What Causes Dogs Back Legs To Be Weak?

There are many factors which could result in a dog losing control of its hind legs; all of which would need to be treated (once determined) by a veterinary professional to ensure fast recovery or adequate treatment to help elevate any pain and discomfort. 

If it is of a sudden nature it would suggest that the problem has been caused by a sudden event which has resulted in loss of control of the back legs. One common cause, in this case, could be due to disc disease of the spine. A slipped disc in a dog could put pressure on the nerves in the spinal cord, leading to an interruption of the messages from the brain to the legs. This would result in the dog being unable to coordinate its legs and can in some cases, if left untreated, can result in paralysis.

An X-ray may not show up these slipped discs, and so if this is presumed to be the case, a dye will be injected into the spinal column and this should hopefully show up the problem more clearly.

Also it is important to consider the breed of dog, as some dogs are prone to certain diseases which could be the cause of this problem. Alsatians are one example of this; this is caused by interbreeding.

My dog just got up and he couldn't stand up or walk. He was running into everything, never saw this before. He whined too, he's a 5 yr. Old lab. What should I do for him?

Larger breeds of dogs commonly develop his dysplasia, which is basically severe arithritis in their hips. It makes the dog unable to stand or support weight on his/her back legs, and usually leads the dog to crawl itself across the floor in order to eat.

There are surgeries that can be done, but given that it doesn't normally affect dogs until they are in the 'elderly' stage, there are serious risks of putting an old dog through a surgery like that

There are many possible reasons of weakness in the back legs of the dogs. Among them, age of the dog is itself major reason because aging can cause

1. Muscle weakness
2. Reduced flexibility of joints
3. Lost or reduced neurological control of limbs

Following are some other reasons of weakness in the back legs of dogs.

1. Arthritis
2. Ticks disease
3. Autoimmune disorders
4. Musculoskeletal problems
5. Disc dislocation
6. Disc degeneration
7. Bone tumors,
8. Cartilage damage
9. Anterior cruciate rupture
10. Hip dysplasia

He went to sleep ok and couldnt move his back legs in the morning what could this be