We all have a dog who will have shivers or who will shake at some point. The real question and the one you need to ask right now is obvious. Why is my dog shaking? Well, there is no one magical explanation here. Dogs can shake due to 6 reasons. You need to pay attention to the details in order to understand and get the most accurate answer. Here are the reasons.
Main Reasons Why Is My Dog Shaking
1. Your Dog Is Cold
Yes, dogs do feel cold and they don’t like it. If your pet is shaking when the temperature is low, you can deduce the obvious. Why is my dog shaking? He is cold and the type of movement is used to make the blood flow faster to increase the temperature of the body. It is an involuntary movement.
You should help your pet get warm. Smaller dog breeds and the ones that don’t have thick fur are more prone to this issue. Make sure your pet is always warm. You can get him dog clothes if it is too cold where you live.
2. He Is Scared, Anxious, Or Stressed
It is possible that your dog has a fear of loud noises. Maybe he is anxious because you weren’t at home all day long. Perhaps he has some other issues so he is under a lot of stress.
The main thing here is to diagnose what causes shaking. If loud noises are present when he shakes, you will know the answer. Then, just try to solve the problem. You can help your pet adapt to loud noises.
3. Illness Or Pain Can Cause Shivering
Sadly, there are some health-related issues that can cause shaking. Generalized tremor syndrome is one of the examples here. It is something that a lot of experts call shaker syndrome and it means that your dog will shake all the time. Other issues that can cause this are Addison’s Disease, distemper, hypoglycemia, and more.
If you notice this, make sure you take him to a vet as soon as you can. He can check your dog and determine if he is sick or if he needs some treatment. There is no way you can do all of this at home, all by yourself.
4. Your Pet Is Excited
If your dog shakes only when he is super-excited you will get the answer in seconds. There are a few things we must point out. The first one is that most dogs will do this but not all. Experts don’t know why dogs do this. It is still a mystery. But some believe that massive emotions cause them to shake. Once the excitement ends, he will stop shaking.
This may look weird, strange, or even dangerous. It is none of those things. You can allow your dog to shake when he is excited. There won’t be any complications.
5. You Have A Senior Dog
You probably know that old people do shake sometimes. Well, old dogs do the same thing. Arthritis, joint pain, and a lot of other issues can cause shaking. In general, this happens when the leg muscles are too weak and a dog starts to shake
. Sadly, a lot of dogs will shake due to old age.
One thing we can add here is that you should take your pet to a vet first and make sure he is fine and there is no disease or something that causes pain. Even if there are no causes, a vet may recommend a diet change or something other to help your pet minimize shaking. Sadly, there is no miracle solution for this issue.
6. Dogs Do This To Get Attention
This refers to dogs who have been shaking due to one of the other reasons here. Soon they realize that you will comfort them every single time when they shake. As a result, dogs will know that this behavior will get them massive attention. They are smart and they know that this behavior works well in helping them get the attention they want.
Even if you have comforted your pet a couple of times due to shakes, he will realize that you are in a problem. He will start shaking every single day because he needs and wants your attention. He knows that this will help him get attention.
The Final Word
These are all the most common explanations. Why is my dog shaking? It is due to one of these reasons. It is possible that he is shaking due to multiple causes from the list as well. Most of the time these are harmless and there is no need to worry. But, in some cases, you will want to take him to a vet and make sure he is healthy.
Discussion about this post