Chihuahua puppy head trauma

Hi, I hope someone can help...

My puppy is 11 weeks old, she is a chihuahua, and she was the runt, she weighs 2 pounds. My 4 yrs old daughter was holding her on her bed, and the puppy jumped from her arms, she feel onto the floor, but first hit her head on the metal bed frame, and our floor is in a basement, so it is concretewith hard tile on top, very hard floor! When this happened my daughter brought her to me she was limp, her head to the side, feet in the air with her eyes rolled to the back of her head, she was unconcious, I thought she was dead.

I took her and felt a pulse, but it was very low, I started pressing with my thumb on her chest to keep the rythym up, and spoke to her in a calm voice to keep her with me. I thought she broke her neck, my daughter was very upset and couldnt tell me exactly what happened at the time, just said she flew and hit the bed. Apparently she hit her head on the frame on the way down. I took her immediatly to the vet hospital, they said she had a major head trauma, her eyes were non responsive, and they could not doa cat scan like a human, so did not know if she had swelling of the brain or bleeding in her brain....

They gave her the Dexamethasone steroid, as well as the Buprenex pain medication. They said her blood pressure was low, which i just researched and found out that is a side effect of the pain meds they gave her, and they said her blood sugar was very high, around the 400's and is supposed to be in the 100's and her body temp was very low, so I have her on hot water balloons... they told me she may die. and had a concusion as well as major head trauma...

I fed her soft food, she ate 2 small bowls, she wont drink water, has not went to the bathroom, and when I stood her up to try to goto the bathroom, she was wobbly, and leans to the right side, which is where you can see and feel a lump on the very back of her head into her neck. Her head wobbled in circles for a few seconds, then she shook her head and fell over, so I put her back in her bed with the blankets and warmth...

I want to know if she is going to be like this from now on, or if this is maybe because of the narcotic pain meds she is on? and if she does have a brain injury does this mean she will be affected forever? and will she be retarted? Has anyone experienced this? if so what was the outcome?...thank you all so much for your help in advance!!!!

Heather...p.s. pray for my little lady please

[ursparry]

hey dont worry god will save her i dnt know anything and never heard about that but please lemme know if she is doin good this is really painful i can feel sitting here i ll pray for her

[keli4nia]

I had a yorkie (who was at the time a pup and weighing only 2 lbs) when my niece dropped him and he smacked his skull against the corner of a solid mahogany table, then hit the floor.  His symptoms were quite similar to what you are describing.

He was also diagnosed with acute major brain trauma and prescribed anti-convulsive meds, anti-inflammatory meds, and steroids.  Because of the severity of the trauma, his immune system was compromised. Evidently, this was a result of the brain's inability to tell the body to fight off infection.  However, within days of the incident, he returned to his normal, perky, spunky self.  I must say, however, he did fight kidney stones and demodex throughout the course of his life.  But his beautiful personality and loving spirit were never altered, and to this day, I can tell u that he was the love of my life, and that of my family's.

His brain, however, did not fully recover and was subsequently a bit more fragile as a result of the incident.  In January, my husband was holding him and he wiggled and fell approx 3 feet to the hardwood floor.  His neck was broken instantly.  He was almost 9 years old.

So yes, your dog will probably live a very long and happy life, but please be as careful as possible and do not let others hold your baby.  It only takes a moment to destroy such a small and fragile creature.

As a side note, my husband was so destroyed my by depression and profound sense of loss that he bought me a yorkie pup for Valentine's day.  He is soooooo small.  Less than 2 lbs.  Yesterday afternoon, he was playing with my Brussels puppy and hit his head only an inch from the floor.  Had a major seizure and was fixed and dilated with his tongue hanging out for what seemed like forever, but was truly only a matter of moments.  Spent the night in the hospital, no neurological damage, and seems to be fully recovered.  The doc says just don't let him get too playful for the next week because even a slight bump could kill him.  Easier said than done...especially with a pre-planned vacation coming.  So he is now going with us.  Better safe than sorry.

Just watch your pup, and if you notice his eyes not responding well to light or that he is clumsy, uncoordinated or changes in normal behavior, get him back to the vet.  And please, be careful.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

wow so sorry for your fur-baby. my question is would you let your 4 year old daughter hold a 2 pd baby?  they are babies and should be treated as one to small for a 4 year old to hold, now that baby has to pay the price. so sad.