Dogs Back Legs Are Weak And Shaking

Shaking of the back legs in dogs can be due to pain from muscle bone joint or nerve issues as a result of trauma chronic condition such as degenerative joint disease or spinal disc disease.
Dogs back legs are weak and shaking. Symptoms of back leg weakness can include. Often there are other signs that can help lead to a diagnosis so take note of any physical or behavioral changes that occur. Sometimes the tremors may be in the front legs as well. Causes of weak back legs.
Dog hind leg weakness shows up in many different ways. Knee or hip pain can manifest as tremors in the hind legs. At other times the specific signs will be related to the cause. Pain can also cause shaking of leg muscles.
A few of the more common causes of weakness or lethargy in dogs include the following. Jules benson bvsc and vp of veterinary services at petplan pet insurance. Usually shaking is visibly noted when the dog has stood for a given period of time. Common causes and treatments.
Pippa elliott bvms mrcvs. When your dog s hind legs suddenly go weak there could be any number of causes says veterinarian dr. If your dog s back legs are weak please see your veterinarian to learn the cause. It s easy to assume that symptoms like shaking legs are due to your dog just getting older but trembling can also be a sign of other issues such as pain.
Sudden hind limb weakness or paralysis can be a clinical sign of several conditions including degenerative myelopathy in which parts of the nerves in the spinal. Depending on the severity and the root cause of the dog hind leg weakness you may notice one or more of the following. Dogs do all sorts of weird things which are often completely natural and sometimes it s hard to distinguish the normal from clues of a serious condition. A veterinary neurologist or surgeon can often diagnose this by excluding other causes.
Any kind of infection including serious ones such as parvovirus distemper kennel cough leptospirosis and heartworm disease can make your dog lethargic. Persistent back leg shaking on dogs can be an indicator of a severe problem. The signs depend partly on your dog s build strength age or nature. The lack of nerve signals to the muscles of the hind legs can be seen as knuckling of the hind feet or shaking because of the weak muscle contractions.
It was last reviewed for accuracy and updated aug. This article was originally published in 2018 and is regularly updated. Dog weakness and lethargy. Symptoms of a weakness in your dog s back legs may come on suddenly or develop slowly over a long period of time depending on the reason for the weakness.
Let s take a look at some of the potential factors that may cause your dog s back legs to become weak. Signs of hind leg weakness in dogs. There are several factors which may cause dog hind leg weakness of varying levels of severity. These tremors usually don t affect how your dog moves or walks.
This pet health content was written by a veterinarian dr.