The Finley Initiative

Resources for Dog Lovers

Clear, well-researched information for pet parents facing canine stroke. Learn to spot the signs and help your dog recover at home.

Finley, the Border Collie behind The Finley Initiative, running.

If you think your dog is having a stroke, get to a veterinarian now. Do not wait to see if it passes. Call your regular veterinarian or the nearest emergency clinic.

Recognizing the Signs

What to Watch For, and What to Do

Most dog owners don't know that strokes and blood clots can happen in dogs too. The warning signs can look like other health problems.

Stroke (Cerebrovascular Accident)1–3

Stroke also happens in dogs, but it's not well understood and is often missed. Its signs can look like other brain conditions. Watch for:

  • Sudden head tilt
  • Circling
  • Loss of balance or coordination
  • Inability to stand or walk
  • Abnormal eye movements
  • Sudden vision loss
  • Confusion or altered awareness
  • Seizures
  • Weakness on one side of the body

Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)1–3

Blood clots can block circulation in dogs and cause a range of signs. A clot in the lungs and a clot in the legs look completely different, so both are listed here. Watch for:

  • Sudden or rapid difficulty breathing
  • Coughing, sometimes with blood
  • Bluish gums
  • Collapse or fainting
  • Lethargy or depression
  • Sudden or gradual weakness, dragging, or paralysis in the legs
  • Pain, often in the back legs
  • One or more legs that feel cold to the touch compared with the others
  • Weak or absent pulses

If your dog shows any of these signs, don't wait it out. Get to a vet.

Finley, the Border Collie, held upside down showing off his own head tilt.

Finley showing off his head tilt after a stroke.

Stroke signs in dogs come on suddenly. They can progressively worsen for the first day or two, because swelling builds around the damaged area after the stroke itself, before signs settle and start to improve. Stroke is often linked to another underlying illness. In a study of 125 dogs, the most common were high blood pressure and protein loss through the kidneys, followed by kidney disease, cancer, and clotting problems. In that same study, 93.6% of dogs survived to leave the hospital. In a smaller study of 22 dogs, about 77% were still alive 30 days after the stroke.1–5

Finley's Signs

The list above reflects the published literature. What follows is one dog: Finley, the Border Collie our founder Jordan Davis cares for, across three strokes and one close call. His strokes were diagnosed based on his symptoms by two veterinary neurologists. There was no MRI, because the imaging was out of financial reach. So these are not confirmed infarcts and not established clinical criteria. They are here because symptoms were all anyone had to go on, and because this is what a stroke actually looked like before it had a name. In Jordan Davis's words:

  • Episode 1 (August 2025): He skipped dinner the night before. The next morning, his eyes were darting side to side, and he could not stand. With assistance, he was walking in circles. A head tilt to one side followed.
  • Episode 2 (October 2025): It started with him being hesitant to walk, as if he could not see well. Then his eyes started darting side to side, and he lost control of all four legs. A head tilt to the side developed later. A few days later, he had four days of episodes that looked like seizures. Those were his TIAs, and when they started, his symptoms switched sides.
  • Episode 3 (January 2026): The same hesitant walk came first, like a vision problem. Then his right eye started darting up and down while his left eye stayed still and lost vision, and his left limbs stopped working. He already had a head tilt, but it became worse. He got some of that vision back within a couple of weeks, but never all of it.
  • Close call (last weekend of April 2026): He was hesitant to walk, acting very strange and confused, and refusing to potty even though he was outside and overdue. I recognized it early enough to step in. No stroke followed.

Every episode after the first one started the exact same way: a hesitancy to walk that looked like a vision problem before anything else showed up. That is two strokes and the close call, three of the four events listed here. It was easy to miss and easy to explain away. In the close call, I recognized the signs early enough to step in, and no stroke happened.

One dog is not evidence. If you see these in your own dog, treat them as a reason to call your vet, not as a diagnosis. Read Finley's full story →

A Stroke Is Not the Only Thing That Looks Like a Stroke1–3

Two other problems can look almost exactly like a stroke in a dog. Telling them apart matters, because what happens next is different for each.

Old dog vestibular disease. This is the most common cause of a sudden inner-ear balance problem in an older dog, and it gets more likely with age. A dog wakes up with a head tilt, eyes flicking side to side, stumbling or unable to stand, sometimes nauseous from the dizziness. It is frightening to watch and it looks like a stroke. But the trouble is in the balance organ of the inner ear rather than the brain. Most dogs improve over days to weeks, but a lasting head tilt is common and the signs can come back. Your vet still needs to see the dog, because the signs overlap with a real stroke.

Brain tumors. Meningioma is the most common brain tumor that starts in a dog's brain. These usually grow slowly, but bleeding into one, or swelling around it, can cause a sudden decline in a dog who seemed fine a few days earlier. Seizures are the most common first sign owners notice.

On the day it happens, all three can look the same. Imaging is what separates them, which is why sudden neurological signs are worth a scan rather than a wait-and-see.

Understanding Stroke & Blood Clots

What Happens During a Stroke and During a Blood Clot

A stroke and a blood clot are two versions of the same problem: blood is not reaching a part of the body that needs it. Where it happens is what changes the signs. In the brain, that is a stroke, and signs like a head tilt, circling, or weakness show up all at once instead of slowly getting worse. When a clot blocks the arteries to the back legs or the lungs, the signs are pain, weakness, or trouble breathing instead.

Stroke.1 When blood flow to part of the brain is cut off, or a vessel there bleeds, that is a stroke. There are two kinds.

Ischemic Stroke (Most Common)

A blood clot blocks a blood vessel that feeds the brain. This cuts off oxygen to that part of the brain. This is the most common type of stroke in dogs.

Hemorrhagic Stroke (Less Common)

A blood vessel in or around the brain breaks open and bleeds. This type is less common. It can happen after an injury, from a bleeding disorder, or from a tumor that bleeds.

Risk factors. Vets find an underlying health problem in about half of these dogs, most often kidney disease or Cushing's disease. High blood pressure and an underactive thyroid have also been linked to stroke in dogs.

Embolism.1–2 An embolism is a blood clot, or a piece of one, that breaks loose, travels through the bloodstream, and lodges somewhere else, blocking blood flow. Clots normally form to seal an injury and stop bleeding, but if one forms in the wrong place, or breaks free and travels where it shouldn't, it can block blood flow instead of helping. When that happens outside the brain, it is not a stroke. Two places it happens in dogs are the arteries to the back legs and the lungs.

Aortic Thromboembolism (Blocks Blood Flow to the Back Legs)

A clot gets stuck in the main artery leading to the back legs. This blocks blood flow to the hind end. Most dogs show signs in both back legs, but in some, only one leg is affected. In dogs, this usually happens gradually, not all at once. It causes weakness, dragging, or pain in the back leg or legs that builds up over time. You may also notice weak, absent, or cold-feeling pulses in the affected leg or legs.

Pulmonary Thromboembolism (Blocks Blood Flow to the Lungs)

A clot travels to the lungs and blocks blood flow there. This makes it hard for your dog to breathe. Signs include fast or heavy breathing, lethargy, coughing (sometimes with blood), bluish gums, collapse, shock, and in severe cases, sudden death.

Working With Your Vet

Make the Most of Every Appointment

A full workup helps your vet find the cause and catch problems early. At your appointment, ask about:

Make the Most of Every Appointment1–5

  • Senior bloodwork. A full panel, plus any additional tests based on what it finds.
  • A urinalysis. Run alongside the blood panel. It looks for protein in the urine, which is one of the conditions most often found alongside stroke in dogs.
  • Blood pressure. A measurement taken at the visit.
  • A referral to a specialist. Ask for a veterinary neurologist if a stroke is suspected. If a clot is suspected, two separate questions matter: where the clot ended up, and where it came from. A clot can form in the vessel where it sits, or it can travel there from somewhere else, most often the heart. A clot from the heart can lodge anywhere, including the aorta. Endocarditis, an infection on a heart valve, is a recognized source in dogs, along with heartworm, cancer, and hormone or organ disease. Clots that form in the aorta itself are most often linked to protein loss through the kidneys or to cancer. A cardiologist or an internal medicine specialist can work out which applies to your dog.
  • An echocardiogram, if a cardiac source is suspected. A heart ultrasound can find endocarditis or other structural heart disease that raises the risk of a clot forming and traveling to the aorta or elsewhere. It's not needed for every dog, but it matters when the referral above points toward the heart as the source.
  • An abdominal ultrasound. Since clots in the aorta are usually linked to protein loss through the kidneys or to cancer, this can often find the clot itself if it's sitting in the abdominal aorta, and checks the liver and kidneys for a cancer or organ-disease source at the same time.
  • Imaging. An MRI is the first-choice test for diagnosing a stroke, and the only reliable way to tell one apart from a tumor or brain inflammation. A CT scan is very good at spotting bleeding in the brain, so it can confirm a hemorrhagic stroke. It is much weaker at finding the clot-type stroke, especially in the first hours, when the changes can be subtle or not visible at all. A normal CT does not mean your dog did not have a stroke. Imaging is also expensive, often several thousand dollars for an MRI, and not every family can reach it. If that is your situation, say so plainly. A neurologist can still reach a working diagnosis from the signs and the timeline, which is what happened with Finley.

Keep a symptom log. Write down everything you see and when it started. Note whether it's getting better or worse. This timeline is one of the most helpful things you can bring to the appointment.

What to Expect Over Time1

Most dogs who make it home from a stroke go on to have good time left. The largest study of canine stroke followed 125 dogs for years afterward. Here is what it found.

  • Dogs lived a median of 708 days after the stroke. That is close to two years. This number counts every cause of death, not just stroke. In fact, most of the dogs who died, about 58%, died of something unrelated to the stroke.
  • Another illness alongside the stroke is worth taking seriously. Dogs with a second health problem lived a median of 482 days. Dogs without one lived 907 days. This study could not prove that gap was real rather than chance, and the authors said their numbers may have been too small to tell. An earlier study did find shorter survival in dogs with another illness. The authors also pointed out that the gap may have stayed small because those illnesses were found and treated. Either way, finding and treating them is the point.
  • About 1 in 5 dogs had another stroke. This happened in 24 of the 125 dogs, and it usually came much later, around 453 days after the first one.
  • Seizures that begin after a stroke are uncommon. About 7% of dogs developed epilepsy later on. Most of them had seizures rarely enough that they did not need daily medication.
  • Owners rated their dogs' quality of life highly. Of the owners who answered a follow-up survey, 10 out of 13 gave their dog the top score. Only owners of dogs who were still living could be asked, so this number leans positive.
Home Care & Recovery

Supporting Recovery at Home1–2

Small changes to your home and routine can make a big difference while your dog regains strength and confidence. Consider:

  • A supportive mobility harness. The Help ’Em Up Harness helps lift and support dogs that have trouble walking.
  • A canine physical therapist. Ask your vet to refer you to a certified dog rehab specialist. They can guide your dog's recovery exercises.
  • Veterinary acupuncture and electroacupuncture. Ask your vet about a referral to a certified veterinary acupuncturist. Both are worth asking about, and a practitioner can advise which suits your dog. Electroacupuncture adds a small electrical current to the needles, and it is the one with the most evidence behind it in dogs. In one controlled trial, dogs who got it alongside standard care walked again in about half the time. In another, dogs who got it recovered better than dogs who had surgery alone. Both studies looked at spinal disc injury rather than stroke, so this is a reason to ask, not a promise. Finley got the feeling back in his back feet during electroacupuncture.
  • A comfortable, quiet resting place away from foot traffic, where your dog can rest and recover undisturbed.
  • Traction on main walkways. Yoga mats or rugs on hard floors give paws better grip and reduce slipping.
  • New verbal cues. Simple commands like “step up” or “this way” can help a dog who is losing their vision.
  • Protective eyewear. Goggles can help protect dogs with poor vision from getting hurt. Why Finley wears goggles →
  • A consistent daily routine. Regular feeding, walking, and rest times help a confused or vision-impaired dog feel safe.

What Jordan Davis Does During a Close Call1

Finley's close call ended without a stroke. This is what Jordan does when she sees the early signs. It is not a treatment, it is not a substitute for veterinary care, and it is not a way to tell how serious the episode is. Only your vet can judge that. These are simply the steps she takes.

  1. Get him somewhere quiet and comfortable, and calm him down. Reducing stress and stimulation comes first, before anything else.
  2. Call your veterinarian or an emergency clinic. Do this even if your dog seems to settle. Looking better is not the same as being out of danger.
  3. If your dog has high blood pressure, work with your vet to get it controlled. Finley does. High blood pressure is the condition most often found alongside ischemic stroke in dogs, and managing it is part of trying to prevent the next one.

This box is one owner's routine, shared because it is what she does, not because it is a protocol.

A Note on Grief

If Things Don't Go the Way You Hoped

Grief does not only come after a loss. Watching your dog struggle, or worrying about what comes next, can bring on grief of its own. That is called anticipatory grief, and it is just as real as grief after a loss. A counselor who understands pet loss can help with either.

Have a Question?

Is There a Topic We Should Cover?

This page is just getting started. If there's something you wish you'd known earlier in your dog's recovery, let us know and we'll work on covering it.

General inquiries

info@caninestroke.org
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