Back Leg Weakness in Dogs

Back leg weakness in dogs is something that can come from several causes and if you notice that it is more than a simple soreness from running too long then check out these probable reasons for this issue.

Injury

This is the most common cause and it is usually when your dog suffered some injury on their spinal cord or their back. 2% of all vet visits with dogs are due to these kinds of traumas and if you realize that this is probably the reason why your pet is behaving differently then you should go to the vet as soon as possible to assess the damage.

Arthritis

If your dog is quite old then a reason for the leg weakness might be arthritis. The hip and knee joints deteriorate and an X-ray might be all you need to make sure if this is the case with your pet. Today there are several drugs that will help manage this disease and thus improve the quality of your dog’s life so you shouldn’t despair.

Diabetes

Some breeds are more predisposed to this disease and it seems to be more common in female dogs. Overweight dogs in particular are more likely to get diabetes and this leads to many symptoms, but one of them is the back leg weakness. To determine if your pet has this disease a simple blood test should make things clear.

Cushing’s disease

This disease is caused by the overproduction of cortisol in the adrenal glands and it might develop on young dogs even if it is more common for dogs that are older than six years. Other symptoms include hair loss, a pot-bellied appearance, increased appetite and thirst.

The vet can tell you if this is the case but make sure you visit him if you see these signs because it might need surgery and the faster it is discovered the better the chances of recovery will be.

Degenerative Myelopathy

This one is a mouthful and it is another disease that might appear on older dogs leading to back leg weakness along with some other problems. This disease manifests itself through the deterioration of the spinal cord and eventually the dog will lose control of the back legs.

This is the most problematic disease since a conclusive test can be done only post-mortem and there isn’t any conventional treatment, so you might have to seek some alternative means of recovery.