Questions on Pacing & trotting - Page 1

I f you can offer me some insite that would be great! 

What other conditions might there be for a dog pacing instead of trotting. Besides conditioning.

If injury has anyone had experience with this?

He trots great at higher speeds no limp. and no signs of pain. He is an older dog (3) confined a lot. He is a rescue so I am assuming a kennel or small area.

Thank you.

Hello,

    With out seeing the animal or in this case without seeing him/her move its rather difficult to answer your question. What i will say is this, with ruling out all physical ailments meaning no lameness, deformities, injuries or foreran objects imbedded under the skin,, it might be that the animal is not a trotting animal, meaning in the animals mind its more efficient to move both hind legs together then to move one forward and one back. An example would be a grey hound, although the animal has long legs that can reach fare underneath the body and gives the animal a very strong power stroke to move quickly for a short amount of distance its not built for cruising speeds and may find a slow gate like the shepherd unproductive. But once again it’s hard to give an exact answer without seeing the animal.

In the trot, the diagonal legs move back & forth in unison, whether dogs or horses. In the GSD the reach of both the front & back legs is great enough that the rear leg comes forward & passes the front leg, while it is still on the ground. When a dog is tired, or out of condition, they can be observed to pace, which means to move the legs on the same side forward in unison. No crossing of the front & rear legs occurs when the dog is pacing. The rear legs would not move in unison, that would be a gallop, which is a different gait altogether. In dogs & horses there are 3 natural gaits readily observed by the uninitiated, walk, trot, gallop. There are varying degrees of each,(in horses there are a lot of different names for the different 'stages' of each gait.) Pacing is usually a learned or taught gait, however I have observed my dogs pacing briefly when they are tired, & compelled to trot some more, they will pace for a few strides before they fully extend themselves into a trot.. I am not sure if this is at all helpful, a trip to the vets should be considered anytime you feel your dog is not moving properly. Dogs, especially our GSDs are very stoic, & will not let on that they are in pain. It's up to you to investigate any abnormalities, as I'm sure you know. Good luck! jackie harris

If you're talking about GSDs, in my experience, they pace when they are tired, out of condition, ill or injured in some way. Many of them pace just before they switch into a trot as Jackie says above. Of course, if you feel something isn't right physically with your dog then you should consult your veterinarian.

Thank you everyone for your replies. All the advice helps.