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Why are my dog's back legs suddenly wobbly and he can't stand?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Treeing Walker Coonhound | Male | neutered | 1 year and 5 months old | 43 lbs

My dog is suddenly having trouble with his back legs. It happened within the last two hours. He can walk, but is very wobbly. You can see in the photo how hes sticking his leg out to the side to walk. He wouldn't even stand earlier.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 17th, 2020

A condition called Coonhound paralysis (Polyradiculoneuritis) is a very likely possibility here or even a toxin ingestion that affects the nervous system. Coonhound paralysis is a nervous system disease that causes these types of symptoms (rear limb ataxia). It can be caused by eating raw chicken, recent vaccination, exposure to a raccoon, or even an immune medicated disease. I would highly recommend taking Banjo to your local vet right away to get him looked at. An ER vet visit is certainly warranted here if your regular vet is not currently open so that he can get seen quickly and testing done. If this is indeed this condition, there is no specific treatment, but he has a good chance of spontaneously improvement over several weeks.

I do hope that Banjo's condition improves soon! Best of luck moving forward. Take care.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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