Puppy stands on his hocks

This is a placeholder text
Group text

by Red Sable on 26 January 2011 - 22:01

Sangar, you yourself said your pup has trouble standing long enough to take a picture. My pups are not showline, but they are German Shepherds, and they looked nothing like that as puppies.

GSDRULE has a point. It is sad, very sad that breeders breed dogs with that type of conformation, and judges put them V or VA in a ring. Not only is it sad, it is WRONG.

Mindhunt said what I was thinking, tangsd, could we see a picture of your dog out in full view please? It is really hard to see how he stands in that picture.

Sangar I know you want everyone to say that your pup will grow up to have good conformation, but some of us just can't shoot the BS quite that well, I'm afraid.

-and frankly we wouldn't be doing you or the GSD any favours if we did.

by MaggieMae on 26 January 2011 - 23:01

Sangar -- Did you think that their was an issue with his hocks, or did the Vet's comments cause you to think that something may be wrong? From the picture posted, it does appear the hocks are low, but not touching the floor. Also, he is just a little over 4 months old.

This problem ?? (which may not be a problem at all) will -- in all probability -- correct itself as he gets older. During the first year, he just needs normal puppy play/exercise -- nothing excessive; no frequent stair climbing; no high jumping.

His grand-sire, Zamp, was awesome !!

by mtndawg on 27 January 2011 - 00:01

Sangar....I'm not sure how much of your house has the same flooring as the picture, or if it's slick for that matter. Putting down some throw rugs that the pup can get better traction on might help somewhat.

by Sangar on 27 January 2011 - 08:01

Red Sable - point taken! I am not disagreeing with some of the replies, but some are just subjective statements and personal points of view. I didn't mean he had trouble standing - it was more that I had issues with him standing in one place long enough to take the pic.

MaggieMae - it was the vet that got me worried. I was concerned about loose hocks but put that down to age and lack of muscle development. He does not get exercised aggressively; 15 minute walk in the morning and evening and a run around in the park or my garden every other day, on grass of course. I always carry him up and down the stairs from my decking to my garden. And we do not make him jump.

Mtndawq - Yes, we do have hard flooring all over the ground floor part of the house. Tiled in the kitchen and laminate everywhere else. It makes cleaning so much easier with a god around. But you are right, I am noticing that his feet don't get a lot of traction, especially on the tiling in the kitchen and therefore I will try and get a couple of cheap rugs for him to walk around on.

Here are a couple of pics of him in the park...

by Mask8 on 01 February 2011 - 23:02

I have read all of the comments and i have to say i agree with GSDRULE..I have a 4 month old puppy,i took him to the vet yesterday and she said she wasnt happy with the way he was walking,and preceeded to say she thought he had CDRM.After explaining to me what it was,i left very distressed and rang the breeder who was not too happy about it.I t may have been an off the cuff remark but after looking at this forum and speaking to the breeder im more inclined to say it may be the puppy wiggle as its called.Im getting a second opinon from another vet in the week,bit i do agree it is scare tactics from some vets that do not know the breed and are just generalising,.Although im still very worried about this im hoping that my normal vet(whom i didnt see earlier in the week) will be able to reassure me.I hope so anyway!

by Rik on 02 February 2011 - 05:02

Mask, I am repeating myself, but angles or even extreme angles, loose hocks, egg beater rears are not an indication of poor hips. The dog may or may not have good hips, but it is not related to angles or loose hocks.

I do not think it is a scare tactic of vets. They are good for medical issues. 99.9% have no clue what they are looking at as far as conformation relates to any pure bred dog.

best,
Rik

by Sangar on 02 February 2011 - 16:02

Thanks Rik, and you are absolutely right!

Mask, I have taken on the advice of many learned people on this forum and trying give my pup the right amount of exercise. I am not walking him too much on the pavement because his bones are still developing, but I let him run freely on grass. This has had a remarkable affect on the way he stands. Obviously, I cannot expect miracles in a matter of days, but I am trying to ensure that he get s the optimum amount of exercise for his age. Also, we are looking to put some rugs down so that his back feet do not slip when he walks around inside the home - where he spends most of his time.

by Sangar on 29 March 2011 - 15:03

Hi All,

My pup is standing a lot more upright on his hocks but they still look loose when he walks. I try to let him run around freely on the lawn when I get a chance, but this does not happen everyday. Also, I have put a rug down in the kitchen so that his feet do not keepinp sliding as he walks.

My question is, how much/long shoud I be walking him on the leash everyday? He is just past 6 months now and I am walking him a maximum of 15 minutes at a time. I normally take him once in the morning and then 3 or 4 times during the course of the evening.

He runs around on the lawn mostly over the weekends. With the clocks having moved for daylight saving hours, I should be able to get home in time to take him over to the park in the evenings and want to know how much I should let him run around on the grass. The last thing I want to do is damage his hips and elbows by letting him overdo it.

Any advice will be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Sangar

by HighDesertGSD on 29 March 2011 - 17:03

"I was aware of the American showlines being over angulated."

Some really are but most just appear so at first. This is the way they are stacked. It is like bodybuilders posing; they don't work and go about in such a pose. Many American Showlines really move very well.

Young pups over-angulation often improves as the dog matures.

It is like many german lines have pronunced roach back; some do but many only have slight roach and look good.

by Niesia on 30 March 2011 - 02:03

Sangar,
I wouldn’t worry yet. I am not in any means an expert and I don’t have experience with German show line but American show lines are similar as puppies with their wobbliness. However the puppy, doesn’t matter how wobbly should walk and run on their paws not on their hocks (even in AmLine). Are you feeding your pup a commercial diet? From what I noticed it happens a lot in pups fed with kibble that they go through ‘funny’ growth spurts. One week – the ears get huge, and then the tail or a tight bone gets long. Sometimes they don’t grow everything at the same time. I looked at pictures that you posted and it looks to me that maybe that’s what is happening. Your pup thigh bone looks like it grew long and it seems that the rest of his body is trying to compensate for it. That would explain his stance/walk. When his forearms will catch up (front legs) with his back legs, in my opinion she should straighten up.

Contact information Disclaimer Privacy Statement Copyright Information Terms of Service Cookie policy ↑ Back to top

Puppy stands on his hocks - Page 3

Pedigree Database