Do Dogs’ Legs Fall Asleep?

After spending a lot of time sleeping or just lying down, your furry buddy starts to stand up, but suddenly goes limp for a few steps and sometimes dragging his hind legs. After a few minutes of limping, you see him shake his legs out and run as if nothing happened.

Then you ask yourself, do dogs’ legs fall asleep?

The answer?

Yes!

Just like humans, a dog’s legs can also fall asleep.

A dog’s leg can fall asleep when he lies in the same position for a long period, restricting blood flow to some parts of his body. This lack of blood causes his limbs to “fall asleep.”

But you don’t need to go into a panic and call his vet. It was just his bad sleeping position and a temporary biological mishap. For more helpful information about dogs, check out DoggyBlogger.com.

Can Dog Legs Cramp Up?

Yes. Dogs can also experience leg cramps.

Sometimes, instead of his legs falling asleep, your pup will feel something like the sharp piercing pins and needles on his legs and yelp in pain.

Leg cramps are caused by their muscles spasming, causing the painful sensation known as paresthesia (feelings of piercing needles and pins), which prevents him from using his leg until the spasm stops.

However, leg cramps in dogs don’t just happen because of bad sleeping positions. There can be several factors, from overdoing it at the park to certain medical conditions that he could have.

Dog Muscle Cramps: Common causes

Too much exercise

If your pup has been running and getting more exercise than usual, then muscle fatigue and overexertion can be causing the spasms. Also, an actual muscle injury or tear can be the cause.

Lack of Fluids

Another common cause of muscle spasms is dehydration. When the muscles do not receive enough water, they can’t contract properly. Thus, you should always provide your pup with fresh water, especially if your dog is quite active.

Seizures

Although muscle spasms and epileptic seizures are different, seizures may cause muscle spasms.

Epilepsy can cause recurrent seizures in your pup, and spasms may occur as a result of this repetitive behavior.

Canine Stress Syndrome

Canine Stress Syndrome is a neurological disorder that specific breeds are prone to, such as the Labrador Retriever. This hereditary condition can only show symptoms as a result of psychological stress. Symptoms of CSS include involuntary muscle spasms, hyperthermia, anxiety, and severe seizures.

Dog Limping: Common Causes

Like humans, your dog can develop illnesses or get injuries that lead to limping. Limping or lameness means that your pup is walking abnormally on one or more limbs. In some cases, your dog can put weight on all legs, but there’s either obvious or subtle abnormal gait or limp.

Sometimes your pup will hold up the affected limp and won’t put weight on it at all. The dog may even drag high limbs around. Lameness or limping can be constant or intermittent, depending on the situation.

Here are some causes of dog limping:

— Sore paws caused by broken nails, cuts or foreign object stuck between toes
— Joint problems such as hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis
— Injuries caused by car accidents or falls
— Broken bones or dislocated joints
— Deeper infections such as abscesses
— Swelling caused by insect bites or even snake bites

How to help your dog at home:

— If there’s a foreign object in between his toes such as a plant thorn, remove it and clean the wound with an anti-bacterial soap. You can soak the foot in lukewarm water with salt to relieve the swelling. Then apply antibiotic ointment.

— For broken nails or cuts on foot pads, clean the injury and control the bleeding by wrapping it up for at least 15 minutes. Sterilize it with betadine.

— If your dog has swelling caused by bruise, sprain, or tendonitis, you can apply ice packs to the area for at least 15 minutes, two times a day.

— For infections such as abscesses, apply a warm compress to the area or soak it in warm salt baths. However, when the abscess ruptures, take your dog immediately to the vet to clean the wound and apply antibiotics.

— Confine your dog and restrict his activity.

— Medical advancements have improved the care for lame dogs. While NSAIDs are the traditional treatment to relieve inflammation and pain for acute injuries and for joint problems such as osteoarthritis, CBD oil for dogs is now a popular way to improve joint health and provide safer pain control.

Walking your dog correctly can also help massively towards your dog not incurring regular injuries, sprains, strains, muscle fatigue, cramps, etc. To find out more check out this useful guide over at heelboyheel.com which explains everything you need to know about the techniques you can employ, so you and your family pet can enjoy your walks to their fullest.

When is it time to go to the vet?

Limping is pretty common and not usually an emergency. In most cases, limping should be seen by the vet at some point, but not necessarily immediately. Some situations in which you need to bring your pup to the nearest vet right away include:

— Extreme pain (vocalizing, trembling, showing signs of aggression or fear)
— Sudden unwillingness or inability to move or get up
— Obvious fracture or broken bones
— Excessive swelling of the limb
— Fever
— Bleeding profusely
— Dragging of one or more limbs that appear to be disabled
— Severe vomiting or lethargy

If you notice anything else that makes you worry, you should contact your vet for advice. It is always better to exercise caution when it comes to your furry baby’s health.