Trigeminal neuritis in dogs (i.e. dropped jaw in dogs) affects a dog’s ability to use the jaw muscles to close the mouth. Integrative veterinarian Dr. Julie Buzby explains the signs, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis to help clear up some of the mystery surrounding this disease.
Some conditions in dogs have subtle symptoms, but trigeminal neuritis is not one of them. The signs come on suddenly and are quite dramatic. Dogs who develop trigeminal neuritis—also called trigeminal neuropathy, trigeminal neuralgia, or dropped jaw in dogs—cannot close their mouths.
Seeing your dog’s mouth hanging open can make your jaw drop in surprise. But as you will soon discover, the outlook for dogs with trigeminal neuritis isn’t nearly as dire at it may seem.
What is trigeminal neuritis in dogs?
Trigeminal neuritis in dogs is a condition where the trigeminal nerve, which controls the jaw muscles, becomes inflamed, leading to the dog being unable to move his or her jaw. As a result, the dog’s mouth hangs open. This explains why trigeminal neuritis is also called dropped jaw.
Overall, trigeminal neuritis is the most common neurological cause of paralysis of the jaw in dogs.
To understand trigeminal neuropathy, we must take a look at the trigeminal nerve itself. There are 12 paired cranial nerves that provide motor and sensory functions for the head and neck. The trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve (CN V).
There are three branches of the trigeminal nerve. Two provide sensation to the eyes, nose, mouth, and face. And one branch, the one most clearly affected by trigeminal neuritis, provides both facial sensation and motor function to the chewing muscles (i.e. muscles of mastication).
However, in trigeminal neuritis, the trigeminal nerve becomes inflamed, which affects its function. Based on the jobs of the trigeminal nerve, it would only make sense then that trigeminal neuritis impacts a dog’s ability to move his or her jaw (and sometimes feel his or her face).
What causes trigeminal neuritis in dogs?
Trigeminal neuritis is an idiopathic condition that is usually bilateral (i.e. affecting both sides of the face). The word “idiopathic” means we don’t know what causes it. However, some vets believe that it could be immune-mediated or related to a viral infection.
Interestingly, in a study of 29 dogs with trigeminal neuritis, Golden Retrievers were overrepresented. But otherwise, no age, sex, or environmental factors (e.g. season of the year or recent vaccinations) seem to be linked to trigeminal neuritis.
Unfortunately, because we don’t know the underlying cause of idiopathic trigeminal neuropathy, there are not really any good ways to prevent it from happening.
What are the symptoms of trigeminal neuritis in dogs?
As you may infer from the name “dropped jaw,” clinical signs of idiopathic trigeminal neuritis primarily revolve around loss of jaw motor function. However, about 35% of dogs will also have changes to the sensation of their face.
Some of the symptoms of trigeminal neuritis include:
- Inability to close the mouth—This is the most characteristic symptom of trigeminal neuritis and also the most obvious.
- Difficulty eating and drinking due to jaw paralysis—Affected dogs may still have tongue function but cannot pick up and chew food due to lack of jaw function.
- Excessive drooling—The dog may drool more due to not being able to close his or her mouth.
- Decreased facial sensation—While difficult to notice as a dog parent, affected dogs may not be able to feel their nose, eyes, or face as well as normal (or at all).
- Difficulty picking up toys or other objects—Since the jaw muscles don’t work, the dog can’t grasp items with his or her mouth.
- Horner’s syndrome in dogs—About 8% of dogs with trigeminal neuritis will also have signs of Horner’s syndrome including a sunken eye, droopy eyelid, constricted pupil, and elevated third eyelid in one of their eyes.
If you see these symptoms, please make an appointment with your veterinarian.
How is trigeminal neuritis in dogs diagnosed?
Your veterinarian will start with collecting a history and performing a physical and neurologic exam. As part of the history, the vet will want to know if your dog is current on his or her rabies vaccination and if your dog has contact with wildlife. These questions are important because rabies can also cause a dropped jaw in dogs and is transmissible to humans.
Physical and neurologic exam
On the physical examination, the vet will be looking for signs of orthopedic problems that could also cause a dropped jaw. Two examples are a dislocated or broken jaw.
Then the vet will use the neurologic exam to assess your dog’s ability to close the jaw or feel the face. Plus, he or she will look for any other neurologic problems.
This history and examination is important because trigeminal neuritis is a diagnosis of exclusion. That means that there is no specific finding on blood work or imaging that can diagnose it. Therefore, the vet will reach a diagnosis based on ruling out other conditions and taking into account the clinical signs, examination findings, and other clues.
Diagnostic testing to rule out other conditions
As part of ruling out conditions that can cause similar symptoms, the vet may recommend several diagnostic tests. They include blood tests for dogs, urinalysis, and/or imaging such as X-rays, MRI, or CT. These tests can help rule out other diseases like jaw fractures or dislocations, cancer, infections, head trauma, or brain inflammation.
Oral exam under sedation
Your vet may also recommend sedation or anesthesia in order to perform a thorough oral exam on your dog. Even if their jaw muscles are impaired, it can be challenging to do a comprehensive exam of the mouth of awake dogs. Thus, sedation gives the vet a much better chance of getting the information he or she needs.
How is trigeminal neuritis treated in dogs?
Just like there isn’t a diagnostic tests specific for trigeminal neuritis, there also aren’t any ways to directly treat it. Instead, treatment for trigeminal neuritis focuses on supportive care. The most important aspect of supportive treatment for dogs with trigeminal neuralgia is ensuring they receive sufficient nutrition and hydration.
How do you feed a dog with trigeminal neuritis?
If your dog has dropped jaw, it is critically important that you and your veterinarian monitor your dog’s eating and drinking. You need to be very proactive about preventing dehydration and making sure your dog is getting enough calories.
It takes weeks for trigeminal neuritis to resolve. So feeding your dog will be an ongoing project.
Make a gruel
Many dogs with trigeminal neuropathy still have enough tongue function to lap up liquids. This means they can drink water and lap up canned food made into a gruel. This hand feeding process can be pretty messy though!
If your dog is eating this way, it is important to keep a close eye on how much food and water your dog is actually able to swallow. Should you have any concerns about how much your dog is taking in, please consult your vet promptly.
Use a feeding tube
Sometimes dogs may be attempting to eat or drink but not actually getting enough to keep up with their needs. Or they may not be able to eat or swallow well at all. In those cases, the dog may need a feeding tube.
It may sound intimidating, but feeding tubes are minimally invasive, well-tolerated, and very effective tools to temporarily allow us to bypass the mouth to provide nutrition and hydration. Dogs do not have to stay in the hospital the entire time the feeding tube is in place. And it is surprisingly simple to learn how to use a feeding tube at home.
How else can you care for a dog with trigeminal neuritis?
Veterinarians have also tried treating trigeminal neuritis with steroids like prednisone for dogs. But there is not currently evidence to demonstrate that it makes a difference in the course of the disease.
For some dogs, it may be helpful to make a tape muzzle to hold the mouth partially closed while the dog is recovering. And dog parents can carefully open and close the jaw to help decrease muscle loss. Plus, chewing on soft toys (when the dog is able to) can also help ward off muscle loss or stiffness.
Does trigeminal neuralgia go away in dogs?
Fortunately, most dogs fully recover from trigeminal neuritis in about one to two months. Typically within two to three weeks of diagnosis they are able to eat on their own. And on average, dogs recover in three weeks. However, it may take up to 10 weeks for recovery in some dogs. And very rarely, trigeminal nerve function does not return.
Since trigeminal neuritis is self-limiting (i.e. goes away on its own) the prognosis is usually good. As long as you are able to ensure adequate nutrition and hydration, most dogs with drop jaw do very well with just time and supportive care.
Sometimes trigeminal neuritis can reoccur. However, this does not seem to be common.
Hope for dogs with trigeminal neuritis
Although it looks very scary and comes on seemingly out of nowhere, there is a lot of hope for dogs with trigeminal neuritis. This is a situation where the body has amazing ways of healing itself when given time and good nursing care.
So if your dog suddenly loses the ability to close his or her mouth, do not panic! Instead, make an appointment with your vet right away. He or she can guide you through the next steps to give your pup the best support.
While it might be a big time commitment at first to ensure your dog is getting enough food and water, remember that this isn’t forever. Chances are good that in a month or so, trigeminal neuralgia will be resolved and things will be back to normal.
Has your dog had trigeminal neuritis?
Please comment below.
I found our 14 yr old maltese weds am when I woke up with her eyes squinty, lame, and laying in a weird spot in the house. As the day progressed she got worse and wasn’t able to close her eyes and her mouth slowly started hanging open. By Thursday am her mouth was fully hanging open and she was lame all over, I thought stroke. I 1000% know she has this condition now though and my guess now is that she is lame because she is so drastically calorie deficient, maybe that caused a stroke, or something neurological like her blood sugar got so low, I don’t know but she is being hand fed and hand watered every hour, we are putting a drop of castor oil in each eye twice a day – am/pm so that her eyes stay hydrated (it’s the best thing ever for dry eye, also gets rid of floaters 🙌🏼) we will know when it is her time or she will know but we are not intervening with vet, there is no need for it at 14. She may have fallen and hit her head while I was sleeping, trust me I am feeling guilt so please no harsh comments even though she was PERFECTLY HEALTHY and I was just sleeping like a normal human. I am still feeling guilt that something could’ve happened to her on my watch. 2 days prior she was running around and jumping all over and being the sassy bitch that she always is so…who knows but yeah, at 14 we are going to do our best for her and she is being a great communicator and still sassy as all hell letting me know her needs. I am syringe feeding her water and her food is a purée. We will see…my heart BREAKS for you all that are dealing with this with a younger dog and seeing them suffer, the calorie deficit and dehydration is a REAL CONCERN and can come on very fast. My niece when she was a newborn in the hospital, her blood sugar got too low and she had a stroke and a seizure so yeah, nothing to mess with!!!!!!! Best of luck to us all, THIS IS A MESSY AND TRYING JOB!!!!!!!! 🤍✨🙏🏻
Dear Vejjiejamie,
I am sorry your senior pup is suffering with these severe symptoms. The dropped jaw does sounds like what would be expected with trigeminal neuritis, but I have never seen a dog with this condition become lame and not be able to close their eyes. These other issues are very concerning and make me suspicious that something else is contributing to the situation. The body can do strange things, but dogs don’t generally have strokes due to lack of nutrition and strokes in dogs are pretty rare to begin with. It sounds like you are managing ok at home, but I am afraid you may be facing a tough decision about your girl’s quality of life soon. I do think it could be helpful to contact your vet and let them partner with you during this difficult time. Helping make senior dogs comfortable and easing discomfort is one of the things we are trained for. Praying for relief and peace for your sweet girl.
We are 6 days in and everything in article that is above is true.
Onset – out of the blue
Jaw – Even on both sides but dropped.
No other facial symptoms.
6 year old Black Mouth Cur Female – Healthy and athletic.
She seems bright and alert. Troubles eating and drinking but seems to be and wants to eat and drink out of a big tub we have vs the water bowl inside. So – that is what I have so far.
seen the vet yesterday. We found no infection or trauma. Just her back of her jaws seemed like they had inflammation. She could feel that in the exam.
So it sounds like hydration and food intake.
Move the mouth to keep it supple. I am guessing I will give that a week.
Dear Stacey,
I am sorry your girl is experiencing this worrisome condition. Praying for healing and that you will start to see improvement soon. Wishing her a speedy and full recovery.
Hi my dogs has this right now started on Sunday OUT of no where!!!!! Sitting there tongue hanging out i called vet first thing MONDAY got apt they come out and say he has the trigeminal with nothing they can do for him no meds no nothing i was shocked and scared! My boy was like almost drowsy looking and he drools a lot and produces a lot of foam! He eats i made him rice ground turkey carrots and beans but still has some trouble getting it up!!! Water seems to be the big problem he drinks but it doesn’t seem like much is getting down I noticed his pee is more yellow than normal so i am trying to have him drink as much as he will! Any thoughts on this???
Hi Nika,
I am so sorry your boy is experiencing this worrisome condition. Yes, if his urine is especially dark yellow, he may not be getting enough water to stay well hydrated. You can try offering water by using an oral syringe. Canned food also has a higher water content than other food sources and may help with getting some extra water into his body. If none of these options work, you may have to talk to your vet about giving subcutaneous fluids at home or doing a few days of IV fluids in the clinic. Hoping you have noticed a dramatic improvement by now. Praying for a full recovery for your sweet boy.
My dog has just got this. I am out of my mind worried and I could not get an appointment today as they deemed it not urgent enough, this close to Christmas. I have an appointment tomorrow morning. It came out of the blue and I managed to diagnose it myself with the help of Google Gemini.
Dear Liz,
I understand your worry for your pup and am sorry they are experiencing this terrible condition. Hoping the appointment with your vet will go well and they can start the appropriate treatment. Wishing you both the best and praying for a positive outcome for your dog.
Thank you. It is several days later now, and I am over the initial shock. When I got in to see to the vet, they immediately said there was nothing they could do and referred us to another practice 80 miles away. We were given an appointment the same day, and he was admitted, sedated, and scanned. The scan involved taking 3,500 x-ray images which also worries me – but that is another topic. There was no underlying cause found, thank God, and it was therefore diagnosed as trigeminal neuralgia.
Because he had not been able to eat nor drink, it was decided that a feeding tube should be fitted to his oesophagus immediately. We have been feeding him this way for a week. He has been very good and has returned to his normal energetic self, but his jaw remains dropped. I wake up every morning hoping it will be better, but so far it is the same.
The only progress has been that we are now able to feed him soft food by hand through his mouth, but water still has to be administered through the tube. I guess this means there is some improvement but not enough to drink water. Having watched his behaviour so carefully we can see that drinking is more challenging than eating soft food, (hard food remains impossible) and it is probably going to be the last thing that improves.
Dear Liz,
Goodness, that is a lot to deal with! I am glad you were able to get a definitive diagnosis, and your boy is responding well to the feeding tube. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience as this will be helpful to others facing a similar situation. Hoping your pup will continue to improve and praying for a full recovery. Thanks for the update and keep in touch!
My 7 year old black lab was just diagnosed with this yesterday, October 16th 2025. He is raw fed so I now hand feed him and yes it’s a slobbery, slimey adventure. He also has an insatiable thirst, which concerns me. My vet assures me this is a normal occurence with this condition. I would like confirmation that his is a normal occurence? He always has access to water and yes most of it ends up on the floor, I’m assuming some water is getting in as he is still peeing…..I do check his skin for dedydration and so far so good. I didn’t read all the comments but I was wondering if anybody else noticed the insatiable thirst? I also wondered if pain is or could be a problem, my vet said no? Another question I have is could this condition possibly affect his hearing? Thank you.
Hi Lynn,
I am sorry your Lab has received this difficult diagnosis. He is lucky to have you taking such good care of him (slimy feeding and all!). While an increase in water intake is not a symptom of this condition, it is reasonable to assume if your boy cannot drink as much as he would like then he may keep trying to drink excessively though not all of the water is making it into his stomach. Pain should not be an issue as this condition is due to the nerves not working and pain is usually caused by nerves that are firing too frequently. Trigeminal neuritis will not affect your dog’s hearing as this specific nerve does not connect to the ears. If your dog does have changes to his hearing, then I would start to suspect a much broader problem (brain issue or polyneuropathy) that would need more in-depth testing to find out why more than one nerve is being affected at the same time. Hoping your boy will start to show gradual improvement over the next few weeks. Praying for continued healing and wishing him all the best!
My 10 yo Labrador Doodle Rambo was diagnosed with severe skull atrophy .by primary Vet at annual exam. Followed up with Neurologist and MRI exams. No bad neurological symptoms were displayed and the MRI did not determine what caused the atrophy. Rambo is eating normally but now seems to be drinking excessive amount of water and peeing more. Vet & Neurologist agreed to prescribe ear Drops and antibiotic for ear debris and low does steroid for Trigeminal Neuritis. Rambo doesn’t display any face dropping and other than 7 lbs weight-loss over several months you would never know he has a health problem. I’m waiting now to see if his prescriptions need to be refilled and just heart-sick worrying what is to come next.
Dear Robin,
My heart goes out to you as you face this difficult situation with your senior guy. Rambo is lucky to have you taking such good care of him and advocating for his health and well-being. Hoping the medications will improve your boy’s condition and lessen the severity of his symptoms. Praying for healing and a positive outcome.
my dog was finding it very hard to drink,he would be stood over his bowl for what seemed to be a long time, and he was getting very little water, and his slobbering was going straight in to the bowl so I tried raising the bowl and this helped him a little, but he still wasn’t able to get enough. a couple of days went by and I was getting really worried about him, I did some research and read about water fountain’s. I got one and put it on the raised surface, and it has been a god send, I would highly recommend the water fountain to anybody in the same or similar position, it keeps the water cool and fresh, it filters away his slobber, and is very quiet and cheap to leave running, in fact I will not go back to a water bowl even when he gets better,
Hi Sharon,
I am sorry your boy is dealing with this difficult condition. The water fountain is such a great idea! Thank you for sharing this with us. Hoping your pup will start to show some improvement soon. Praying for healing and a full recovery.
I think the excessive thirst is because they’re mouths are so dry hanging open like that. I know I sleep with my mouth open and at 47 with peri, my mouth is agonizingly dry and I can’t get enough water!!!! But yeah prob it’s not all getting down either.
Our Great Dane, Duke just came down with this a couple days ago. We were terrified how quickly it came on. We ran him to the emergency vet in the middle of the night. After a bunch of tests – blood and x-rays this is what he was diagnosed with. While he was up there they gave him a bag of liquid under the skin as he was partially dehydrated. They sent us home with some giant syringes to see if that would help with feeding but he is a big boy and does not like that method. We are making him some home cooked food with some added vitamins and running it in a blender to get a yogurt type consistency. He likes this better but with those big jowls, he sure does make a mess. Which is fine, he is worth all of it and more.
Hi Michael,
I am sorry Duke is struggling with these severe symptoms. I am glad you have figured out how to get food into him consistently. Hoping he will start to improve and praying for a full recovery for your sweet boy. ♥
My dog (rescued terrier mix 3YO) has had drop jaw for six months. No real problems eating or drinking. At this point, we assume it’s not going to go away. Not really getting much info – vets have said should go away. Haven’t pursued a CT scan due to cost. Any help is appreciated-
Hi Debby,
I am sorry your pup has been living with this condition for so many months. Is he currently taking any medications or supplements? Even if you can’t pursue a CT scan it could still be helpful to schedule a consultation with a veterinary neurologist. They may have ideas about other testing or treatments to improve your dog’s quality of life. I am glad your boy is able to eat and drink without much trouble. Praying for healing and many happy years ahead.
Further to Jazmins story, I took her to a doggie chiropractor and I noticed a little change for the better after. She was able to eat a little better.. I find a gruel doesn’t work, very messy and it gets all over the place. I cut up cooked salmon, cooked burger, egg omelet, etc in small pieces and have a raised feeding station. She does OK Takes longer than normal tho I will continue with chiro, try acupuncture , maybe just osteoarthritis. Anything to help her, hence us !
Hi Jessica,
I am glad you noticed an improvement after the chiropractic session. You may be onto something even if it’s just treating the arthritis. Wishing you both all the best and feel free to keep us updated on how things go.
Thankyou Dr Buzby for this article. We are pretty sure our Jazmin has this. I took her to the vet with these symptoms and did every test only to still not know ! Then I came across your article and it seems to fit. She’s on day 7 now I will always take care of her and am experimenting Feeding is quite the ordeal Me and her have to practically shower after Lots of laundry ! Then there’s the fear she won’t get better, takes an emotional toll. Does prednisone help ? And what about treatment with an osteopath ? Acupuncture ? Any other ideas ? Ill try anything as this is very hard on Jazmin and me, thankyou , Jessica
Dear Jessica,
I am sorry Jazmin is dealing with these worrisome neurological symptoms. She is very lucky to have you taking such good care of her and continuing to advocate for her health and well-being. I definitely think pursuing alternative therapies could be a good idea. You may want to find a holistic or integrative vet in your area. There may even be one that practices Traditional Chinese Medicine. Hoping you can find a way to restore your sweet girl’s quality of life. Praying for healing and a clear path forward.
my Golden was just diagnosed with this as well. I’ve started him on soft food, but unfortunately he also has a weak stomach so he hasn’t been feeling very good. any suggestions?
Hi Karen,
I am sorry your Golden is struggling to eat since the neuritis began. A sudden change in food can cause GI upset in any pup but there are a few ways to try and make it a bit easier. You can add water to his original dry food to soften it and see if he manages to eat it. After softening the dry food, you can slowly add some of the canned (a little more each day) to allow his body time to adjust. It is also a good idea to use probiotics to help keep things in balance and restore normal gut flora. Hoping this will pass quickly and praying for healing for your sweet boy.
My pitty was just diagnosed w this in conjunction w salmon poisoning. He can eat soft food w no assistance but the water is more difficult. Last night we started seeing dilute blood in his water bowl and took him back in. It seems since he’s overworking the tongue (to compensate for little jaw control) he’s inflamed the underside of his tongue and bleeds a little. Just thought I’d mention this cuz no one else had.
Also, idk if this is related to the neurological condition or just cuz he’s been sick, but he is having very vivid dreams. He usually is a very quiet sleeper, but now he whines, barks (slightly), and moves his legs almost every time he sleeps.
Hi Heather,
I am sorry your boy is experiencing these worrisome symptoms. Thank you for mentioning the toungue issue. I am not sure I have seen this in any of my own patients. Hoping you have seen some improvement and praying your boy will make a full recovery. Wishing you both all the best and keep up the good work!