My dog's back legs are weak and she's acting drunk. What's happening?

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are a variety of medical causes for the symptoms Lil Girl had last night- toxicity, spinal or disk issue, autoimmune disorders, brain tumor, infectious causes and others could all be causes. Scooting or rubbing her rear end on the floor could be due to full anal sacs that need to be expressed or potentially a parasitic infection could be possibilities. I would recommend Lil Girl have a full exam and work up done with her veterinarian. Your veterinarian may take x-rays and run blood work and a fecal test or other diagnostics as needed to determine a cause. I hope this helps and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

HI, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear Jackie isn't well A dog can get weak from having worms. Some worms (hook worms, whip worms) suck blood and can make dogs very anemic (low red blood cells). Any dog, if they have enough of an intestinal parasite burden, that they are removing nutrients can become muscle wasted/starved/nutrient deprived which would in turn make them weak. I would expect the dog to be generally weak not just specifically in the back legs. Since Jackie is 13 years old, I would have a Vet look at her there are more common causes in older dogs than worms. I hope this helps and I wish you the best!

It sounds like Cupcake could be having back pain or another problem with her spine. Intervertebral disc disease is fairly common in small breed dogs and can lead to weakness in the rear legs, although it is usually not episodic. It’s also possible that she is having an atypical seizure or some other kind of pain that is causing her weakness. I’d recommend having your vet examine her - it might help to video how she is walking and take it with you.

This sounds like a medical emergency and you should have Puddin seen right away. The potential cause for her signs are a slipped disc in her back causing pinching of her nerves going to her back legs (Intervertebral disc disease), trauma, spinal infection, a spinal tumor or a toxin. The veterinarian will want to perform a through exam and localize the pain. They will also check Puddin's neurologic function which will help to determine if her signs are due to a spinal problem. If her signs worsen and she can no longer walk on her back legs, she may need an MRI or surgery. Please have her seen, good luck.

Hello, sorry to hear about Skittles. There are certainly several things that can cause dogs to have problems moving their legs. What you're describing however, seems to be more likely associated with an injury to her back. Most commonly in dogs, they may "slip" a disk which causes compression to their spinal cord. There are other injuries that are not compressive such as an swelling due to autoimmune disease in the spinal cord, a stroke to the spinal cord, or a fibrocartilagenous embolism which is more associated with larger breed dogs. Again their are other possibilities such as if she sprained a muscle or hurt her knees. Due to the concern for a potential back injury, Skittles should be evaluated by a veterinarian promptly to ensure she does/does not have a back injury. There are 2 options if she does have a back injury, you may elect to treat conservatively with strict rest and at home medications for 4-6 weeks or you may elect to have a neurologist evaluate her. The neurologist may then recommend an MRI and surgery based on the MRI. I know this is a lot of information to understand/explain so shortly but I would start off by having her evaluated by your veterinarian soon. In the interim, keep her quiet and rested, (no jumping, running, rough playing), make sure she is urinating and defecating, and keep her low to the ground. Best of luck and hope this helps.

Poor girl. The fact that she is wobbly and running into things, means that this is likely neurological. I would definitely have her seen by your vet right away for a thorough examination and brief neuro exam to see if we can find the underlying cause for this. One common cause for these types of sudden neurological symptoms in older dogs is vestibular disease, which can be caused by an inner ear infection, a brain tumor, or idiopathic (no underlying cause found). Idiopathic vestibular disease is the most common one we see and typically can improve on its own within a few weeks time with supportive care through your vet. I hope that things work out well for your pet Molly moving forward. Best wishes and take care!

Shasta is experiencing two very different issues that may not have anything to do with one another unfortunately. In terms of hind end lameness, the most common causes of this are traumatic injuries, inflammatory conditions (arthritis / tendinitis), infectious diseases, tick borne diseases, nutritional deficiencies, clotting disorders, and certain cancers. As for diarrhea, the common causes of this include dietary indiscretion, inflammatory conditions of the GI tract, pancreatitis, parasites, infectious diseases, immune-mediated conditions, and certain types of cancers. To address either of these issues if they have been occurring for a significant period of time, both blood work and imaging modalities would be needed. This doesn't sound like an emergency or anything, but if either of these problems has been persistent I would consider making an appointment to have Shasta seen sometime soon for a work-up. Hope this helps and that Shasta gets well soon!