"Cowhocks-how much is too much?" - Page 1

This photo reminds me of a a dog I bred about 15 years back.  He walked like Charlie Chaplin.  I had his hips xrayed in the standard position and they looked excellent so my vet thought he had a ligament problem and referred him to Cambridge Vet School (UK) for specialist checks and when xrayed in a standing position, while the hips were well shaped and deep in the sockets, the neck of the femur was slightly offset and was creating a lever effect that was causing the cowhocked stance.  It was a known condition, but unfortunately I can't remember what it was called, maybe someone on here has heard of it?

Anyway, I have often suspected this condition could be why so many German showline dogs have cow hocks, but still appear to have good hips since they would only be xrayed in the standard position and it doesn't show up.  The sire of this dog was Natz v Hirschel, litter brother to Nero so it would be no surprise if it became rife throughout the breed in view of their parentage.

Margaret N-J

Reminds me of a comment I heard from a bystander at the Sieger Show," Give that dog a ball of yarn and you'll have a sweater by the time the judge gives the critique."

Yes her prelims came good to excellent also has good ellbows, very overangulated. She does come out of an excellent German Linage, she is going to be a year this October.

That looks like too much to me....

Is nobody interested in discussing why these hocks are so common in showlines now?

Margaret N-J

I think it is a malformation of the long bones, they tend to have an outward curve (  , also, look how narrow some of these dogs bodieds are,

weak ligaments can also be a problem, but I would put more money on curved bones.

its so common cause you had popular sires who either had te condition or produced it and were bred to alot of females simply because they were winning.  I remember the AKC show people would refer to the as an egg beater rear end

 You can have a very angualted dog, but still have strong ligements and not have the cow hock look.

Yesterday I looked at a video on you tube which was posted here on a diffrent post they showed GSD in the ring who bearely can stand on theire rear legs or walk and that perticular dog won. it's a shame what they do to our breed.

   here is the Video it is after the Cavaliers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqYxvlfxvnk

delacruz,

while I can't talk for all the GSDs in that particular video and I watched it closely, I can assure you that the so-called wobbly walking is the result of the dog pulling on his lead but is severely restricted. This is truly propaganda since the "famous German dog" they mentioned is non other than the most beautiful dog we currently have, Zamp vom Thermodos. While we can all argue about Zamp's drives, there is no contest to his absolute correct and fluid movement. You can talk to any successful German breeder and they will all tell you that Zamp is as close to perfect as possible.

Here is a tribute to Zamp at Crufts. Even the front photos show that is rear legs are straight. www.youtube.com/watch

Looking at the show grounds, I wonder how he ever was able to show off his beautiful gait. So, look at these short videos here to see his movement (they were all I could find at this moment): www.youtube.com/watch , www.youtube.com/watch .