It is most prevalent in the northeastern and Midwestern states of the U.S., with about 96% of reported cases occurring in 14 states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
In some cases, the dog will not be able to move its legs at all, a condition of total paralysis, and in other cases, there may still be some communication between the brain and spine and the dog will only appear to be weak, or will have difficulty moving its legs, a condition called paresis â partial paralysis.here are also cases where a dog may be paralyzed in all four legs (tetraplegia), and in others, the dog may be able to control the movement in some of its legs but not all.
Sudden Weakness in Dogâs Back Legs: 4 Causes. A veterinarian explains four possible causes of sudden weakness in your dogâs back legs, and what you must do. When your dogâs hind legs suddenly go weak, there could be any number of causes, says Dr. Jules Benson, BVSc, and VP of Veterinary Services at Petplan pet insurance, whom I interviewed just for this article.