What caused my senior dog's sudden weakness and inability to get up?

Hello. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet. He, unfortunately, suffered a severe cardio-pulmonary event, either from the presence of heartworms, cancer, or severe cardiomyopathy. He was probably sicker than you realized, & also sicker longer than just the past 6 weeks. We all try to do the best we can for ourselves & our pets & sometimes we just run out of time to do anything. I know you feel bad, but you have to be honest with yourself & know that even if you had the money, he may have been too sick to do much for him. If you loved him with all your heart up to that last day, then he had a very good life. Please accept my condolences on your loss. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Oh no, I'm so sorry that you suddenly lost Minnie Mae Pearl! How horrible for you, please accept my condolences for your loss. Please keep in mind I can't say for certain what caused her to pass away, but I can offer some guess. It is possible that she had cancer. It's common in senior dogs, and it can be festering for a while before the dog sudden becomes ill. They can't tell us when they are sick and are pretty stoic with pain, so oftentimes when we notice something is wrong, it's very late in the disease. That happened with my own dog last year. He seemed perfectly normal, and then one night he appeared to crashed. I rushed him into the clinic for treatment, and he had an abdomen full of fluid likely from a ruptured splenic tumor. He had shown no other signs of illness before then, and unfortunately I had to let him go, so I completely understand how hard it is to suddenly lose a beloved pet and feel devastated. Her death could have also been caused by liver disease, pancreatitis, or a number of other illnesses. I wish I could say for certain to give you some answers, but I can only offer my guesses and my sincerest condolences for your loss :-(

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry to hear about your pup. These are very general signs that could have happened due to many different conditions such as ones affecting the heart or it could have possibly been due to internal bleeding. It is hard to know with just a brief description provided but those are some things that can affect a dog suddenly. So sorry to hear this again.

I am very sorry to hear about your loss of Libby. Unfortunately as dogs get older they are more likely to have heart issues and organs that do not work properly. Without testing I am not able to tell you exactly why Libby passed. I know it is difficult to deal with a loss.

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.

I'm really sorry to hear this and for the loss of your dog. Unfortunately, what you are describing is not specific to any one disease, so I cannot tell you exactly what happened. In order to tell for sure, I would have to get more information about his case, examine the body and send samples for testing. However, considering how soon he died, this indicates that he either had severe organ damage, or a severely altered blood chemistry. This can happen in cases of certain infections and in cases of poisoning. There are also many other preexisting conditions like cancer, heart/vascular disease and parasitism that could also cause their to be a sudden decline in health. I know that didn't fully answer your question, but I hope that helps you to understand what may have happened. For more information, you may consider asking the veterinarian that gave the treatment, or ask another vet doctor in your area to review the case.

I am very concerned about your dog's condition and highly recommend a veterinary visit. There are a few general categories that fit with what your dog is showing at home. One would be weakness due to a nerve problem in the back end. This can happen if a disc has moved out of place in the spine and is pressing on the spinal cord. This can cause dogs to have trouble walking and placing their feet in an appropriate way. Some have the appearance of walking on their toes. Otherwise they are able to place weight on the back legs but stagger or sway when walking. This can be an emergency situation if the disc slips more into the spinal cord and causes paralysis. Another type of weakness that causes trouble getting up is if there is a lack of proper blood circulation. The lower level of blood in the body causes them to be lethargic due to the decreased oxygen circulating throughout the body. In an older dog, the most common cause of this is with a tumor or mass on the spleen that has ruptured. The spleen holds a large amount of blood and if it has a rupture, the blood leaks out into the abdomen. In addition to the lethargy, we often see pale gums and a pot belly appearance due to the pooling blood. An x-ray or ultrasound would help determine if this is occurring. These are the two most common reasons for such a dramatic change in her appearance. There is also the chance of her eating something she shouldn't. The best thing for her would be to have an exam as soon as you are able to determine what is causing her signs. The vet may recommend bloodwork or an x-ray. Unfortunately. older large breed dogs can lose nerve function in their back legs due to age changes. There is little we can do to help this aside from keeping them comfortable. Due to how sudden the signs showed up, this is less likely, as it is often a more gradual change.