Owning a dog comes with all sorts of concerns that you have to be wary of. You constantly need to be on the lookout for things like bloat, worms, blockages, etc. Something that gets less talked about in this regard but is equally important is head pressing.

Head pressing is a behavior found in more dogs than you might think, and vets warn that it is a sign you should never, ever ignore.

Head pressing is just what it sounds like.

A dog will move close to a wall, a couch, or other hard-surfaced furniture and point their nose to the ground as they press the top of their head firmly against it.

“It almost always signifies significant illness,” explains Petplan Pet Insurance’s resident health writer and veterinarian, Dr. Kim Smyth.

While there are many illnesses and injuries that could lead to head-pressing, none of them are ones you would want to leave unchecked.

Much of the time, this behavior is a direct result of brain damage as well as a pain response.

“This generally indicates damage to the nervous system, which may result from a number of causes, including prosencephalon disease (in which the forebrain and thalamus parts of the brain are damaged), and some types of toxic poisoning. This condition can affect dogs of any breed or age-range,” states PetMD.

According to Dr. Smyth, though the head pressing can be caused by many illnesses, it is most frequently a symptomatic behavior of dogs with hepatic encephalopathy.

“Many diseases can have head pressing as a clinical sign, but most often we associate it with hepatic encephalopathy, a condition that occurs in pets with liver disease. The liver is meant to remove toxins from the blood stream. When it doesn’t function properly, ammonia and other toxins build up and create this neurologic syndrome of head pressing. Many breeds are predisposed to liver shunts, a condition in which blood bypasses the liver. Head pressing is a common clinical sign in these pups because of the hepatic encephalopathy that occurs secondary to the liver shunt,” she said.

In addition to head pressing, there are other behaviors that can accompany it or point toward similar medical complications.

Major symptoms you should worry about when accompanying head pressing are:

• Uncontrollable pacing, often resulting in open sores on the pads of their paws
• Sight impairment
• Confusion or changes when performing a trained behavior
• Damaged or slower reflexes
• Seizures
• Jaundice
• Frequent urinating/always thirsty
• Rapid weight loss
• Mental fog, especially after eating
• and noticeable lethargy

Even if your dog doesn’t suffer from known liver issues, there are other complications that result in head pressing behavior as well.

These include:

• Brain Tumors
• Head trauma
• Contagious, inflammatory forms of encephalitis and meningitis
• Water on the brain (Hydrocephalus)

Taking your dog to the vet IMMEDIATELY when you notice them head pressing is imperative and could save their life.

Once you get your dog to the vet, they will get down to diagnosing the root cause of the issue. Frequent methods of diagnosis include in-depth eye exams, CT and MRI scans, and urine and blood analysis, among other things.

“One primary diagnostic procedure in cases of head pressing includes a fundic examination of the retina and other structures in the back of the eye, which may indicate infectious or inflammatory diseases, as well as irregularities in the brain. Other likely tests are blood pressure measurements to test for high blood pressure, and computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain. Your veterinarian will also include a urine analysis (which may reveal a problem with the metabolic system), and tests for blood lead concentration (which can indicate toxins in the system). You will need to give a thorough history of your dog’s health, the onset of symptoms, and possible incidents that might have preceded this condition,” continues PetMD.

The fact of the matter is that our dogs are like our children.

They are just as complicated to take care of sometimes. While many of the causes of head pressing mentioned aren’t always common, they do happen and they are indiscriminate about which dog they will affect.

Your dog might seem perfectly healthy, happy, and normal most days and still have an internal whirlwind of medical complications going on that you just can’t see. That’s why we owe it to ourselves and our furbabies to find the best veterinarian we can for them and go in for frequent checkups. It can save their life in the long run.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: PebMD/WetPaintLife