Why Is My Dog Shaking? Emergency Signs, Common Causes and What to Do Now

Start with the dog in front of you. Look at breathing, awareness and whether your dog can stand. AAHA and the Merck Veterinary Manual both treat these as emergencies, and I would not wait on any of them.

Go to an emergency veterinarian now if the shaking comes with any of these:

• Trouble breathing, or breathing that stays abnormal.
• Collapse, loss of consciousness or inability to stand.
• Severe weakness, confusion or no response when you call your dog.
• Pale, white, blue, gray or purple gums.
• Repeated or heavy vomiting or diarrhea.
• A swollen or painful belly, especially with retching that brings nothing up. That pattern fits bloat in dogs, which is an emergency.
• Known or suspected poisoning.
• Seizure-like movements, especially if they go on or come back.
• Severe pain.
• A puppy that will not eat and is also weak, shaky, acting strangely or collapsing.
• Heat exposure with heavy panting, vomiting, disorientation, poor coordination or collapse.

If your dog needs CPR, our guide on how to do CPR on a dog walks through it while you get to the clinic.

While you decide where to go, keep your dog away from stairs, water, other pets and anything sharp. Watch the breathing. Note the time the shaking started. If it is safe and does not slow you down, record a short video; vets often cannot see an episode again once it stops. Do not give food, water, medicine or a home remedy unless a veterinarian or poison-control professional tells you to. Then call the clinic on your way so the team is ready for you.

If your dog is breathing normally, awake, able to walk and the shaking has a clear cause that is passing, the next sections will help you sort out what is going on.

Plenty of shaking has an ordinary cause, and the context usually gives it away. The AKC lists cold, wet fur and excitement among the common reasons. Whole-body shaking after a bath or a swim is one of them. Some small dogs also shiver more easily, and older dogs can shake more when they are losing muscle or feeling sore.

Fear is the other big one. UC Davis lists trembling alongside a tucked tail, a lowered head, lip licking, freezing, hiding, urinating and trying to escape. AAHA's behavior guidelines add panting, a faster heartbeat, stiff muscles, yawning and vocalizing. Storms, fireworks, the vet's office, strangers and unfamiliar places are the usual triggers. Our guide to dog body language shows what these signals look like together.

What makes a harmless cause believable is the overall situation. It is more reassuring when:

• There is a clear trigger.
• Your dog is awake, breathing normally and able to walk.
• Your dog still wants food and water.
• The shaking stops when the trigger ends.

It is less reassuring when the shaking is new, shows up without a trigger, continues at rest, gets worse or keeps returning. Treat it the same way if it comes with pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, confusion, abnormal gum color, trouble breathing or collapse. A trigger that explains part of what you see does not excuse the rest of it.

Head shaking is a different thing from whole-body shaking. If your dog shakes the head after a bath or after you clean the ears, look for redness, odor, discharge, scratching or discomfort. Those call for a vet visit, and our guides on dog ear infections and how to clean your dog's ears cover what to do next.

For fear-based shaking, the low-risk steps are to lower the trigger, move your dog to a quiet, safe place and avoid forcing contact. If the episodes are severe, frequent or getting worse, talk to your veterinarian or a qualified behavior professional. A medical cause should be ruled out first.

No single temperature is safe for every dog. The Merck Veterinary Manual points to how long your dog is exposed, whether the coat is wet, wind, shelter, how used the dog is to the cold, body size, age, coat and health. Very young and very old dogs are at more risk. A wet dog in wind can be in trouble at a temperature that is fine for a dry dog out of the wind.

The surprise for many owners is that shivering is not a reliable sign of hypothermia. Merck's cold-weather guidance says shivering is not usually a sign of it in pets. The signs that matter more are:

• Weakness.
• Disorientation or confusion.
• Shallow breathing.
• A slow pulse.
• Collapse or unconsciousness.
• Skin that looks pale or red, swollen and painful, or later black and hard, which are frostbite signs.

A dog with weakness, confusion, shallow breathing, a slow pulse, collapse or unconsciousness needs a veterinarian immediately.

If your dog is cold and wet but otherwise alert, dry your dog first and wrap your dog in something warm. Merck advises warm, not hot, water bottles around the body. Do not use very hot water, rub skin you think might be frostbitten or put snow on it. If heavy panting, vomiting and disorientation sound closer to what you see, treat it as possible heat illness and head to an emergency vet.

It can. AAHA's pain guide lists trembling, reluctance to move, guarding a body part, limping and heavy panting at rest as signs of pain. A hunched posture belongs on that list too. Pain can be quiet, so do not wait for a yelp. The AKC also names nausea as a cause of shaking, and our guides on dog vomiting and dog diarrhea cover the stomach signs that often come with it.

A few medical causes are worth knowing by name. Low blood sugar can cause weakness, a poor appetite, confusion, tremors and seizures, and Cornell describes these signs in diabetic dogs. Puppies, toy breeds and diabetic dogs are the ones at higher risk, so a puppy that is shaky and will not eat needs a vet quickly. See diabetes in dogs and dog not eating. Ask your vet or the emergency clinic what to do about food and water on the way, and do not give medicine or insulin on your own.

Hormone and organ problems can also show up as weakness and shaking. Our guides on Addison's disease in dogs and kidney disease in dogs describe what vets look for. VCA lists metabolic, kidney, liver and neurological problems among the things that can sit behind shaking and seizures. Only blood work and an exam sort them out. If your dog is a senior, new shaking is worth a call too, and the senior dog care guide explains what changes with age.

One more point on fever. Do not try to diagnose it by touch. A dog can feel warm without having a fever, and pain is easy to miss. Merck gives a typical rectal temperature for dogs of about 101.5 to 102°F, and a reading outside the usual range, difficult breathing, collapse, marked weakness, severe pain or a change in awareness is a veterinary problem. Never force a thermometer into a frightened, painful or fighting dog. If you cannot tell, call your vet and describe what you see.

If there is any chance, treat it as an emergency, even if your dog looks fine for now. Pet Poison Helpline says not to use home antidotes or induce vomiting unless a veterinarian or poison-control professional tells you to, and I agree with that completely.

Shaking and tremors can follow:

• Chocolate. Merck lists tremors, rigidity and seizures. Our chocolate entry has more.
• Xylitol. The ASPCA advises calling its poison control center or your vet right away after possible exposure.
• Human medications and some recreational drugs. Merck lists tremors, weakness, seizures and abnormal temperature for prescription drugs.
• Moldy food, compost and food waste. Merck describes tremorgenic mold toxins that can cause signs within one to two hours, or several hours, after exposure. Signs can last days to weeks.
• Some plants.

AAHA lists shakiness, weakness, vomiting, confusion and seizures among the signs of poisoning.

What to do: take your dog away from the source, keep the packaging or ingredient list, and call. Do not reach into the medicine cabinet for something to counter it, and do not make your dog vomit unless a professional says so. Use the amount and product that professional gives you.

Your regular vet or an emergency clinic is also a good first call, and our dog toxin dose checker can help you describe what your dog ate. You can find local clinics in the veterinarian directory.

This is the question that changes what you do next. With ordinary shivering or tremoring, a dog is usually aware and responsive, can look at you and may be able to walk. A generalized seizure can involve collapse, loss of awareness, stiffening, paddling, uncontrolled jerking, drooling and urinating or defecating, followed by confusion. VCA notes that seizures can also be focal, which means they affect one body part or one behavior and may not cause a dramatic collapse. So, a dog that is still awake is not automatically free of seizure activity.

If you think it is a seizure, AAHA advises:

• Stay calm and move furniture and sharp objects out of the way.
• Do not restrain your dog.
• Keep your hands away from the mouth and put nothing in it.
• Time the episode.
• Record video if you can do it safely.
• Call a veterinarian right after. Seizures that go on, or that repeat, are an emergency.

Our full guide, seizures in dogs, covers what to do during and after one. For a Spanish explanation, the SEV Neurology factsheet covers focal and generalized seizures and why video helps.

VCA describes shaker syndrome, also called generalized tremor syndrome, as tremors of the head and body. Other names include idiopathic generalized tremor syndrome and steroid-responsive tremor syndrome. It tends to begin in early adulthood, often at one to two years of age, and it is more common in dogs under 30 pounds, including many small white dogs. Dogs of any size or color can have it.

It cannot be diagnosed from the shaking alone. A veterinarian has to rule out other causes first, so the work-up may include a physical exam, blood tests and a urinalysis, with neurological testing added when it fits. Treatment and medicine decisions belong to your vet, and I am not going to guess at them here.

The more exact you are, the faster your vet can narrow things down. Before you go, or while you are on the phone, gather:

• When it started, how long it lasted and whether it has happened before.
• What was going on: a bath, a storm, a walk, a meal, a car ride.
• Which part of the body shook, and whether your dog was awake and aware.
• Any chance your dog got into food, chocolate, gum, medications, compost, plants or trash.
• Any medicines your dog takes.
• Vomiting, diarrhea, appetite and drinking.
• Whether your dog can stand and walk normally.
• Gum color and breathing.
• A video of the episode.

A short note on your phone, plus the video, is enough. Mention it if your dog has been wobbly or hiding.

These are the short answers owners ask for most.

It depends on what else is going on. Trembling after a bath, during a storm or from excitement that passes quickly is usually a cause for watching. Trembling with trouble breathing, collapse, severe weakness, repeated vomiting, abnormal gums, possible poisoning or seizure-like movements needs an emergency vet now. If it is new, unexplained or keeps coming back, call your veterinarian.

They can. AAHA lists trembling with reluctance to move, guarding, limping and heavy panting at rest as pain signs. If your dog shakes and also seems stiff, hunched or protective of a body part, call your vet.

Yes, shivering can go with nausea, fever or other illness. Look for other signs such as vomiting, low energy, a poor appetite or weakness, because shaking alone cannot tell you the cause.

There is no single number. Wet fur, wind, long exposure, small size, young or old age and poor health all lower the safe limit. Weakness, confusion, shallow breathing and a slow pulse matter more than shivering, and a dog showing them needs a vet right away.

Sometimes, but you cannot check for a fever by feeling your dog. A warm body does not prove a fever. Merck gives about 101.5 to 102°F as a typical rectal temperature, so if you are unsure, skip the thermometer if your dog resists and call your vet.

It is a condition with tremors of the head and body, also called shaker syndrome. Vets diagnose it only after ruling out other causes, usually with an exam and tests.

If your dog is showing any emergency sign, stop reading and go. If not, watch your dog closely, note the timing, record a short video and call your veterinarian about anything new, unexplained or repeated. I would rather you make a call that turns out to be nothing than wait on one that was not. You can find an emergency clinic or your regular vet in our veterinarian directory.

• American Animal Hospital Association: AAHA's behavior guidelines
• American Animal Hospital Association: AAHA's pain guide
• American Animal Hospital Association: AAHA
• American Animal Hospital Association: AAHA
• American Kennel Club: AKC
• ASPCA: ASPCA
• Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: Cornell
• Merck Veterinary Manual: cold-weather guidance
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Merck Veterinary Manual
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Merck Veterinary Manual
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Merck
• Merck Veterinary Manual: prescription drugs
• Merck Veterinary Manual: tremorgenic mold toxins
• Pet Poison Helpline: Pet Poison Helpline
• sevneurology.com: SEV Neurology factsheet
• UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine: UC Davis
• VCA Animal Hospitals: VCA
• VCA Animal Hospitals: VCA