bunny hopping - Page 1

My 6mth old DDR GSD Bunny Hops or looks like one when he runs, does anyone have experience with this? My 2yr old never looked like that when she ran.

Structure? Health? Condition? Seize?
"DDR" doesn´t help, for 27 years there is no more DDR, that said the dog in question ( 8+ generations later ) may look like any line right now, including all imaginable structural faults. It´s about selection, not about the former source ( and this is true in case of temperament and structure ).

He seems to be healthy, straight back he is very large boned, he is about 45pds almost as tall as my female not as muscular as her.

 

Can you post a photo or a link to a photo?

Could be just a phase - he is growing very fast at that age. There's also the possibility he's suffering from mild panosteitis ('growing pains) and is bunny-hopping because of that.

Other causes are overangulation in the rear, and cow hocks. That's why I'd like a look at his structure.

Posting photos on this website isn't easy. There is a tutorial here:  http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/community.read?post=476789-how-to-upload-images-into-messages-or-classifieds

Or you can post the photo somewhere else, and provide a link. Click on the chain link in the message editing screen to make a live link.

Edit: here's a link that describes pano (panosteitis). Your dog fits ALL of the criteria for those most frequently affected: sex, age, breed and size!  http://www.petwave.com/Dogs/Health/Growing-Pains_Panosteitis/Symptoms.aspx  Is the bunny-hopping something that only started recently? I'm not saying he has it, just that it's a possibility at that age. You'll know for sure if he becomes lame for no apparent reason.

 

 

Years ago we had a Bloodhound pup we noticed bunny hopping at 4 months old. By time he was 6 months we could tell it was something serious. We had his hips x-rayed and he was already moderately dysplastic . I hope this is not the case with your pup.

Please, let's not scare the poor owner to death! Many dogs bunny-hop around this age. No, it's not something I like to see, but often they grow out of it as they mature, and their legs and muscles get stronger.

Is it possible for a dog running at full speed to move each hind leg separately?
I thought bunny hopping only applied to trot speed. This is when the dog could clearly extend each leg alternately.
Look at a thoroughbred ( or a racing dog )  at full speed the hooves of both hind legs extend simultaneously to almost under the front elbow and their contact with the ground forms the basis of the next forward thrust. So when we speaking about bunny hopping the speed at which the animal is moving is instructive and in this case a video may be better than  s static shot.

 

Mith, that is NOT bunny hopping. Bunny hopping is when both hind legs hit the ground at the same time when the dog is running. It's the way rabbits move. What you are describing is quite different. At the trot, alternate legs move in unison: near fore with off hind, then off fore with near hind, creating a 2-beat gait, if the gait is being done properly.

The next fastest gait is the canter, which is a 3-beat gait. I forget the exact sequence of foot-falls for that - would have to look it up.

After that is the gallop, which is a 4 beat gait. Both the gallop and trot can have a moment of suspension, when all 4 feet are off the ground at the same time (see racehorse above, and for the trot, see Xeph's pictures. Two of them show the moment of suspension.)

Here's a more detailed description:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canter_and_gallop  You will notice at the gallop, the racehorse briefly has all 4 feet in the air. That is a VERY famous bit of film*, and was the very first sequence ever shot of a horse galloping. Up until then, artists had depicted the horse having all 4 feet stretched out to the maximum, both behind and in front when galloping. If a horse REALLY moved that way, it would probably fall flat on its belly...

(* Actually, it's not a film, but a series of still photos linked together - a very early form of animation.)

Bunny-hopping is NOT a natural gait for a German shepherd.

Sun
so in the dog picture posted above, are the two hind legs going to " hit the ground" at the same time or not? I also agree that  hind legs striking the ground at the same time is not a natural gait for the GSD. My point is when the speed  elevated  the hind legs strike simultaneously.

Nope. Left hind is on the ground already, and will push off before the right hind comes down. As you can see, left hind and right fore are on the ground together, then will come the right hind, followed by the left foreleg, creating a three beat gait.  Even when jumping, a horse doesn't use both hind legs at the exact same moment. One will hit just a fraction of a second before the other. Look at the animated photos on the page I linked to.

Here's another link that shows it very well: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge

And THIS is what bunny hopping looks like!  https://www.google.ca/search?q=rabbit+hopping&rlz=1C1GGGE_enCA377&espv=2&biw=1360&bih=672&tbm=isch&imgil=yj1nL6-O95_0AM%253A%253B_w-fNb87cDWuNM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.flickr.com%25252Fphotos%25252Fkasia-pics%25252F3222474778&source=iu&pf=m&fir=yj1nL6-O95_0AM%253A%252C_w-fNb87cDWuNM%252C_&usg=__DngzBAPZPEI-INJWGpqkn7rZ7DU%3D&dpr=1&ved=0ahUKEwjfn8rbjK_RAhUI24MKHW5iCJgQyjcINQ&ei=e2FwWJ_2DYi2jwTuxKHACQ#imgrc=yj1nL6-O95_0AM%3A