Why is my dog weak, shaking, slow, and not using her back leg?

Question

Gmorning Doc, my name is Dave.I have a Pitbull and she is not using her back left leg, now a day later it looks like her whole body moving slow. She's shaking like she's cold. She has no energy but she has had an appetite and is drinking normally. It looks like something is paralyzing her. Please help me. Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Female | unspayed | 5 years and 11 months old | 90 lbs

Jeffrey Milner · Accepted Answer

Hi Dave! Sorry to here that Cocoa isn't feeling so great! There are lots of different reasons to cause hind limb lameness in dogs. The most common ones include traumatic injuries, joint infections, tick borne diseases, neural disorders, and certain cancers. In the area that I practice, I generally consider all hind limb to be considered a result of a traumatic injury or lyme disease until proven otherwise. I would recommend having Cocoa examined thoroughly by a vet, having her temperature taken (which you can easily do at home), check for Lyme, and make sure that she is actually neurologically sound. Based on the pain response that the vet gets in the hind leg, he/she may want to obtain x rays of the leg. The most common leg injury in dogs in the hind end is the tear of the cruciate ligament. Anyway, I would try to get her over there sometime soon after the holiday weekend. In the meantime, I know it's hard to watch her be in pain, but I would hold off on giving anything like aspirin or ibuprofen. This will interfere with the vet's ability to prescribe other drugs that can be used long term. Hope this helps!

Why is my dog weak, shaking, slow, and not using her back leg?

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