Dog with hind legs weakness: causes

Author: Peter Berry
Date Of Creation: 12 February 2021
Update Date: 1 July 2024
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Is your dog looking listless and frail? Do hind limbs seem to be shaking or weakening? Unfortunately, the loss of strength in the hind legs is a situation that is not always a consequence of age and indicates that there is something wrong with your puppy.

If you have seen any of these episodes, you should consult your veterinarian so he can do the necessary additional tests to diagnose the problem and help your dog. While you wait for the consultation, the Animal Expert explains what may be causing dog with hind legs weakness and what other signs may be associated.

dog with trembling hind legs

It is very common for us to associate a dog with difficulty walking on its hind legs with an elderly dog ​​and we think that it is something natural to age. mistake, the causes of dog with hind legs weakness can be very varied and can affect any age or race.


A dog with altered gait or coordination must be immediately evaluated by a veterinarian.Through gait, we can assess several types of systems, including the nervous and musculoskeletal systems, hence we must perform a very thorough orthopedic and neurological examination, as these two systems are usually difficult to separate in differential diagnoses.

Gait should be assessed at different speeds, floors and conditions (after exercise and at rest), followed by assessment of neurological reflexes, for example, the patellar reflex, pain reflex and proprioceptive reflexes.

Dogs with hind leg problems: associated signs

In many cases, it is common to observe the dog with weak hind legs and trembling, which is associated with muscle weakness. Muscle weakness (loss of strength to perform a certain movement) is a common symptom that causes changes in the animal's gait and which may in itself justify an unstable gait and dog trembling from its hind legs. It can also display:


  • Apathy
  • Generalized weakness/weakness
  • Reluctance to get up or climb steps or high surfaces
  • Tendency to cross legs when walking
  • Tendency to drag some member
  • Ataxia (motor incoordination)
  • stagger
  • Paresis: decrease or partial loss of voluntary motor function, causing movement limitations
  • Pleias or paralysis: absence or complete loss of voluntary motor function.

Causes of dog with hind legs weakness

Dogs with trembling limbs, without strength or even paralyzed may have a muscular, neurological, neuromuscular, musculoskeletal or symptomatic cause.

THE age and the breed are two very important factors, since in younger dogs we can think of something more congenital or diseases that affect younger ones and in adult or elderly dogs we can think of some hernia or tumors.


Next, we present the most common causes of this problem:

Ache

Whether in the affected area or elsewhere, the pain can be very uncomfortable and make the dog no longer want to walk or move, or he can do it more slowly and with great cost, and may even tremble in the paws. It is very important to discover the source of the pain so that it can be eliminated and the dog feels better.

Traumas

In addition to the obvious pain resulting from trauma such as falling, being run over or biting another animal, these situations can lead to severe musculoskeletal and/or neurological symptoms. Depending on the severity and extent of the injury, the animal may be trembling with fright or something more serious as certain structures such as muscles, nerves and portions of the cervical spine have been affected. If one or more fractures have occurred and the spinal cord has been affected, it may be reversible and resolvable through surgery and medical treatment, or it may be something irreversible that compromises the animal's life.

Effect of certain medications or sedation/anesthesia

Many animals appear weak and disoriented after a procedure that involved sedation or anesthesia. Don't worry, this situation is usually passenger and within a few hours or a day the animal fully recovered. If you notice that these symptoms and others such as vomiting, diarrhea and very dilated pupils (in mydriasis) remain, inform your veterinarian immediately.

In addition to sedation, certain drugs can cause muscle or limb tremors. This is the case with continued administration of corticosteroids which can result in muscle atrophy and weakness and poor skin and hair condition.

Intoxications

Certain chemicals, plants and foods are so toxic to your dog that his life could be at risk. Chocolate, caffeine and amphetamines are severely toxic products for dogs and cats.

tick diseases

In addition to the known hemoparasites transmitted by tick bites, which cause diseases such as ehrlichiosis (bacteria) or babesiosis (protozoan) with severe anemia and other serious symptoms. The tick (the female) may contain a toxin in its saliva that causes the tick paralysis, which affects the nervous system gradually, starting with vomiting, difficulty eating, excessive salivation, evolving to hind limb weakness, tachycardia (increased respiratory rate) until partial or complete loss of movement and reflexes.

The best way to fight this disease is to remove all ticks from the animal's body and make a symptomatic treatment and to eliminate the toxin. At home, you can take tick baths and remove them, but beware, ticks cannot be removed from the dog anyway, if they have their mouth piercing the dog's skin, it must be completely removed so that it does not provoke a serious infection in the future. There are special tweezers for this that are very effective and easy to use.

Bacterial and viral infections

Meningitis (bacterial), rabies and distemper (viral) are very dangerous diseases that have repercussions on the mental state, behavior and locomotion of the animal, and can cause paralysis of the hind legs. These viral diseases can be avoided if the vaccination plan is correctly adhered to.

orthopedic diseases

Problems such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, torn knee ligaments, osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis, discospondylitis or hernias are often associated with lameness, reluctance to walk and a lot of discomfort.

Degenerative disc disease

Also within orthopedic diseases, there is the degenerative disease of the intervetebral disc. There are two types of herniated discs: type I and type II and can present from local pain (grade 1), difficulty in walking (grade 2 and 3), to limb paralysis (grade 4 and 5). Very common in dogs, but rare in cats.

  • Hansen type I disc herniation. These are hernias that acutely/suddenly compress the spinal cord and cause terrible pains to the animal, being more aggressive than those of type II. It is in this case that you can say that “my dog ​​stopped walking suddenly” due to the possible loss of sensation and motor strength. There is a genetic predisposition for this type of hernia in chondrodystrophic breed dogs (small, wide spine and short legs) such as Dachshund (the sausage dogs), poodles, Lhasa Apso, cocker spaniel, beagle, Pekingese and Shih Tzu. It is very common to appear between 2 and 6 years of age. The faster the animal is seen, the better the prognosis. Many argue that surgery is the best treatment for this condition, others argue that there are many risks associated with the procedure, so it will depend on the surgeon's experience and practice and the animal's general health status.
  • Hansen type II herniated discs. Hernias are caused by the extrusion (extrusion) of the intervertebral disc from a segment of the spine due to a degenerative process. This extrusion can progressively occupy the spinal canal and compress the spinal cord, causing neurological signs such as loss of pelvic limb proprioception, ataxia (motor incoordination), muscle weakness, reluctance to get up, walk or jump, difficulty climbing stairs, back pain, monoparesis (neurological deficit of a limb) or hemiparesis (de both thoracic or pelvic limbs). The appearance of these symptoms appears so chronic and progressive, and they can be symmetrical or not, depending on the location and extent of the lesion. This type of hernia is common in large, non-chondrodystrophic breeds such as the German Shepherd, labrador and Boxer, appearing between 5 and 12 years of age.

The diagnosis of hernias is made through the animal's history, physical examination and complementary exams (x-ray, tomography and/or magnetic resonance). In the case of hernias, medical therapy is based on the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids, and muscle relaxants (diazepam or methocarbamol), physiotherapy or surgery (in more severe cases) may also be prescribed.

metabolic diseases

Certain metabolic imbalances such as hypocalcemia (decreased calcium levels in the blood), hypercalcemia (increased calcium), hyponatremia (decreased sodium) and hypernatremia (increased sodium), blood glucose and acid-base imbalances are the most common metabolic abnormalities that result in tremor and muscle weakness.

Hypoglycemia (decreased blood glucose) is a very serious condition that causes generalized weakness, tremors, convulsions and even death in the animal. Tremors are not as common as the symptoms above, but they should always be included in the differential diagnoses.

Hypoadrenocorticism, or addison's disease, refers to inability of the dog's brain to release certain hormones, such as adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), responsible for stimulating the production of cortisol. The lack of this hormone causes generalized weakness that often starts in the hind limbs, among other symptoms.

already the increase in cortisol production takes the designation of hyperadrenocorticism, or cushing syndrome, and can also cause muscle weakness and limb tremors.

neuromuscular diseases

Canine degenerative myelopathy, very common in German Shepherd and other large dogs over 5 years of age, is characterized by a chronic progressive disease that affects the spinal cord. The animal presents generalized weakness and exercise intolerance, which may be sporadic or persistent, rigid gait or jumping, significant proprioceptive deficits, hind leg ataxia and mild paresis.

The hind limbs are usually the first to be affected and more severely than the forelegs.

During the physical examination during the consultation, the animal may present muscular atrophy or hypertrophy, associated or not with tremors and/or fasciculations. There is also Myasthenia gravis which is rare and very serious and can affect the hind legs.

Diagnosis

All these causes are diagnosed through a thorough history of the animal, physical examination and complementary exams. Diagnosis is not always easy and immediate, however the persistence of the veterinarian and his collaboration will help to discover the cause and choose the best treatment.

always remember that should never self-medicate your pet regardless of its symptoms and history.

This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.

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