If you’re wondering “Why are my husky’s legs shaking?”, you’re right to be concerned. Your canine pet experiencing uncontrollable shaking legs, whether the front or back legs, is something you shouldn’t ignore.
Other than old age and general weakness, shaky legs on a husky can be a sign of a serious health problem. Being quick and diligent with getting your dog treated for the issue is key to preventing irreversible or even fatal side effects.
This article covers the most common reasons that may be triggering the shaking of your husky’s legs.
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Why Are My Husky’s Back Legs Shaking?
If your husky’s shaking legs are its rear limbs, then the culprit could be one of the following husky health problems:
Intervertebral disc disease
If your husky is getting older, there’s a chance it’s developing intervertebral disc disease.
In this condition, the vertebral discs (the soft material between spinal vertebrae) break down, leaving their place empty.
This lack of cushioning between bones causes pain. It also allows the spinal bones to put pressure on the spinal nerves, including the lumbar spine that controls the back legs.
Besides the hind legs shaking, you may also notice your husky unwilling to play and losing its appetite.
Pain tremors
If your husky’s back legs are shaking, it may be because of pain in the knees, hip, or another joint. This is typically due to age-related conditions such as hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis.
Hip dysplasia causes dogs to rely on their front legs, so their back limbs get weaker and lose muscle. Osteoarthritis is the breakdown of cartilage in joints, leading to their inflammation.
Neurological disorders
If your husky’s shaking back legs are causing it trouble standing or walking, then the dog may be suffering from a nervous system problem.
Shaking legs can be a sign of bad communication between the spinal nerves and the brain. It can also indicate nerve damage.
This can be due to brain/spinal cord trauma, epilepsy, infections, brain tumors, seizures, and various other neurological conditions.
Accident/Injury
If your husky has been in an accident or suffered an injury, it may be the reason for its back legs shaking.
An accident or injury could cause nerve/spine damage, fractures, or tendon/ligament damage, triggering shaking in the hind limbs. Your pup could also have overexerted its muscles and is experiencing the effects of the strain.
Other signs indicating an accident or an injury include:
- Limping
- Inability to play, jump, or move
- Dragging the back legs
- Arched back
- Inability to bend down
Diabetes
Much like humans, dogs can suffer from diabetes. It happens when your husky’s pancreas doesn’t produce insulin as normal or if its body doesn’t interact correctly with insulin in the blood.
The result is high blood sugar levels, which strains the kidneys and causes weakness and trembling in the pup’s back legs.
Additional symptoms of canine diabetes include:
- Weight loss despite eating normally
- Increased appetite
- Frequent urination
- Higher water intake
Degenerative myelopathy
This is a genetic disease that affects the spinal cord, causing a loss of nerve signals. This leads to muscle weakness, spasms, loss of coordination, and back legs shaking.
Eventually, this disease ends with a walking disability. Degenerative myelopathy doesn’t yet have a cure, but your vet can help slow down its effects.
Phosphate deficiency
This condition results from electrolyte imbalance in the husky’s body, showing symptoms such as:
- Fragile bones
- Muscle weakness and pain
- Bone pain
- Irregular heartbeat
- Difficulty in breathing
- Seizures
These side effects can also include shaking of the hind legs.
Addison’s disease
This disorder is less seen in dogs, but it can still affect your husky especially if it’s a female.
It causes the adrenal glands to stop producing aldosterone and cortisol hormones, which are essential for controlling salt levels, maintaining blood sugar, and handling stress.
Without these hormones, the dog’s body can’t function properly.
Symptoms include:
- Decreased appetite
- Low energy
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Weakness
- Weight loss
- Tremors
- Back leg shaking
Why Are My Husky’s Front Legs Shaking?
If your husky’s shaking legs are its front limbs, one of the following problems could be to blame:
Anxiety/Stress/Fear
If you notice your husky’s front legs are shaking and you can’t find a clear reason, it could be due to anxiety, stress, or fear.
Huskies respond to these emotions in various ways, including excessive howling, whining, hiding, panting, erratic jumping, twitching, and front leg shaking.
Pain/Injury
Like back legs shaking, your husky’s front legs could be shaking due to pain and/or injury. Examples range from strained muscles and torn ligaments to arthritis and fractures.
You may also notice your husky licking, limping, or not using the front legs.
Low blood sugar
Your husky may be suffering from low blood sugar, which causes muscle twitching, muscle tremors, and seizures.
This may lead to the front legs shaking. Additional symptoms include sleepiness, weakness, strange behaviors, and confusion.
High blood salt
When the salt level in your husky’s blood is too high, it can show the following symptoms:
- Decreased alertness
- Vomiting
- Weakness
- Lack of energy
- Tremors
- Seizures
- Front legs shaking
Kidney disease
Damaged kidneys can lead to the build-up of waste materials and toxins in the blood, which can cause various symptoms in your husky.
In addition to the front legs shaking, your pup may experience vomiting, weakness, confusion, and unusual behavior.
Neurological problems
Nervous system disorders don’t only affect back legs, but also the front legs. Your husky could be suffering from seizures, tumors, epilepsy, infections, or brain/spinal cord damage.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell by now, there can be many answers to the question “Why are my husky’s legs shaking?”. Knowing how to handle the situation can be crucial to your husky’s health.
If you notice your dog’s legs shaking, schedule a visit to the vet right away.
Meanwhile, check how often the shaking happens, if it happens at specific times, or if it only affects one side of the body. You should also check for other symptoms such as fatigue and vomiting.
Does your husky’s legs shake?
Share your experience and tips for helping them in the comments below.
