Cow Hocks - Page 2

Young dogs, puppies are often cowhocked and grow out of it.  I have one dog that was cow hocked as a pup and has beautiful lines now.  Not at all anything indicating HD.  I would RUN AWAY from the vet that is willing to poison ...treat your dog with medications proven to cause death in a young dog showing no signs of pain. 

RUN AWAY from any vet that is already talking about operations.  Even at one, unless there will be marked improvement in the quality of life why do it?  Get a second and third opinion before considering drastic treatment on a dog showing no signs of pain. 

Remember too, large GSDs can get PANO and that would cause periodic lameness and at times severe pain but it goes away and has absolutely nothing to do with HD or any other structural problems.  I would not ever again take my dog to that vet.  Sorry, so very sorry dogshome9 that you are facing that infuriating situation where an incompetent vet killed one of your pups.    

He's a beautiful looking dog.  In the standing picture, it doesn't look that serious.
I know I was envisioning much worse.   

 I'm thinking he will improve as he matures.

how much time does he have to run and play?
do you have a place where the dog can walk and run in loose sand or dirt?
he may need to learn more coordination..and build muscle.
it is possible to post a video of him walking and trotting?
nice looking dog!
 
 
Find a german shepherd club near where you live and ask where they take their dogs...you might get a vet that understands how a gsd is built and what the normal gait looks like.

I love how the Dyson is his constant companion!  Beautiful boy!

Ha ha ha!  They do kind of go together! 

Can you post a picture of his hocks?  From the stand picture it does not look like he is really cow hocked.  Some youngsters, especially large/tall ones, can go through periods of being cow hocked which many times corrects itself with maturity.  Do keep him lean, on a lower protien diet, and NOT too many walks/runs on concrete (this can stress young joints, especially in a very large young dog).  If he has no pain, he should NOT be on any pain medication/anti-inflamatory, which are in your case VERY unnecessary and can damadge his internal organs as well as potentially have horrid side effects.  He should be on a glucosamine joint supplement of some sort if he isn't already.  A lot of vets are not familiar with the structure of a German Shepherd, far less the structure of a developing German Shepherd.  You should absolutley NEVER use that vet again, I would NEVER trust or use a vet who would prescribe pain/anti inflamatory meds to a dog NOT in pain!!!  That to me is not a vet with the best interest of your dog at heart, but with the best interest of his/her bank account!  Do his x-rays at 1 and get him hip scored, until then (unless he is showing signs of distress) enjoy your boy and try not to worry about it.  If his cow hocks do worry you, bring it up to the breeder or discuss it with other GSD people or a vet that is knowledgeable in GSDs.  BTW, your boy is just beautiful!!!! Stunning pigment, very good head and expression! Best of luck and keep us updated!

Hi, have got a few videos but am having problems trying to upload.  Format is mp4.  How can I upload?
thnx

We had a male with cow hocks until we started taking him swimming and runs in the pasture (at the age of 2.)  His cow hocks corrected themselves, probably due more to the regular swimming than the running.  He does not have HD.  His parents did not have HD (and had OFA-good and OFA-excellent H&E.)  He's now a little over three years of age and has nice clean hocks (though he's neutered so it doesn't really matter as far as breeding/showing goes :) )

I had similar issues with my showline dog. Take a look under 'Puppy stands on his hocks'. My dog is 16 months old now and still cow hocked, but they are not as loose as they used to be. Apparently, glucosamine is very good for their ligaments. Someone on here advised me to buy Hokamix Joint Plus which I did. At £76 for 700g, it's very expensive.

Recently I purchased to glucosamine tablets from www.vetvits.co.uk. They were £14 for 240 tablets and I just put them in with his food. These tablets were recommended to me by a breeder who has my dog's half sister (same sire). The half sister was hip scored 1:2 and the breeder swears by those tablets.

Hi Runag, Just came across your thread "cow hocks", and grabbed my attention. I also have a 9month old GSD boy with exactly the same problems as you have described.....he weighs in at 42kilos(!!!), and is not overweight at that, just VERY big!! I noted your post was in January, so wondered if there has been any change/improvement in the situation? My vet has not been so drastic as to suggest surgery, though doesn't seem overly concerned either. Would be interested to hear how things are....appreciate the description of the "horizontal rain" by the way..... I also live on the east coast of Scotland, and we get that kind of rain here too!! AnnetteTL