Why are my older dog's back legs weak after recent illness?

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.

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to a neurologic condition such as a herniated disc. I recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for this and treat him accordingly. Best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are a few conditions that can affect a dog's ambulation such as a back injury or an injury to the legs per se. Sometimes weakness in the hind limbs can be caused by things like dehydration. Vomiting can be indicative of conditions such as gastroenteritis, gastrointestinal obstruction, pancreatitis, dietary indiscretion, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and treat accordingly. Good luck and have a good night!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite and weight loss can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. He may be so weak that that is why it seems like he is urinating and defecating in his bed and laying on it. I recommend that you have Rooney 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. He may have something that he can get over and be fine after. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery! 

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. Her legs may be hurting as well from something like a soft tissue injury or back pain for example which may be causing her to not eat well. I recommend that you have Zoey 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!

I'm so sorry to hear that is going on with Todd. There are a few things that can cause those clinical signs. One of the most common is a bulging disc that is pressing on his spinal cord. I have included a handout with information on that below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3223 There are other things that could be going on, but dogs with disc disease often improve with appropriate treatment, so it is important to have Todd evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible to start treatment. In the meantime, be sure to keep him quiet and not allow him to walk around. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Todd will make a full recovery. Thanks for using PetCoach.