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Hydrocephalus in Chihuahuas

Hydrocephalus in chihuahuas, or "water on the brain", is a very serious condition. Many toy breeds, including the chihuahua are prone to Hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus in chihuahuas can be fatal, but not not always.

Hydrocephalus is a buildup of fluid in the brain cavity. There are many genetic and non genetic factors that can cause it. Hydrocephalus is usually diagnosed when the chihuahua is a puppy. Chihuahuas with severe hydrocephalus usually die stillborn, or if born live will die shortly. But chihuahuas with mild hydrocephalus can live normal lives, into adulthood with help of medication.

Symptoms of hydrocephalus in chihuahuas:
  • Unusually large head
  • Patchy skull, not solid bone (large or multiple moleras)
  • Lethargic
  • Not growing at normal rate
  • East-West Eyes (eyeballs looking outwards, opposite of cross-eyed)
  • Seizures
  • Difficulty walking, running, learning
Unfortunately, there is no cure for hydrocephalus in chihuahuas, and the prognosis is usually grim. Usually, euthanasia is recommended for chihuahuas with hydrocephalus. In some cases, surgery can be done to insert a shunt into the chihuahua's brain to relieve some of the pressure. But the surgery can be expensive. In other cases, chihuahuas with hydrocephalus are given the medications Prednisone and Lasix to manage the disease.

Hydrocephalus in chihuahuas can and should be diagnosed by a veterinarian. Please consult a veterinarian that is knowledgeable about chihuahuas. I say this because chihuahuas are often born with moleras (soft spots) on their head, which is considered a trait of the breed, NOT A DEFECT. Some veterinarians that are not that familiar with chihuahuas mistake the molera for hydrocephalus.

If your chihuahua is exhibiting symptoms of hydrocephalus, PLEASE see a chihuahua knowledgeable veterinarian as soon as possible!

UPDATE: 2/6/2011 - Please note that hydrocephalus in chihuahuas does not mean an automatic death sentence. Per one of our readers, she has a chihuahua with this ailment and the chihuahua is happy and healthy. It should be taken on a case by case basis. Thanks Catlin!

Hi, I am a veterinary student and owner of a 1 year old chihuahua with severe hydrocephalus.  I saw how you have information stating that they are in pain and should be put to sleep.  I think that each dog needs to be assessed individually. My chihuahua Little Johnny looks like he has a very severe case, but he is fully litter box trained (not 1 accident in a year), runs, plays with other chihuahuas, and performs multiple tricks for food every day!  I know he could take a turn for the worse at any time, but right now he has such a strong will to live and he is soo happy!  I just don't think it is right to classify all dogs with hydrocephalus into this category and it should be up to the veterinarian assessing the severity.  Also, nobody can say they are in pain...My dog does not act like he is in any pain at all.   Actually he had an episode a few months ago where the fluid drained out his nose and he was miserable until he went back to being a "bubble head."   I have videos on youtube keywords little johnny chihuahua hydrocephalus and you can clearly tell he acts like a normal happy pup.
Sorry for the lengthy response, I just want to offer hope to others with dogs in this condition, and not give them all a death sentence.
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8 comments:

  1. Thank you for that hope! We have a month old puppie that we have just discovered this is what she has. We love her anyway and will keep her and care for her until she passes away.
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  2. My 8 wk old chihuahua puppy just had to be put down because she was very ill.. She was diagnosed as having a very severe case of hydrocephalus. She was very very tiny and wasn't growing adequately. I'm so very sad that she had to be put down. She was obviously in pain and was crying and couldn't walk and couldn't function properly. =(
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  3. my chihuahua was born june 6,2006 with severe hydrocephalus my local vet told me to put her to sleep without even giving her a chance so had a second opinion they also so told me to put her to sleep cause they did not have the know how to deal with her situation and referred me to a wonderful specialist from out of state.so i took her there and she got her second chance had the surgery to have a shunt put in she was 3 months old.the surgery is very costly but she was well worth it! shes done wonderful ever sense. yes she is different then most dogs..she a little slow..walks a little different and is odd and may not hold her bladder as well as most dogs...but she functions as normal as can be..she goes for walks...plays...eats very well.. and loves her baths and to be held...so all hope is never lost.she will be turning 5 years in june of 2011
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  4. I adopted an 8 year old male chihuahua from the shelter only to find out he has hydrocephalus. After numerous vet visits, I decided to ask the shelter if they could do a CAT scan. Unfortunately, they would not. They said their vet was for low income families and that my husband made to much money. Their advice was to put him to sleep since he was having seizures. But I felt he deserved a second chance. So my vet finally got a CAT scan machine and I used my savings to have it done. After confirming he had hydrocephalus, we started working on treatment options. Luckily for me, my vet was wonderful and did everything possible to help. Now, 3 years later my little baby is going strong and has only had 2 seizures in 2 years! Yes he is different from other dogs but to us he is perfect. So if your dog has hydrocephalus, DO NOT give up hope. He takes keppra every 8 hours to prevent seizures and prednisone.
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  5. My chihuahua, Mia, gave birth to one puppy on June 13th, 2011. We noticed when the puppy was born that she had a bump on her head that looked kind of like a pipple. We held it off and said it would probably go away. We continued to care for the puppy and her mother breast fed her till she was four or five weeks, then we began weening. We noticed that the bump was slightly growing though and her eyes were casted down. Other than that she was a lively puppy and did all the normal puppy stuff she enjoyed. At six weeks she was already prouncing aroung and stumbling and playing with things and barking like a normal puppy. We went to go take all of our dogs to get their shots when she was around seven or eight weeks at a pet store. The vets or vet assistants insisted on giving her her shots and a dewormer and pointed out the bump. "Spinal fluid", they said it might had been. They said to wait until she was a year until we could tell what it was. That was coming from an assistant though. For the next two days the mother was doing this STRANGE thing and licking inside the puppies mouth. I tried to discourage her from doing it but every once in a while she'd still do it.

    TWO DAYS LATER, our poor eighth week old puppy Milo died mysteriously in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep. We were all astonished and heart-broken. We realized that the vet had messed up on her birthday and put two months earlier. We called the animal hospital up and they said that the shots didn't do it. We mentioned the bump on her head and the vets said it may have been water in the brain, a severe case of hydrocephalus. It was confusing though.

    We are still stuck on what had killed her.
    It could have been the shots, the dewormer, her own mother, or hydrocephalus. If anyone has any thoughts please comment back and it will help.



    Now that I am researching about hydrocephalus I'm realizing that I think this is what my other chihuahua, Tiny, has. The vet never made it clear what it was. Tiny had been suffering from seizures since he was a one years old. The person in whom we bought him from paid for his treatment. He is now seven years old and does not suffer from seizures anymore. He's still clumsy and lethargic but he is the sweetest dog I've had. I think he'll like a full life.
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  6. I know this answer is very late but just read your post and felt the need to respond. Sounds like your baby might have been a waterhead. However, it is very doubtful that was the cause if death. More than likely the shots recieved were the cause. It is very common to lose a pup within 24 hours of recieving their vaccines for 2 reasons. #1 is they usually dont feel well and dont eat enough to maintain their blood sugar. They have to be hand fed every 4 hours for at least 1 day. #2. If it was the standard 5in1 vaccine that contains the leptospirosis antibody and that is deadly to young chihuahuas!! Never ever allow this vaccine in any chihuahua. I have been breeding for 30 years. If i can be of any help just ask.
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  7. My sweet hyper angel is appropriately named Fidgette because she is so active & playful she can hardly sit still. She was born with hydrocephalus & my Vet said sshe was blind & wouldn't live past 6 month, if I was lucky. She isn't blind. She was so very tiny & still is, she weighs 3.5 lb and is about the size of a 2 or 3 month old but she is coming up on her 2nd birthday. She has a few seizures every 3 to 4 months which I think are caused by fluid build up and I treat her with steroids when it happens. The Vet said there was no need for regular medication. She is the most loving dog I have ever known. If I had put her to sleep I'd never have known the love she gives. Like they say, better to have been loved and lost it than to have never been loved at all! If I lose her tomorrow I will cherish the loving memories she gave me. I had to take over her feeding when she was 3 days old because she couldn't get enough milk nursing on her own, I almost lost her but noticed she was getting weak. she did very good when I started fseeding her. Only a cold hearted person would give up before even trying to save them. I would adopt another in a heart beat even if the condition was severe. Good luck all of you and have hope. Give them lots of love and TLC.
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  8. My sweet litle chihuahua (Fanny) came to our family seven years ago. We noticed that she has a soft spot on her head from the time she was born. I had asked her Vet about it and he said that is typical in chihuahua. She was vibrant and acted like a normal puppy. She under went the normal vacinations in smal doses for a few months until she had completed them. Sonn after she had waht we consider a "spell" she became lathargic and actually passed out and si I tiik her to the vet and they examined her and gave her some fluids and had no idea waht was going on with her. She is now seven and through the years occassionally she would have these spells. One week ago she started to yipe and act in pain and could not determine where she was hurting because it was sporatic. I just took her to the vet and she didn't display any discomfort while we were there and he didn't feel at that time that we needed to put her through any testing because she appeared completely healthy and sent home some pain pills for her which seem to help.

    I just read the above articles and think she may actually have hydrocephalus that was never diagnosed. I will speak to my vet about this and see waht can be done however I am worried that if she does have this condition waht will her prognosis be and is it too late to treat this. She is still very alert but is laying around alot and ocossaionally is in pain by yiping out. Please give me any advice as to what step I should take if she is diagnosed with this disease.
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