My old dog has diarrhea and weak legs. Is it neurological or age?

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!

Hello, sorry to hear about Johnny. There could be several things wrong with him. It could be a problem with his joints, either at his knees or his hips. Dog can get severe arthritis, especially when they are older like Johnny is. They can also tear important ligaments in their knees which makes it harder for them to walk. This can also be associated with a back injury, or some sort of severe muscle pain, and this can also be a tick borne diseases. Ideally Johnny should be examined by your veterinarian to ensure he is not in severe pain and needs medications. Johnny may also be experiencing complications from heart disease or weakness from bleeding into his belly, these would be more concerning for an emergency and should be seen by a veterinarian today. Finally, even though he is drinking, Johnny may still be dehydrated or much worse, he could have something in his GI tract either a FB or a mass or something infectious that is causing him to feel quite sick. These potential causes also warrant a visit to the emergency veterinarian today. Best of luck and hope this helps.

Leg tremors can be caused by weakness, pain, certain toxins or neurologic disease. If she is dehydrated or painful from the diarrhea the two could be related, but since the diarrhea is resolving it’s also possible that the leg tremors are not related to the diarrhea. I would recommend seeing a veterinarian if they continue.

This presentation could commonly be caused either by a neurological damage of the nerves of the back legs (usually from spinal cord), caused by a stroke or a intervertebral disc extrusion/protrusion,or potentially by severe arthritis and osteo-arthrosis. A check up and appropriate medications (anti-inflammatories) would be ideal and essential to understand the underlying cause. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite and diarrhea can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. He could be weak on his hind end from not eating before and/or from dehydration so that could be connected. I recommend that you have Kip evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

These symptoms don't easily fit the same picture, so I am not quite sure what is going on. I would recommend that you have Winston evaluated by a vet. A thorough physical and neurologic exam will be helpful in determine what is causing the limp and how the diarrhea plays into everything.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The clinical symptoms you describe are concerning for something serious going on with Daisy. She could be acting like that from perhaps severe dehydration and hypovolemia (lack of volume in her circulatory system) from so much diarrhea and recent history of anorexia and not drinking water. She could have also being exposed to some toxin that is affecting both her gastrointestinal and neurologic systems. I highly recommend you take her to a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment as soon as possible. Good luck!