Health
He shakes at fireworks, in the cold, with excitement before a walk. Or he shakes, drools, goes floppy and found the chocolate. A thirty-second video tells them apart.
Caution. Trembling with drooling, vomiting or disorientation (poisoning), trembling that becomes a seizure, a floppy small puppy who will not eat, a nursing bitch going stiff, a dog who cannot stand or cries in pain: ring your vet now, not tomorrow.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
It is New Year's Eve, fireworks are going off outside and your dog is standing in the middle of the room shaking from nose to tail, ears flat. In another house, a twelve-year-old dog's back legs tremble while he stands, and stop as soon as he lies down. In a third, a three-month-old toy puppy has been shivering and has not eaten since breakfast; he lies in your arms like a rag. And in a fourth, the dog is trembling and drooling, and now he has been sick too, an hour after you found a chewed chocolate wrapper on the floor.
Four situations, four different answers. The first passes when the fireworks stop. The second needs a check-up, but not tonight. For the third and fourth you ring your vet now, not after you have waited to see. Below: how to tell them apart, what to film, what to write down, what the vet will check and what not to do at home.
Ring your vet or head to the clinic now if:
The most useful thing you can do is take a thirty-second video. Shaking never performs on cue at the surgery. Your vet wants to see whether it is the whole body or one leg, fine or coarse, whether it stops when the dog moves or lies down, and whether he can see you and respond to you during it.
During a tremor the dog is aware: he follows you with his eyes, comes when called, takes a treat from your hand. During a seizure he does not respond and usually falls. That one difference decides whether you are booking a check-up or driving to the clinic.
The whole body, only the back legs, only the head (a fine "yes-yes" nod in an otherwise normal dog), a single leg, the jaw. Fine like a shiver, or coarse. While standing, at rest, asleep. Twitching paws and lips in sleep are dreams, and that is normal.
Write down the time. What was going on in the house: noise, visitors, you leaving. What it was like outside: cold, rain, or he had just had a bath. Before or after food, after exercise. Some dogs shake before something they love. Ours tremble with excitement while we put the trailing harness on and stop the second they set off. Note how long it lasted and how it stopped.
Appetite, thirst (especially if he has been drinking more lately), vomiting, diarrhoea, weight, how he walks, how he gets up in the morning. His rectal temperature, if you can take it.
For small puppies, when the last meal was. For older dogs, how long it has been going on and whether it is getting worse. For bitches, the last season and whether she is feeding a litter. Vaccinations. Any medication he is on, because some cause tremors.
Go through the house like a detective, even if it feels silly: the bin, your handbag, the gym bag with gum in the pocket, the cupboard under the sink, the garage, the garden with slug pellets, the compost heap, the mouldy walnuts under the tree.
| Situation | What it looks like | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Cold: wet coat, small dog or no undercoat | Shivering that stops as he warms up | Towel, warm spot; if it has not stopped within half an hour, ring |
| Fear (fireworks, thunder, the vet's) or excitement (before a walk) | Whole body, ears back or fidgety; passes when the cause goes | Quiet, distance, no telling off; for noise fear, a plan with a professional |
| Pain | Trembling with a hunched back, panting, not wanting to move, crying out when touched | Vet today |
| Nausea | Trembling with lip licking, drooling, gulping, eating grass | Vet if it keeps happening; see also the page on vomiting |
| Older dog, back legs while standing | Fine tremor that stops when he lies down; otherwise well | Booked appointment: checks for joint pain and muscle weakness |
| Small puppy who has not eaten or has been sick | Shivering, floppy, wobbly, glassy-eyed | Now |
| Young dog, often a small breed, fine tremor all over, nothing else to explain it | Whole body, worse with excitement and exercise; dog fully aware | Vet: there is a generalised tremor syndrome that responds to treatment prescribed by the vet |
| Poisoning | Trembling with drooling, vomiting, agitation, big pupils, disorientation | Now, with the packaging |
| Seizure | Falls, unresponsive, paddling, drooling, loses bladder control | Film it, keep him from hurting himself, ring |
Before you leave, ask which signs mean you should come back the same day, and whether to film any further episodes.
It is not a whim and he will not grow out of it. It usually gets worse. Until you have a plan with a professional, set up an inside room with the blinds down and steady background noise, and get his favourite bed ready in advance. Stay nearby, calm, and do not haul him out of his hiding place. Do the evening walk before the bangs start.
Talk to your own vet in good time as well. There is prescribed help for New Year's Eve, but it needs discussing weeks ahead, not at eleven o'clock on the 31st. If you do not have a regular vet yet, our page on related services explains how to choose a practice.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
There is a reason, you just cannot see it. The usual ones are cold (small, thin or wet dogs), excitement or fear of something you cannot hear, pain somewhere in the body, or nausea. Older dogs often tremble in the back legs while standing, usually harmlessly, but it is worth checking. Film the episode and note the time and what was going on: after three episodes you see the pattern, and your vet has something to work with.
Together, those two signs rule out cold and excitement and leave pain, nausea, fever, poisoning or, in small puppies, low blood sugar. A toy-breed puppy or an older dog should be seen the same day. An otherwise bright adult can wait a few hours with water available, but not a whole night. If vomiting, drooling or floppiness appear, ring straight away.
By the context and by what happens when you change something. Cold looks like a small, thin or wet dog in a chilly room, and the shivering stops within minutes under a blanket. Fear looks like ears back, tail down, looking for a corner or for you, panting, with fireworks or thunder outside or a vet's waiting room around him; it stops when the cause goes. If it is warm and quiet and he is still shaking, it is something else.
It is common, especially in the back legs while the dog is standing, and it stops when he lies down. Often it comes from muscles and nerves weakening with age and is nothing serious. But the same tremor shows up with joint or spinal pain, which can be treated and makes a real difference to his life. A check-up with your vet, including an orthopaedic and neurological exam, sorts it out. "He's old" is not a diagnosis.
Usually not. Sleeping dogs twitch their paws, lips and eyelids, make noises and jerk: they are dreaming. If you call his name and he wakes up, it was a dream. A seizure does not stop when you call: the dog is rigid or paddling, drooling, may wet himself and is not himself for minutes afterwards. If you are unsure, film it and show your vet.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
He hides under the table at every doorbell or trembles at lorries. Exposed "to get used to it", he got worse. Confidence comes from distance and his own choice.
He went over on his side, paddled his legs, drooled, then got up dazed. What to do next time, what to film and how you get to a diagnosis.
He sniffed the bowl and walked off, twice running, yet he's drinking and wagging. With a bright adult you can wait a day. With a puppy or an old dog, you can't.
Shaking under the desk, panting, refusing food. On the night you help him through it; the fear itself you work on during the rest of the year, and it does improve.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.