| A stroke is not likely in this case. Both these problems could be caused by damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve - a nerve that actually branches off of the spinal cord in the chest region, and then runs up the neck to innervate parts of the throat and head. Trauma to the neck (even a hard jerk from a chain collar), local infection, degeneration of the nerve (there are a couple of polyneuropathies seen in Rottweilers), a tumor, these are all possibilities. The neurologist will be able to help pinpoint the cause. Horner's syndrome and laryngeal paralysis are both easily detected on a physical exam. The hard part is isolating the cause. |