As a dog owner, every change, however small, in dogs is often alarming. More specifically, if you notice your dog trembling, shivering, or shaking frequently, the dog’s health can be questioned because it isn’t usual.
While shivering can result from many reasons, including coldness, medical challenges, excitement, anxiety, fear, discomfort, etc., it can be pretty challenging to determine the ideal technique to mitigate the shaking.
And yes, no two shaking triggers should be addressed the same way if you want long-term and optimal health for your dog.
So, if your dog is shaking and you’re unsure why, read this post to the end. It unveils some common causes of shaking in dogs and practical ways to mitigate them.
1. Pain
Trembling and shivering in dogs can also result from a certain pain, causing upsets. Common pains in dogs can come from injuries, infections, and chronic illnesses. Whatever the cause, you’d certainly agree that dogs can be often exposed to pain than most domesticated animals.
Others can be ailing from bone cancer and arthritis, all trembling symptoms, especially when the dog moves.
Additional signs to infer that the shaking of your dog is due to pain include:
- Limping
- Low appetite
- Panting
- Excessive licking
- Whining
Solution
Upon ruling out that the shaking is due to pain, try rubbing the belly, toes, and anywhere else where the pain can be coming from. Even so, rub gently; if the dog cries, you can determine the exact pain point.
Subsequently, you can find a suitable pain reliever or treatment such as Carprofen for dogs, a non-inflammatory drug meant to reduce soreness and pain.
What’s more? Whether the pain subsides, taking your dog to your vet for a better diagnosis and treatment is crucial.
2. Cold
Just like humans, dogs also feel cold and can shake when the cold is mild. Remember, dogs like Dobermans and greyhounds aren’t hairy; thus, they are more vulnerable to cold, especially in winter. Some dogs get chilly even when temperatures are between 55 and 65 degrees. Unsurprisingly, you can find a dog coughing in broad daylight with high temperatures.
To determine if the cold is the cause of shaking your dog, you can touch the base of their ear. If it’s too cool, the dog may be experiencing cold.
Solution
Of course, the most significant step involves being more cautious about the environment you expose your dog to. If the weather is rainy, humid, or cloudy, a dog is likelier to feel cold; hence ensure to keep them in a warm, enclosed cage. In addition, why not find a doggy vest or sweater that fits your dog to dress during chilly times?
Also, invest in a heavy, warm bed and mattress in a warm sleeping spot. This way, you’ll be sure the dog is warm, preventing cold-related like hyperthermia, frostbite, and antifreeze poisoning.
3. Anxiety and Stress
Dogs will not always shake because of cold and weather changes. Dogs shake, too, due to stress and anxiety. Often. Dogs can experience stress and anxiety after encountering strangers, following a visit to a veterinarian, memory loss due to aging, isolation, new environments, a sudden meet-up with many people, etc.
If you notice your dog shaking following such or related events, you can know that your dog is anxious or fearful.
In addition to shaking, an anxious or feared dog experiences sudden aggression, restlessness, yawning, destroying objects, incontinence, pants, and repeating various actions.
Solution
Firstly, determine the trigger and get the dog out of the situation accordingly. If shaking occurs after a certain event, eliminate the dog or the event itself. For instance, you can put your dog in a quiet place away from the sight of strangers or construction noise or even leave a dog park. But surely, you can only provide such solutions after understanding the root cause.
What’s more? Speak to your puppy more frequently, soothing and touching it. This reassures the dog that they should be at peace and stress-free. It also eliminates the fearful habits that the dog can experience in the future.
4. Diseases and Infections
When your dog is ailing from neurological infections, distemper, seizure disorders, and low blood calcium, among other scary infections, it’s possible to notice it shaking. While this depends on the severity and the exact disease, it’s important to note that some are manageable, but others are often fatal.
So, should you notice shaking, among other symptoms, be timely in taking action.
Solution
In this case, the most effective and significant solution is seeking a veterinarian’s assistance for a full checkup. But you must explain in detail all the other symptoms you’ve noticed in the dog, whether extreme or slight.
Furthermore, always vaccinate your dogs at the most appropriate time and with the right dosages. Also, adopt preventive measures to avoid systemic infections such as neurological diseases and seizure disorders, which symptoms are hard to recognize.
Conclusion
A dog can shake for various reasons, regardless of age, breed, or size. However, the severity often differs depending on the cause, the dog’s resistance strength, and the behavioral therapy you frequently subject your dog to.
As such, some cases require a diagnosis from a professional veterinarian, while in others, you can provide solutions yourself. For instance, if you anticipate the cause of the shaking to be infection related, it’s best to incorporate a veterinarian. But if the cause is cold, you can dress the dog in a sweater.
Every dog is unique, so finding the right approach requires patience and adjustment. By recognizing this, you can rest assured that your dog will get optimum results.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
