Something is terribly wrong with my dog and my vet won't see him till tomorrow. It apparently is not an emergency because he is eating and drinking, and acting his foolish crazy self. Problem is that as of this evening is eyelids and lower lids are drooping and he his face is twitching here and there. He does not seem to be in pain but he looks different, even his posture is different. It is so hard to explain, his face actually looks different. Vet said I can take him to the emergency vet place, but you are looking at a minimum $750 charge. So I am taking a chance and hoping there is a Vet mama on here who can calm my fears. Either way looks like I'll be up all night watching him :(
He is 3 years old. An otherwise healthy dog. Stoke was my 1st thought too, but the vet on the phone said it was unlikely as he was still up and about.
Thanks for all your concern and advice. He went to the vet this morning and his face was already looking better. They think he must of ate a poisonous mushroom and it caused temporary facial paralysis. His heart rate and other things are all good so what ever it was is working it's way out of his system. Just glad he is ok.
Not a vet, but I had something similar happen to my dog after he was stung several times in the face, above his eyes, by bees.
How old is thedog? I amnot a vet but it sounds like a stroke.
I am actually an emergency vet and I can't really say what is happening without seeing him. You may want to consider taking him to the ER practice in your area, though I am not sure where the $750 charge comes from. The emergency exam fee where I work is $85 (some places is higher) - if we have to do anything additional (bloodwork, medications, etc.) we give an estimate and let the owner decide from there. If he is just having an allergic reaction, they may just give him some meds and go from there. Or he might have a neurologic condition called Horner's Syndrome (you can get probably get information on it on AAHA's website) Either way, I would take him in and see what the vet has to say, if for nothing more than your peace of mind.
My friend has been in a vet tech for several years and is almost done with veterinary college. His dog has something similar, in which the muscle tone of the face atrophies and it changes the facial structure a lot.
It could be anything, from an allergic reaction to a bug bite (that happened to my dog, her eyes swelled and lids drooped as well) or a mild stroke.
Let us all know what happened!
Long story... so I'll skip it. But during lengthy conversations with our vet, it was explained to me that there is a long nerve that runs the length of the dog's head. The facial nerve, which is interconnected with the vestibular nerve (balance/coordination) I believe...
Anyway, it runs all the way from the back (like their ears) down their jaw and includes the eyes and lips. And it can swell with ear infections, I think, too.
Our dog suffered "something" happening to her (we will never know exactly what), but her eye swelled out until the 3rd eyelid was puffed out of her eye and was filled with blood. She couldn't even close her eye. She started having cluster seizures... and a whole realm of other problems all at once. Once she began to recover (after a long weekend in the hospital), she still had a very slight droop of the lips on the upper and lower lip on one side. I couldn't see it until the vet pointed it out to me, it was that slight. You actually had to look from one side of her face to the other a few times to notice that one side just didn't "rise" as much as the other.
(she is fine now, btw)
So what you describe sounds very much like a nerve issue. Could your dog have had some sort of trauma (something fell on him, or he knocked something over or ran into something?) that might cause some swelling pinching that nerve? You might try giving him some anti-inflammatory medicine, but be sure you check what variety to give, for safety. Either ibuprofen or acetaminophen is dangerous for dogs, and I can't recall which one it is. OOps.. my bad. They are BOTH bad for dogs. Don't do that!
Take him in to the vet first thing in the morning.
Probably some kind of allergic reaction. A little benadryl (weight based) could help.
I'm not a vet either but it sounds like a stroke. You could call here and ask them http://www.vcahospitals.com/boston-road I know your not in ma but I don't think it would be too bad of a drive or is there a tufts near you. you could at least call them and see what advice they have.
Edited: the eye drooping and face twitching were also symptoms that my friend's daughter had before being diagnosed with lyme disease just another thing to consider. They can do a rapid test (you will get the results in a few minutes) on a dog.
It could be stroke, but like the vet said, if it was, I wouldn't expect he'd be his normal goofy self. Sounds like it could be a nerve injury. I'm not a vet, but I've spent way too much time at the emergency vet myself, so I know where you're coming from! Let us know how your 4-legged kiddo is tomorow!
Is this on both sides? It could be a stroke or some sort of nerve damage. Our old lab/beagle mix jumped off a 3 ft wall and suddenly one side (eye, face and ear) was drooping. It was diagnosed as Horner's syndrome which is caused by nerve damage. He's pretty much recovered now. I initially thought it was a stroke too. Anyway, try to think of anything that happened previous to this coming on to give the Vet some clues. Has he eaten well today? Could he have done something physically to harm himself, My dog has jumped off that wall a number of times, he's just getting old and shouldn't do it.... Is he panting? Is he drinking more than he normally does. Does his eyesight and hearing seem to be okay? Anything you can think of to note. Take care and hope all is turns out okay for you and your dog!
i am not a vet but my dog did the same thing after she has seizures. good luck
