Why Is My Dog Shaking ?

A dog is known as one of the faithful and lovable pets. It provides love, emotional support, and care. Also, dogs can protect you and your home from danger. But sometimes they show odd behavior like sometimes they can shake, shiver or tremble. Dog shaking can be caused because your furry friend may feel cold, ill, old, or maybe your pup is too scared. Or sometimes your furry friend is just wet, and it wants to get dried. That is why its body will choose to shake rapidly and dry itself. There are many reasons behind dog shaking and panting, But how to find out why your dog is shivering, and should you worry about your dog keep shaking his head? And, if yes, then what should you do?

Why Is My Dog Shaking So Much?

According to the Fast ESA letter experts, your dog can shake for various reasons. To better understand, we classified these reasons into three classes:

Due To The Environment (Your dog is feeling cold, or it is wet)
Because Of Their Behavior (Your Pooch is excited, anxious, or scared)
Due To A Medical Condition (Your Furry friend is suffering from pain or any health condition)

Let’s start with exploring the first category:

Due To The Environment

After millions of years of change in the atmosphere, dogs have adapted physical and behavioral responses to survive like other living beings that show in their natural behavior. They may shiver to keep themselves warm in the cold season, or sometimes they shake their body to dry themselves off. It is in their nature. To better understand, let’s check out the following facts:

Shaking Off Water: Did you ever notice your furry friends often shake them after a bath or a splash in a puddle or a swim in a river? But what is the reason behind this behavior? Why don’t they wait up to let their fur dry naturally?
Well, the fur or coat of a dog is very beneficial to trap heat inside, which helps it keep warm in the winter season. However, it also has its downside because it holds water like it holds heat. The dog is constantly shaking his head and body to eliminate this trapped water. In this manner, the dogs dry in less than four seconds by using 5,000 times less energy than drying it off with their body heat.
When They Are Cold: As humans react by shaking while feeling cold, dogs do the same. They keep their bodies shivering when they feel cold in winter. The main purpose of a dog shaking in his sleep is to keep it warm in cold weather. Dog’s muscles cycle rotates between tightening and relaxing while shivering creates heat and boosts the dog’s body temperature. It helps dogs to stay warm and alive in winters.
Behavioral Reasons: Sometimes, your dogs may shiver due to extreme emotional experiences, like excitement or terror. In these cases, dogs release hormones that suddenly impact their body, causing them to shiver.
Excitement: Many dogs express excitement by shaking or shivering when quite excited. For example, when you play with your furry friend, they see something exciting, or sometimes when you come back home after spending a lot of time outside, they show their excitement by shivering or shaking.
Fear: Sometimes, dogs show their fear, anxiety, or stress by shaking or shivering. Their body shakes and trembles when they feel safe and prepare themselves to run away from danger or defend themselves. They may fear fire or firecrackers or sometimes thunderstorms or any previous trauma, which is normal. And your dog will stop shaking so much in bed after you calm it down and your furry friend feels safe again.
Medical Issues : Sometimes the reason behind your dog shaking can be its health issue. Maybe your dog is in pain or feels sick or has a health issue like epilepsy, ear problems, or poisoning, which leads the dog’s body to shiver or shake. If you are confused, why is my old dog vomiting and shaking? It may happen due to its age and inability to digest food. Along with this, here are some medical conditions that cause the dog to shake or shiver:
Muscle weakness, fatigue, and old age: If our dog is old, it may be possible to suffer from muscle weakness and fatigue. That leads the dog’s body to shake.
Nausea: Your dog may have an upset stomach. That is why it feels nauseous, and the dog’s body responds to nausea by shaking.
Distemper: When your furry friend is going through a distemper. It may feel fever, nasal discharge, coughing, lethargy, reduced appetite, and vomiting. These symptoms lead the dog’s body to an unstoppable shiver.
Pain: If your dog is suffering from an injury, it may show it by using muscle shivers or shaking movements.
Epilepsy: In Epilepsy, your dog has to face loss of voluntary control. You have often seen convulsions that lead the dog’s body to jerk or vibrating movements and muscle shivers.
Ear problems: If your furry friend has any ear problems, it may shake its head again and again to avoid pain.
Poisoning: Some human foods like caffeine, chocolate, and more are poisonous to dogs. When they eat it by mistake, they start to tremble and vomit.
Generalized tremor syndrome (GTS) and more

In these conditions, you need to get in touch with a veterinarian.

When should I see the vet?

There is a wide range of reasons that can lead dogs to shake their bodies. Dog shaking can be a natural response to their feelings like cold, drying off, or feeling excited. Or it could be because your furry friend is not feeling well. Dog shaking can indicate that your dog is suffering from a severe condition and needs the vet’s help. So make sure that if your dog is shaking or shivering or showing strange behaviors, call your veterinarian before it is too late. An immediate action might save your puppy’s life.