My dog is lethargic, shaky, and losing balance. What should I do?

Oh my. Poor guy. His symptoms unfortunately aren’t specific for one disease process to speak ok. Lethargy, shivering and weakness can be caused by just about any disease process including: toxin ingestion, underlying heart disease, or even anaphylactic shock is a possibility. But one thing is sure, Snoopy is in need of medical care if this has been going on for more than 6 hrs or so. He will need some diagnostic testing (bloodwork analysis to start) to determine what the underlying problem is so that we know how best to help Snoopy get better. I would recommend getting him seen as soon as you can. I hope that he is able to make a full and speedy recovery. Best of luck to you and take care.

That is very unusual. There are several things that come to mind that could cause the signs. Ingesting toxins, an inner ear infection, stroke or viral infections are all possible. Anytime a pet appears off-balance you should be concerned and I recommend to take Nigel in to see a veterinarian right away. The doctor will need to perform a few basic tests to try to figure out the cause of the imbalance. Treatment will depend on the cause. Best of luck and I hope this is helpful. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

All these signs are very concerning and point to a possible viral infection or metabolic disease. You need to take your dog to a veterinarian or PetER right away as he may be having a serious infection that needs to be tended to. Distemper comes to mind, a liver shunt and/or meningitis.

So, potential serious concerns would be 1. poisoning (ie antifreeze, pot, chemicals, rotten carcasses, etc.) 2. seizures (dogs get epilepsy and it commonly presents in puppies 3. metabolic issue like a liver shunt can cause neurologic symptoms 4. trauma to the brain like being hit by a car. Any neurologic symptoms are very serious and I would take him to an emergency veterinarian for a full workup.

I'm sorry to hear that Spud is having this issue. It sounds like you need to get him to your vet for an exam. He may be showing early signs of seizure activity or vestibular syndrome. The other options are liver disease, heart disease, kidney disease, toxin exposure - just to name a few. His symptoms unfortunately are not specific for any one disease process or illness. It will take a vet exam and probably some diagnostics (bloodwork, maybe x-rays) to figure out what is going on. This is not something I would ignore in a dog that is almost 10 years old. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Poor Harley. It could be he is nauseous or has a dental problem causing the drooling. If he has a dental problem, it could extend into his sinuses, leading to the balance problems. But the balance problems could be caused by something else like an ear infection. I think he definitely needs to see a vet, and I would take him into one first thing in the morning. Best of luck.

Spike is experiencing very general symptoms of disease, these symptoms could fit almost any internal condition, maybe he is suffering from nausea due to a gastrointestinal disease and maybe he is in pain, from the symptoms described it's very hard to know. i would recommend taking him to the vet as soon as possible in order to get him checked, if he doesn't show any other obvious symptoms during the examination, a blood test and possibly an ultrasound will be needed in order to try and find out what is wrong with Spike.