Senior dog losing balance, weak legs, tremors. How can I help?

Poor Luna! Because she is 8 or 9, my first thought is that she may be suffering from arthritis. That would cause her pain, and from your description, it sounds like she is painful. It could also be that she injured herself. Arthritis is common in older dogs. I would take her into the vet for an exam. The vet can diagnose if she is suffering from arthritis, and can give her some pain meds for it. Rimadyl (an NSAID) is a good drug to give to help with the symptoms of arthritis. I also recommend giving her glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate supplements. They provide the necessary nutrients for cartilage repair and function. Use of them helps relieve some of the symptoms of arthritis, and you can use it in conjunction with Rimadyl to help maximize relief from her symptoms. Give her vet a call today to make an appointment. Best of luck!

I am sorry to hear about Lexi. Trembling in the legs can be a sign of pain or discomfort. I would recommend that Lexi see her vet for an examination. They can check her for things like arthritis or spinal pain. Spinal cord compression can also cause weakness/wobbliness/trembling while standing. They may recommend bloodwork to screen for things like hypothyroidism which can also manifest with neurological signs like tremors. There may be medication that can help Lexi dependingon the underlying cause of her trembling.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be an indication of pain or discomfort. This could be due to a neurological issue or an orthopedic issue. Regardless, it does seem like he should see a veterinarian for a proper diagnosis and treatment. At the very least they can prescribe pain control medications if he seems unconfortable. Good luck and have a good night!

It sounds like what you are describing is weakness. Did your pup have a neurologic exam? What we look for is evidence of pain (although this can sometimes be inconsistent in pets), loss of sensation to the feet (does he fail to flip his foot back over when the top of his foot is placed down?), and presence or absence of reflexes. The results of these tests can help to determine if it's neurologic in origin and what portion of the spinal cord may be affected. Although, it can sometimes be hard to differentiate orthopedic from neurologic disease. Plain xrays of the spine are helpful to rule out any bony abnormalities, and sometimes we can see evidence of narrow disc spaces, but ultimately we cannot see the spinal cord, nerves leaving the spinal cord, or the soft tissues. If a neurologic problem is suspected an MRI is often needed. But, there are also some other conditions that can cause weakness that are metabolic in origin (has your guy had any senior lab work recently?) or related to loss of signaling to the muscles (for example a disease called myasthenia gravis) or related to a degenerative process such as degenerative myelopathy. If there is a component of pain detected on exam then anti-inflammatory pain medication may help. If you feel like things are getting worse it would be a good time to have a re-evaluation with your family vet. Another option as well, if a neurologic process is suspected, would be to have a consult with a veterinary neurologist. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

From the treatment your veterinarian has given, I can assume that he/she is suspecting your Lily is suffering from epilepsy. Phenobarbital is usually the treatment for it. On other hand a presentation with imbalance problems is more compatible with a geriatric-idiopathic vestibular syndrome, which has a good prognosis and rapid recovery even without treatment. The weakness Lily is experiencing is probably due to side effect of the drug itself and not to the actual disease. Another check up and physical examination are absolutely needed to have a better idea of underlying cause. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hi there and thank you for your post! Rimadyl does not have this side effect typically. I would suspect that Shanti could be dealing with weakness from arthritis or vestibular disease. Vestibular disease will typically go away on its own after time. Arthritis weakness will usually be around long term and providing palliative care to reduce discomfort is the best thing to do at this stage. If the weakness / loss of balance worsens, I would see your vet to have her examined. A dog Shanti's age may also develop brain lesions that can affect her gait, balance and cognition. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation.

Poor girl. The fact that she is wobbly and running into things, means that this is likely neurological. I would definitely have her seen by your vet right away for a thorough examination and brief neuro exam to see if we can find the underlying cause for this. One common cause for these types of sudden neurological symptoms in older dogs is vestibular disease, which can be caused by an inner ear infection, a brain tumor, or idiopathic (no underlying cause found). Idiopathic vestibular disease is the most common one we see and typically can improve on its own within a few weeks time with supportive care through your vet. I hope that things work out well for your pet Molly moving forward. Best wishes and take care!