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Shock first, then the question that won't stop: can this be fixed? This page is for that moment.
If you don't have one yet, see a vet, today if you can. The back legs can fail for very different reasons, and a few of them are emergencies: a disc pressing on the spinal cord, a tick bite, an injury from a fall or a car. You need to know what you are dealing with. Once you do, everything on this page will make more sense.
And hear this before anything else. For twenty-five years we have been receiving letters, and then videos, from families whose dogs were down and got up again. The first one came in the mail on a VHS tape in 2007: Lilly, whose family started recording before they had even opened the shipment. Whatever has taken your dog's back legs, the outcome you may be hoping for is not out of reach.
Families arrive here from two places. Pick the one that sounds like yours; both lead to the same next steps on this page.
This is the less daunting group, and we want you to hear that first. When a dog is still up and moving but the back end has gone unreliable, the causes vets find most often are arthritis, hip dysplasia, and injuries to a knee or ligament. These can make it very hard to walk or get up when they're severe, but in our experience over twenty-five years they are also the ones where a dog most often ends up moving and playing like a two- or three-year-old again. We hear that so frequently.
The four most common pictures are below. Whichever one is yours, the next steps on this page apply; the small links are there if you want to read deeper on that one condition later.
Stiff after rest, slow to stand, shorter walks, a limp that comes and goes. Inflammation in the joints is what the body is fighting, and it's the first thing nutrition can help with.
Bunny-hopping, a swaying back end, trouble with stairs, a diagnosis of dysplasia. Paralysis and hip dysplasia are the two mobility problems families bring to us most, and both respond well to the same approach.
Common in dogs who are highly active or exuberant in their play. These injuries can create more difficulty with recovery than arthritis does, but that doesn't put them beyond what the body can repair.
In Great Danes, Dobermans, and other large breeds, a wobble in the back legs can start in the neck. That's wobblers, and it has its own guide.
Now skip ahead to what recovery can look like ↓
Some dogs in this group are still trying. The front end gets up and the back end doesn't follow, or stands for a moment and slides out. In an older dog that is often arthritis or hips that have finally reached the point of failing, or muscle that has quietly wasted away. In a younger dog, or one who went down suddenly, a disc or a pinched nerve moves to the top of the list, and that needs a vet today.
Others are fully down. Full or partial paralysis is the most likely issue here, and it is usually tied to the spine: intervertebral disc disease (IVDD, sometimes called a slipped disc), a spinal injury, or a misalignment pinching a nerve. Dogs are hit by cars; they fall; they land wrong in exuberant play. The signs are hard to miss: a dog who is completely immobile, back legs that are crippled or weakened, or a dog who can't go to the bathroom without help.
Not every case starts with an injury. Degenerative conditions of the spinal cord (myelopathies) tend to follow certain breeds. A tick carrying Lyme disease can release a toxin that affects the nervous system, with signs appearing six to nine days after the bite; carefully removing the tick is usually enough to start reversing it, but left untreated it can reach the breathing muscles, so see a vet immediately. Infections that aren't treated quickly, especially in the ears or face, can damage nerves. A tumor pressing on the spine or a nerve bundle can cause a slow-arriving weakness on one side; a set of spinal x-rays will show whether that's what's happening.
Deeper reading, for later: disc disease and spinal problems → · paralysis with no injury behind it →
This is Lilly, the dog on the VHS tape. Her family started filming before the box was open.
Not every dog rebounds as quickly as Lilly did, and we would never tell you yours will. But we would ask you not to decide what the body can't do before you've given it the chance.
Here is the honest version, from the thousands of mobility cases we've worked with. The body's capacity to repair itself is far greater than most families are told; what it needs is the raw materials and time. Pain relievers and items promising "relief" can make a dog more comfortable, but they don't rebuild anything.
Food matters here too. A dog trying to rebuild nerve and muscle needs a diet that gives it something to work with, and diet is the first thing we go over on a consultation. Our recommended foods guide shows what to look for.
The Core FoundationSee the Mobility Program →Antioxidant Treats and Sprouted Granules together (Tiny Treats version for small dogs).
The Antioxidant Treats and Sprouted Granules are the same live-food nutrition in two forms; the beef-liver flavored Treats are made from the Granules. Here's what they do. The body uses them to produce its own antioxidant enzymes, and those enzymes do two jobs: clear out what has built up in the cells, and reduce the oxidative stress that keeps inflammation going around a damaged disc or nerve. Easing of inflammation is usually the first change families notice. The leg that starts to bear weight again is the body doing its own repair.
For a dog who is down, we recommend both together. If your dog is on medication, many of the families we work with do both as they gradually step down; that is a conversation to have with your vet, and we're glad to be part of it.
"My boy wasn't able to walk at all due to a pinched disc in his back. After we had tried numerous other treatments to no avail I did some research online and found Nzymes. After about 8 weeks, he is now walking again. He's able to walk, run and most importantly is not in any pain any longer."
Anne A., Calhan, Colorado, on Kasper
Before you decide what your dog can't do,
give the body a chance to show you.
See a vet, today if you can. Sudden weakness or collapse in the back legs can be a disc pressing on the spinal cord, and that is a case where hours matter. Get the diagnosis first, so you know what you are dealing with. Then come back and read the rest of this page.
Many do. We have over twenty-five years of letters and videos from families whose dogs were down and got up again with nutrition, rest, and time. We cannot promise it for every dog. What we can say is that the body's own capacity to repair is larger than most people are told, and it is worth giving it the chance.
A realistic expectation is two to four weeks to see the first signs of progress, and several months to see how far recovery goes. Some dogs move faster than that, and some slower. Our guarantee runs 120 days so you have the time to find out.
A cart can be a kind thing for a dog who is down right now, and nothing on this page argues against it. We would just ask you not to decide that the cart is forever before you have given the body a real chance to recover. Many of the dogs in our stories were in one at the start.
Both, at the same time. They are the same live-food nutrition in two forms, but a dog whose back legs are giving out is a dog whose body has been compensating for a long while, and it is running on empty. Giving the Treats and the Granules together is the quickest way to jump-start the body and get real nutrition and tools back into it. That is why the Core Foundation is both, and why it is what we recommend for a dog who is down. Once things are moving, many families settle into Granules in the bowl and Treats by hand.
Not sure which group your dog is in, or what to do while you wait for the vet? Tell us the breed, the age, and what you're seeing. A free half hour with the people who have walked hundreds of families through this.
The consultation is a scheduled half hour with the people who have walked hundreds of families through this, so you get real time and real answers. It's free, and it always will be.
