My French Bulldog Back Legs Are Shaking: Your French Bulldog can shake and tremble for all manner of reasons — cold, nervous, stressed, suffering from anxiety, very excited, old age, and pain. Shivering and shaking, which can be prominent in the back legs, can also signify something serious — such as infection, kidney failure, or trauma.
If your Frenchie unexpectedly begins shaking or crying, then, in that case, it’s essential to take note of other conditions such as diarrhea, vomiting, or hobbling. Speak to your veterinarian as soon as you can if you see several symptoms together.
Common Causes and Treatments
Some of the most likely reasons for shaking, tremors, or trembling in French Bulldogs include:
| Cold | Anxiety |
| Excited | Old age |
| Addison’s disease | Nausea |
| Distemper | Poisoning |
Cold
The likely reason your Frenchie could be trembling is that it might just be cold. If the temperature is cold outside and you feel cold yourself, assume that your French Bulldog is feeling cold too.
When your Frenchie feels cold, they will shiver, and this is just a symptom of that.
Make sure you bring your Frenchie in from the backyard. Instead, choose a short, quick walk or perhaps even check out an indoor dog park (if you have some nearby) to give your French Bulldog some activity while staying warm.
While many dog breeds have nice thick coats to warm them up outdoors, the poor French Bulldog does not have that luxury. They would be likely to benefit from an extra winter jacket, hopefully stopping them from shaking from the cold.
Anxiety
One of the difficult things about your friendship with your Frenchie is when something is upsetting them, they can’t communicate with you easily. With problems like anxiety, you have to be mindful of the symptoms so that you can help your French Bulldog cope.
If your French Bulldog’s legs or body is shaking, it might be anxious. In that case, there are identifiable signs and medications available to alleviate your Frenchies’ anxiety. There are three types of anxiety they could be suffering from:
| Separation anxiety | Separation anxiety is when your Frenchie does not want to be separated from you, this is by far the most common type of anxiety that dogs suffer. |
| Fear of loud noises | Thunderstorms and fireworks can cause fear in your Frenchie. For this reason, they sometimes get nervous when they think a storm is approaching. |
| Changes in environment | Less common causes of anxiety may include environmental changes, such as traveling to a veterinarian, in a car if they are not used to it, or even changing your working hours. More or less, any abrupt change to the daily routine may lead to anxiety. |
Symptoms of anxiety
| Legs and body shaking. | Barking or howling |
| Panting and pacing | Running away and/or cowering in the corner of a house |
| Escaping the yard | Destroying furniture |
| Self-harm | Not eating |
| Urinating more frequently | Restlessness |
Treating anxiety
| Behavioral training | For separation anxiety, seek to train your dog’s negative correlation with being lonely to pleasant by offering them something that they enjoy playing with during the day to distract them. |
| Medical treatment | If your Frenchie demonstrates a severe anxiety condition, your veterinarian can prescribe drugs or natural therapies. SSRIs and antidepressants are usually administered for anxious dogs, including fluoxetine or clomipramine. |
Excited
An excessively excited French Bulldog can display the following behaviors – shaking/tremoring, nonstop jumping up or down, running around in circles, and barking excessively.
If your Frenchie is attempting to work off this excess energy in this manner, it may look like they are shaking all over; you may even think it’s normal French Bulldog behavior.
Even so, as a Frenchie owner, it is important to realize that an over-excited French Bulldog is not necessarily a happy dog.
Symptoms of a over-excited dog
| Legs and body shaking. | Fast heart rate |
| Fast breathing | Dilated pupils |
| Tense body | Panting |
| Repeatedly jumping around | Relentless barking |
| Pacing | Spinning in circles |
Treating over excited dog
| See Your VetSome medical conditions can give rise to stress and anxiety, which may contribute to higher excitement levels. It’s always better to see a veterinarian to rule out medical conditions. | |
| Exercise/Mental Stimulation | Exercise body and a relaxed mind will help lower excitement levels, so there would be space to practice calming behaviors. |
| Identify the Triggers | You can not reduce your Frenchies’ high excitement levels until you know precisely what triggers or circumstances are causing that excitement. Identify when your French Bulldog starts to get the most excited and what was happening at the time. |
| Desensitize to the Triggers | In the practice of desensitization, you introduce triggers that cause excitement in your Frenchie in a less active way. You will need to figure out how to make triggers and conditions less intense. |
Old Age
Around the age of 14, your French Bulldogs age is equal to a 72-year-old human. If your elderly Frenchie is unexpectedly shaking or trembling, it may not be a natural age-related transition, and it will entail a visit to the vet for an examination.
The following are several things that could cause Frenchie to shake their legs and body as they get to this age.
Symptoms Of Old Age
| Legs and body shaking | The nervous system |
| Sensitivity to adrenaline | Arthritis |
| Addison’s disease | Muscles weakness |
| Pain |
Old Age Treatment
Effective treatments for age-related issues will differ significantly, depending on the underlying cause. A veterinarian would be able to inform you of the medical options for your Frenchie after they have been evaluated and the appropriate diagnostic tests have been conducted.
Addison’s disease
Addison’s disease, known scientifically as hypoadrenocorticism, is a disorder with severe implications for you, Frenchie. However, dogs diagnosed with Addison’s disease are expected to have a natural lifespan with appropriate care.
Addison’s disease occurs whenever the adrenal glands fail to create the hormones they are responsible for your French Bulldog’s body to function.
Symptoms Of Addison’s disease
| Legs and body shaking. | Weight loss |
| Diarrhea | Vomiting |
| Hair loss | Dehydration |
| Weak pulse | Irregular heart rate |
| Increased thirst | Bloody stools |
Addison’s disease Treatment
Your vet will try to manage Addison’s disease as it is an emergency and will stabilize your Frenchie as quickly as possible. Your French Bulldog will be admitted and receive intensive treatment to treat the impact of the disease.
When your Frenchie is out of imminent risk, your veterinarian will prescribe substitute hormone drugs to help Frenchie cope with the disorder.
Nausea
Your French Bulldog can vomit just because it has eaten something unpleasant or too quickly consumed far too much food. But vomiting may mean something much more serious.
Your Frenchie may have ingested a poisonous substance and might have a condition that needs emergency medical treatment. Nausea can also be associated with gastrointestinal and neurological conditions, which a vet should treat.
Symptoms Of Nausea
| Legs and body shaking. | Dehydration |
| Lethargy | Diarrhea |
| Blood in vomit | Weight loss |
| Change in appetite | Increase or decrease in thirst |
Nausea Treatment
Based on your French Bulldogs’ age, medical background, physical assessment, and your dog’s unique conditions, your vet can choose to perform a wide variety of diagnostic tasks.
In some cases, your Frenchie may need fluid treatment, antibiotics, dietary changes, antiemetics, or other drugs. It is important to follow the advice of your vet about proper care.
Distemper
Distemper in dogs is an extremely infectious and often lethal disease that can affect your Frenchie. It is a contagious virus that is often transmitted by contact with clothes, brushes, food, water bowls, or other shared items. It can even be transmitted by fresh urine or blood.
There is no proven treatment for distemper, and young dogs which have not been vaccinated and elderly unimmunized dogs are more vulnerable to disease.
Symptoms Of Distemper
| Legs and body shaking. | Fever |
| Clear nasal discharge | Anorexia |
| Vomiting | Diarrhea |
| Difficulty breathing | Head tilt |
| Muscle twitching | Death |
Distemper Treatment
There’s no treatment for canine distemper. Treatment is solely supportive when identified. Vets diagnose distemper through several clinical symptoms and laboratory tests.
Veterinarians will treat diarrhea, nausea, and neurological symptoms, avoid dehydration and aim to prevent infections. Most vets suggest that your Frenchie be treated and isolated from other dogs to avoid the infection from spreading.
Poisoning
Becoming informed of the signs of dog poisoning may help save your French Bulldog one day. Below are the warning signs of potential toxic reactions and when to quickly seek medical attention if you see symptoms that your Frenchie might have been subjected to a poison.
Symptoms Of Poisoning
| Legs and body shaking. | Nosebleeds |
| Diarrhea | Vomiting |
| Seizures | Loss of appetite |
| Irregular heartbeat | Inability to urinate |
Distemper Treatment
Your veterinarian will evaluate your French Bulldogs situation before determining the treatment. Your vet’s objective will stabilize your Frenchie before any medical tests or procedures are carried out.
Treatment can be diverse, including endoscopy and removing things like bates, induced vomiting, or surgery in severe cases.
There are also antidotes for some poisons, including adder venom, some rat poisons, and antifreeze, but not all. Your dog’s symptoms will be treated to ensure their organs aren’t badly affected in most cases.
