My nearly 3yo white Lab x Retriever has had problems with his legs shaking for most of his life. Sometimes it's in his front legs if they are slightly bent and he doesn't have his full weight on them, sometimes it's his back legs even while resting, we even noticed it while he was asleep recently. In the last couple of weeks he has been back chasing balls after a period where he wasn't let of the lead because of some behavioural challenges and I have noticed his back legs shaking badly. I have had him at the vet 3 times and they never say there is anything wrong with him. He is an anxious dog but I'm sure it's nothing to do with his anxiety. I'm wondering if it could be white shaker syndrome but I have read this mainly affects small breeds. Has anyone had any similar experience or can give some suggestions of what it might be or what I should say to the vet when I next take him?
If you have s phone film it happening keep a diary of when it happens and go to another vet for a second opinion if you have no joy with your normal one.
Amber shakes after a lot of exercise but is fine once she has eaten something. I usually give her chicken and a bit of veg after exercising.
It doesn't sound like 'white shaker syndrome' which us most commonly seen in small breeds and most often in white dogs but it seen in Yorkies which aren't white at all . The main symptoms are Tremors and shaking all over the dog's body Rapid eye movement when dogs are overly excited Symptoms may be confused for anxiety or hypothermia If the tremors in your boy are restricted to the legs I would be looking towards another cause for investigation. As @SwampDonkey says, try and video a few of the episodes and then show your vet.
My labrador does this too. He has done it most of his life, shaking on the non-weight bearing leg. If you gently push him so his weight is on the shaking the leg it stops shaking and the other one starts! Sometimes his back legs do it when he is asleep. I haven't worried too much about it as he has done it all his life although I do think it is getting more obvious as he gets older. He does have a more troubling gait issue which I've posted about on another thread - it looks similar to syringomyelia and he was checked out for that with an MRI scan which was clear.
We had Duke at the vet again and it turns out he has hip dysplaia and his tremors were due to pain. The pain was particularly bad because I had recently significantly increased his exercise by reintroducing ball chasing after a break of 6 months. At this stage it isn't too bad and we will just manage him medically rather than looking at surgery at this stage. I may repost under anew heading to get advice on hip dysplasia.
Oh wow, what a development. I'm so sorry to hear about Duke's HD. However, he is so lucky that you kept going to the vet and found the answer for him.
How was this diagnosed? Was he X-rayed? My boy’s hind legs tremble when he raises a leg to wee or when he’s squatting to poo. The vet says this is from a slipped L7-S1 disc - pressure on the nerve causes the trembling. He had an MRI and X-ray to confirm the orthopedic vet’s physical examination.
