Help - sudden illness in my dog!

[Pumpernickel_pony]

Can anyone please help me? My 11 y/o dog has suddenly become quite unwell. He often has these strange panic attacks where he shakes uncontrollably and sometimes gets sick. We have had him checked by the vet and they said it was due to previous diet. This has been changed, but last night he had another fit of shakes, got sick and now, he cannot seem to stand and has, from my opinion, major muscle loss in his hind legs. He is also panting and his nose is very slightly running. He has fatty lumps all over (also checked by vet and worst biopsied and cleared)  and lately some trouble with his hind legs now and then. But he is still young and fit in himself and runs around the garden full tilt no problem, as he was doing yesterday up until last night. Please someone help, I'm desperately worried it may be cancer....

[TwoBitsMom]

Was any blood work done to assess kidney, and liver function...?  If not, it would be a good idea to have it done. Every senior dog should have blood work done on a yearly basis. Sadly, it was a lesson I learned the hard way. My vet never recommended it, and I never thought about it needing to be done.
Bring your dog back to the vet to be re-evaluated. Let us know how things go.
Best wishes..
Connie

[tonyb286]

Hello. Ok, first of all, a change of diet can take a short time to kick in, so if the previous diet was bad, you may not see much change for a week or two after it has been stopped. What was his previous diet and why did the vet say it was wrong for him?

Seizures - which the shakes sound like - take many forms and are not always the full-blown epileptic type of Grand Mal seizure. It could be that he has been having seizures for some months, but that they were so slight, they weren't manifesting in a visible or noticeable way.

Has your vet considered whether this shaking is in fact a seizure? Or has he determined it is due to anxiety or something else?

The hind leg problem may be due to his age - I'm sorry to say, but although you say he is still young ... at 11yrs, he's actually quite old. Hind leg problems are common amongst older dogs and of certain breeds too. He should be checked for arthritis in the joints by your vet, even if only to discount this likely possibility.

Hope this helps ... let me know your further thoughts or what the vet decides.

Tony