I’ll pray for you and the puppy. I know what it’s like to feel completely broken.
Why does the vet want to refer you to a dog neurologist? IF it’s a concussion, there’s not much that can be done either for humans or dogs; it just has to heal on its own over a period of months. If there’s a brain bleed, there’s not much that can be done for dogs, since brain surgery is probably not going to happen. So I wonder what a dog neurologist could offer. Did the vet say?
Try to give it to God, dear Salamander. I know, talk is cheap and it’s easy to say that, but I’ve been there. Sometimes all you can do is ask God for the strength to face life, just for this day.
I have no idea.
maybe because they don’t know what it is but it ‘looks neurological’, sort of?
I just don’t know what’s going on with her and frankly, for her sake, I’m terrified to try and wait out something in case time is an issue.
This poor little dog was SO damaged as a baby, there’s no real way of telling what’s going on in her.
Sometimes I wonder if I did wrong by keeping her from dying in the first place.
I’d *think* if was God’s will she died back then, she would’ve, no matter what.
I ~thought~ it was God’s will that she survived all that.
I guess I have to see what He’s got planned for her this time.
Partly, I’m broken because I go so far overboard taking care of my dogs that theoretically, they should never get sick or die and I keep wondering what did I “miss” or not do right.
“What more could I have done?” is always in my mind.
I'm going through an issue with my 7 year old Labradoodle and just had him at the Vet/Neurologist for some tests. Long story very short: we thought our beloved "Teddy" had a stroke. Neurological tests on dogs are pretty similar to that on humans: test automatic reflexes.
In Teddy's case, it meant putting him on his back and testing which way his paws pointed once they were turned/manipulated by the Vet/Neurologist, then doing the same with him standing.
Results of the test would indicate neurological (brain) damage if the dog had really hit his head hard or had an issue with not enough brain fluid cushioning the brain, and the brain being inflamed causing pressure.
One very quick way to see if this might be an issue (which happens in dogs that are inbred or a family line that's over-bred) is to feel the skull cap on the dog. That's the pointy portion of the skull towards the back of their heads. (Humans have a skull cap on the back, indicated by the "point.")
In dogs, a smaller skullcap indicates a few things:
1. Over-breeding;
2. Potential for brain inflammation;
3. Potential for epilepsy
One of my old dogs was a Golden Retriever. (His name was Sanford, we lovingly called him "Bonehead".) When he turned @ 2 years old, we discovered he had epilepsy. I would drive two hours one-way twice a year with Bonehead for his twice-yearly checkups with a specialist who put him on several epilepsy medications. Part of that checkup was his brainwaves were checked twice a year. (I forget what that test was called.) The Vet who treated him for his epilepsy is the one who told me about the skullcap on dogs and what a smaller skullcap meant. Yep, Bonehead had a very small skullcap. The lack of brain fluid would cause his brain to "short circuit" (the epileptic fit) once in awhile. After the fit was over, Bonehead would be fine. Untreated, those fits would've lead to brain damage and ultimately death. The medication we had him on reduced the frequency and intensity of the seizures, but never quite made them go away.
We had just over 7 good years with Bonehead before he passed. Still miss him.
Back to the original point of my post: It sure sounds like a trip to a Vet/Neurologist for some basic tests is in order. If cash is an issue, check with a local no-kill shelter to see if they can provide a name of a local Vet/Neurologist who can help at reduced cost. No-Kill shelters typically use those resources.