How to deal with weak pasterns? - Page 1

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boltipo

by boltipo on 29 April 2016 - 19:04

Hi! Six months ago I adopted a female GSD who received poor care by her previous owner. When she came home she was dirty, thin and cow hocked. She had been living chained in her owner's yard. Her cow hocked condition improved a little and doesn't seem to affect her activity. But I think her pasterns are too weak(my male working line GSD has pretty firm pasterns). I would like to start training with her, I think she would like to have some kind of job but I read that dogs with weak pasterns get tired very fast and it's more likely to get injured when jumping. My 7.5 years old male goes with me when I go mountain biking and really enjoys those long 'walks', he jumps, runs, works, etc and has never been injured. She is active,too, but she would get tired faster than him. Is it normal, because she is a lot younger than him. And what can I do to strengthen her pasterns. She doesn't want to swim, I'm trying to make her swim with treats, but for now she just walks in the water.
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Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 29 April 2016 - 20:04

Pasterns don't look that awful to me; her hocks, however,
still look v immature. Maybe she just needs more time; she
is young yet - do you know whether she has even quite reached
two years ? You cannot force her to swim unless you take
her to a proper canine hydrotherapy unit - if she feels weak
the last thing she will want to do is get out of her depth in
a river or lake. Given that she had been kept chained she
probably is under developed compared to any properly reared,
free running puppy. So yes, keep on building her up slowly
but steadily. It will probably take a little time yet - six months
is not that hugely long, especially as it is quite possible you
are also fighting the effects of her not receiving the most
nourishing diet either. Try to get her more fit before asking
her to do any strenuous work. Good luck, and let us know
how she does.

Sunsilver

by Sunsilver on 29 April 2016 - 22:04

A lot can be done to strengthen weak pasterns and cow hocks with gentle, slowly increasing exercise. I have seen dogs with pasterns almost down on the ground eventually show normal pasterns, and even win conformation titles.

I know someone who has a dog with normal pasterns and conformation. Littermates to this dog were crated in a small apartment, and the pasterns became extremely weak due to lack of exercise. (The person who bought the dog LIED to the breeder, and said they had a house and large yard where the dogs could run free.)

So, don't despair! The pasterns don't look terrible to me, and will improve with exercise. Just don't overdo it.

by Nans gsd on 29 April 2016 - 22:04

wHAT ABOUT HER DIET: sorry had my cap button on' what is she eating. If you can let her chew on a real cattle bone (long leg bone) she will get some extra natural calcium. Long walks in the sand and what has she eaten prior to you getting her?? I would probably supplement her with some type meat along with her kibbles. She's a pretty girl though, enjoy every minute with her. Nan

Lots of good sunshine daily for her until she is done maturing... Good luck Nan

Mithuna

by Mithuna on 03 May 2016 - 00:05

I find that ball chase exercises on a soft ( mud ) or other incompetent surface( sand ) can do wonders to strengthen the overall musculature of the dog , which leads to a better machination of the skeleton. The front of the fast chasing dog comes to a halt before the rear ; the muscles between the last rib and the hip have to absorb the momentum of the rear as the the latter comes to a halt. These muscles can become very hard and it helps to tightly couple the the rear of the dog to the rest of the skeleton.
The continuous differential of the soft and other incompetent surfaces forces the ligaments in both the pastern and hocks to have continuously and instantaneously adopt as the dog moves, these exercises strengthen both the pastern and the hocks.
As far I diet goes I feed raw ( 3 1/2 pounds /24 hr ) in a wide variety ( rabbit, duck, turkey, chicken, lamb, beef, fish, organ meats, and eggs ); I also add pro bios, miraclezyme , dasaquin( with MSM) and Nu pro. Zero health problems so far in 20 months of life, but a reasonably  tough time managing some of her behaviors. As a bonus, no doggy scent or smelly poop.


Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 03 May 2016 - 05:05

Mithuna and Nans raise an excellent suggestion about
running your dog in sand or mud. (Sand is a bit easier to
clean off, obviously, LOL; [and you do have to make sure
you get it all off, or you can start skin problems with her feet,
which will reduce the exercise she can take !] But yes,
the sand running will strengthen her legs a lot. Nearly
as good as swimming her. So if you have access to some
dunes (or a beach that's not too hard-packed) or similar,
that is a good tool you can use. Just don't overdo it, its
often hard to judge if they get 'ball-crazy', but as you say
she still gets tired easily, so for a while it should be obvious.
Good luck !

Mithuna

by Mithuna on 04 May 2016 - 02:05

Sorry for not clarifying about the mud; I meant plastic rather than viscous mud. ( plastic as in physical behavior)

Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 04 May 2016 - 05:05

Still sticks in between the pads, though, right, Mithuna ?
Where do you find such 'plastic' mud, in the regions
of NYC, curious as having been an urban dog-walker I
can't think of any examples of much of any kind of
mud to run a dog in !

Mithuna

by Mithuna on 04 May 2016 - 11:05

Many public parks are like this after spring ground water recharge.

Hundmutter

by Hundmutter on 04 May 2016 - 14:05

Uh-huh, got that - many London parks are just a bit
'greasy' after heavy rainfall. Don't really regard that
as any type of mud really suited to improvement of
pasterns. Dunno whether the difference would be in
the rain, or the dirt.





 


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