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My dog had a stroke, now better. Misdiagnosis or blood clot?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

My dog was diagnosed as having a stroke by an emergency vet last nite because he couldnt walk properly on his left front paw they wanted to put him down but we said we wanted to see how he went on some pain killers and fluid today he seems ok nd hasn't needed pain releif could it have been a mis diagnosis?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 9th, 2016

It is not possible to say whether that was a misdiagnosis without a hands on exam of your dog. It is possible that your dog had a blood clot that caused the sudden lameness. You will need to monitor your dog closely, as such clots can move within the blood vessels and cause further damage. At the first sign of breathing trouble, lameness or obvious pain, your dog needs to be seen by a veterinarian. Treatment depends on severity and extent of the damage. You may also want to consult with your regular veterinarian whether he recommends an ultrasound of the heart (heart disease often is a source of an embolus/blood clot) and whether it may make sense to put your dog on some anticoagulation medicine.

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Depending on how severe the stroke was and were, in the central nervous system, the stroke was located recovery is usually possible indeed. A very characteristic feature of stroke (or better defined as transient ischemic attack if signs last less 24 hours) is that there is a marked improvement of clinical signs in the first 48hours. Often complete resolution is seen in the following weeks. I think the clinical improvement that your dog experienced actually confirmed the diagnosis.

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