The most commonly prescribed drugs for epilepsy are:

Phenytoin. An anticonvulsant, its feature is its rapid elimination from the animal’s body.
Primidon. It differs in the duration of exposure, the disadvantages are increased thirst and increased urination.
Finlepsin. Reduces the frequency of seizures.

Common to all drugs is their prescription starting with minimal doses, and gradually increasing to such volumes that the frequency of attacks is reduced to nothing.

Important! Self-prescription of anticonvulsants is unacceptable. Seek advice from a veterinarian so as not to harm the animal!

Dogs with epilepsy need a special diet. Experts recommend completely eliminating dry food, especially cheap brands.

The following foods should be excluded from your pug's diet:

salt;
You should absolutely not give smoked meats;
you should reduce the amount of protein consumed by limiting the amount of meat and fish;
completely eliminate raw fish and meat of any kind.

The diet should be based on products such as cottage cheese, milk, kefir and vegetables. A dog with epilepsy needs to take vitamin and mineral complexes containing magnesium, calcium and B vitamins.

Signs of loss of consciousness and examination of the animal

The examination is carried out in a quiet environment, minimizing distractions and patient agitation. The inspection is carried out complete and consistent. The study of pain sensitivity is carried out last, so as not to cause increased agitation in the patient.

Before touching the animal, observe its behavior and gait as it walks around the office. Reduced consciousness indicates damage to any part of the brain with the exception of the cerebellum. The lesion may be secondary to diseases outside the brain (eg, poisoning, metabolic diseases such as hypoglycemia). The animal may also experience decreased consciousness due to generalized illness or weakness. An animal may be alive, with normal consciousness, but it may have disturbed behavior (for example, outbursts of aggression or hysteria may be caused by psychomotor seizures, the foci of which arise in the cerebral cortex).

Gait and movement assessment:

whether the animal can walk normally or has ataxia, weakness, or is an immobile patient;
ataxia - a lack of coordination caused by a violation of proprioception (the animal does not understand where its paws are relative to its body);
weakening of voluntary movements is called paresis. The absence of voluntary movements is called paralysis. Weakness is caused by damage to the brain stem, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, or neuromuscular junction;
Tremors are involuntary muscle contractions. It can occur at rest or only when the animal moves (intention tremor, tremor associated with movements, indicates damage to the cerebellum);
myoclonus - repeated contractions of a muscle group;
fasciculation - small localized involuntary muscle contractions visible under the skin. They represent a spontaneous contraction of fibers innervated by a single branch of the motor nerve;
tilt of the head - noticeable by the fact that the ear looks down. An animal whose ear hangs on the left side has its head tilted to the left. Head tilt may indicate central or peripheral vestibular disease or a foreign body in the ear;
posture with widely spaced limbs (i.e., pelvic limbs set back). This position may indicate weakness or ataxia.

Depending on the location of the lesion, the animal may have lower or upper motor neuron impairment and lack deep pain sensitivity. Signs may disappear and the animal may recover, but overall the prognosis is cautious. Check the pupillary reflex (direct) and the friendly reaction of the pupils. If the direct PV is normal in both eyes, there is no need to check the conjugal reaction of the pupils.

Fainting in dogs occurs suddenly. This is their main difference from status epilepticus, which is preceded by a prodromal period, as well as a recovery period. When a pet faints, it quickly regains consciousness, and no convulsions or tremors are observed.

Often additional research may be required. A laboratory blood test is often not helpful, although low sugar levels and acid-base imbalance can be detected. Since in most cases damage to the cardiovascular system is detected in dogs, an electrocardiogram is performed. An encephalogram and echocardiogram may also be required.

Stroke

Strokes in dogs are quite rare. But they happen. A stroke can be caused by many things, including blood clots, hemorrhages, head injuries, high blood pressure, kidney disease and even migrating worms. Symptoms of stroke in dogs include loss of balance, head tilt, spinning, falling and loss of vision.

Treatment for stroke involves treating the underlying problem and preventing additional strokes. This also includes treatment for the consequences of a stroke.

What it is?

Epilepsy is a disease of the central nervous system, which is characterized by a paroxysmal course and periodic seizures in an animal, which are often accompanied by convulsions.

As a rule, this disease does not pose a mortal threat to pugs, but the quality of life is greatly reduced. An attack can begin at any moment; it is almost impossible to predict when and for what reason it will happen.

There is an opinion that epilepsy develops due to a pathology of the body's bioelectrical system, in which cells of the brain and nervous system are affected due to increased electrical activity.

During seizures, which can be accompanied by convulsions of varying strength, a group of neurons in one part of the brain loses electrical stability. This leads to a powerful discharge that affects surrounding cells and prevents them from functioning normally.

Kinds

There are two types of disease.

True (idiopathic, primary) epilepsy. The reason for its appearance is currently unknown. Scientists suggest that this type of disease is caused by genetic disorders in the animal's body.

The first seizure in a pug with true epilepsy can occur between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. At first, seizures may appear once a year or even less frequently, but over time, in the absence of proper treatment, the frequency of seizures increases and turns into status epilepticus, in which seizures occur almost continuously.

There is no method by which individuals with disorders can be identified in advance. Experts believe that the likelihood of developing primary epilepsy increases significantly when closely related individuals are crossed.

Secondary epilepsy. In this case, the cause of the pug’s seizures can be determined; it occurs due to the influence of various factors that affect the cells of the central nervous system.

It is generally accepted that epilepsy is a genetically determined disease, which is especially common in small breeds of dogs, the special characteristics of which were fixed through inbreeding. Pugs are also at risk.

The main cause of epilepsy is brain dysfunction.

Secondary causes are not associated with pathologies of the nervous system; they arise due to exposure to a variety of environmental factors:

Head injuries, including those received at birth.
Thrombosis.
Neoplasms of the brain.
Infectious diseases that affect cells of the central nervous system (for example, tick-borne encephalitis and plague).
Intoxication of the body caused by the ingestion of poisons, heavy metals and other toxic compounds.
Various diseases of organs and body systems (for example, diabetes, kidney and liver diseases, disorders of the endocrine system, etc.).
Parasitosis, the presence of intestinal parasites and some types of helminths.
Metabolic disorders that develop over the years (for example, heart rhythm disturbances, acquired calcium deficiency, cirrhosis).
Long-term malnutrition and disturbances in the digestive system, deficiency of vitamins and mineral salts.
Prolonged nervous overstrain, stress, nervous exhaustion.

In pugs from one to three years of age, seizures are most often caused by genetic disorders. Dogs over four years of age are more susceptible to attacks caused by metabolic factors.