Wobbly cavalier during pregnancy.

Dr. Marie replied:

I'm sorry to hear that Amber is having this problem.

Do you know if the vet did any neurological tests on Amber? The type of test I am interested in is if the vet tried to knuckle her back feet over to see if she automatically placed them back in the right place.

If she does knuckle her back legs then this could be a problem with her back.

A back problem would not be directly caused by being pregnant, but if she has gained some weight then this can be putting extra strain on her back. Many dogs with back problems will heal with rest and pain medication (if your vet feels it is safe for her to be on medication while she is pregnant.) However, if the wobbliness gets worse, or if she becomes unable to move her back legs then this can be a sign of a serious problem that might require surgery.

Another possibility is if she has gotten into a recreational drug such as marijuana. Is this possible?

Some dogs can have issues with low blood sugar or low calcium levels during their pregnancy (or sometimes during lactation). However, these tests would likely have been run in the blood tests your vet did.

One thing you may want to ask your vet about is something called syringomyelia. This is a rare condition in dogs but it is more common in Cavaliers. It usually causes neck pain but sometimes we can just see neurological problems affecting the spinal cord.

I hope things look up soon!

Dr. Marie.

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