What causes limping and shakiness in a litter of 6-week-old puppies?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would be looking into the possibility of this being something affecting the joints per se such as immune mediated polyarthritis or perhaps something like hypertrophic osteodystrophy given his young age. These are possible things your veterinarian can look into. Treatment of course would depend on findings. At the very least they can try pain control medications and anti-inflammatory drugs. Best of luck!

If they are all experiencing this, I would be concerned it could be something contagious such as distemper or they may have gotten into something toxic. I think this is a medical emergency, and I feel they should all go to a vet immediately. Please take them into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website. Best of luck.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry!! It is very hard when puppies are this young. The most common cause of illness and death in puppies are infections and congenital issues. Common infections that can affect the respiratory system and or the neurologic system are: Herpes, distemper, bordatella, influenza. Sadly I recommend doing special testing on the next puppy that dies to find out the cause. I would request PCR swabs to send off for a respiratory panel and biopsy any abnormal tissues on autopsy. Sometime we can not save them when we do not know what the disease is. If you can not get to the Vet in town go to a specialist or local Veterinary school. It is important to know what is going on. I hope this helps and I am very sorry this is happening. I suggest that the 3 currently ill puppies be seen at a more specialized hospital. I wish you the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I’m sorry to hear your dogs are limping. There can be multiple causes for limping, including Lyme disease, a muscle strain, or an orthopedic injury. If they are both limping, it could be that they both were exposed to the same thing, or injured themselves or each other while playing. If they are both feeling so poorly, I would recommend they be evaluated by their regular veterinarian to try to determine the underlying cause of their discomfort, have any necessary testing done (X-rays, tick screen) and start any treatment that they may need. Good luck!

Lameness, loss of appetite and energy are definitely concerning. This can be caused by tick borne diseases such as Lyme disease. There are also certain bone and joint diseases that only affect growing puppies, and need to be ruled out with an x-Ray. I recommend having your appointment sooner rather than later, you may want to call your vet and ask for an earlier appointment.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Kyro. Poor boy! Limping means he is in pain, and he may have injured himself. Being in pain will cause him to be tired too. The bumps may be due to hives. Taking him into the vet tomorrow if the best thing for him. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry that Gem isn't feeling well! From what I am understanding is that Gem has been on and off limping on different legs at different times. There are few things that could be going on: Panosteitis or Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy, both occur in young, rapidly growing dogs. I see Panosteitis a lot in German Shepherds. Both are diagnosed on X-rays and physical exam. Another possibility is lyme disease. I recommend taking Gem in to your Vet when she is actively limping. Have her tested for lyme and some X-rays done. Since we can not examine Gem, we are not allowed to prescribe medications or provide doses of human medications. Human medications are not recommended for dogs. Dogs metabolize drugs differently then people and the medication may interfere with what your Vet prescribes based on their diagnosis. I hope this helps and you get to the bottom of Gem's limping!