5 month old female - cow hocked - Page 1

 I went to a GSD breeder today, and I'm still in high school so I would rather have an older puppy or a dog about a year old. He showed me all the dogs, and showed me two lovely 5 month old females who were both cow hocked. One was really timid and mostly stayed away from me, but the other girl was running around playing, and as soon as she came over to me would lay down. I loved her very much, but my only concern is that she is cow hocked. You can definately notice it when she walks, and my mother was concerned it would causing HD when she's older.

I'm really fond of that female, and I really would love to take her because basically I believe everything deserves a chance, and just because she has a genetic defect it doesn't make her a bad dog. The breeder wasn't hiding their defect, he just said it was sad to see as a breeder.

My question is, would she be worth it? I know a lot of people were saying that the hocks won't affect the hips, is this true or should it be left up to a vet to decide? Would it be the cost of the breeder for the examination, or would it be at my expense? Would you recommend not buying her or is it worth it to give her a home? (Clearly in my eyes it's worth it, but my mom will need to be convinced)

She (obviously) wouldn't be a show dog, i just want her to be able to run with me, so a companion as well as a guard dog. :)

Well, why don't you discuss with the breeder a sale conditional of having her hips xrayed? If you have to pay the $150 or so to have them done and they look good then there you go. If they do not look good then $150 is a small price to pay knowing you will not suffer the heartbreak later.

Yes, I know she is only 5 months, but if she is dysplastic at 5 months it will not get better with age. Having them done is better insurance though not fail proof.

FWIW

Melissa

Hi,
Cowhocks are not always associated with  hip displasia now or in the future. What are the parents hip results? The hocks can look awful and are obviously a sign of unsoundness. - which may improve over time. Depends on the severity. If you want to own her then do what your heart tells you to.
Once you have her, then no jumping or galloping, just walking and gentle exercise until over a year old. NO EXTRA VITAMINS! Plenty of raw meat if you can get it and plenty of love!
Vets are not always that good at diagnosing hip displasia, even on x-rays so if you love her, then wait until she is old enough to have them put through the scheme.
Incidentally, many pet dogs with some degree of hip displasia live long and happy lives!
Margaret

can someone post a pict of cowhooks, please?
drawings (I seen some links through google search) are good and all but in real life how does it work..i mean i see my dogs sometime stand with back feet pointing outward and hooks touching each other sometimes they are perfectly straight....does it effect strutting or running? 

Melba- thank you, that's what I was thinking as well was discussing something with him. Plus the fact that I'm clearly not going to pay the full price for a puppy like that. I don't think he would expect me to, but I'm going to e-mail him now and ask.

 trac123 - Thank you for your help. I saw both her parents and they are not cowhocked what so ever, he said he wouldn't breed those two again because he didn't want the chance of the same gene mutation.

Ladyfrost- here is a picture of a horse that is cowhocked, to give you an idea. http://www.heavenlygaitsequinemassage.com/images/Case_Study/Brego/dsc08508.jpg .. you see how the horses hooves are pointed outward while the hocks are pointing inward? It was affecting this dogs runnings a little bit, but nothing too bad.

The hocks will get better as the pup gets older with gentle exercise and no it does not mean the pup has hd an xray at this age is not good as the pup is still growing and the bones are still not completly in place untill 1 year old so I would wait untill 1 year old as for the vet well their is to many vets want to give the young dogs hip replacements when they dont need it I would not trust a vet to give me a verbel on my pups hips I would wait and send it for scoring the cow hocks  are caused by to much hind angulation and not hd good luck if you buy her follow your heart

 Firstly, cow hocks do not indicate hip dysplasia, this is a common myth, the two are not related.  They do of course affect the dog's ability to cover ground efficiently.   I have seem a few cases of really severe cow hocks where the poor dog can barely walk properly, let alone trot.  But most cases are far less serious and will not greatly affect a dog that is to be a pet, also a 5 old month pup can improve significantly as she matures.  So I would say it depends how severe the cow hocks are, and what your hopes are for the dog in the future.

 why we slagging off cows?

There is an article in a book about my other breed where the author says "As a pedigree cattle breeder for many years, I would like to register a protest, on behalf of all cows, at the expression 'cow hocks' - no self respecting cow would be seen dead with hocks like that!  Indeed, she would soon be ousted from a good herd because she 'would not wear' - in other words there is a great weakness there, as in dogs also."

 I know horses are not the same as dogs, but when horses have good training and have good conformation, they are higher in value. Is this the same for dogs? The breeder is asking 600$ for her, she is microchipped, de wormed and has her rabies and other vacs.

She isn't very socialized, her sister wouldn't really come near me, she was nervous, but she came right up to me and was outgoing. The reason he hadn't sold her or her sister is because of their hocks, I understand why some people wouldn't want it I guess. I really like her, but is it worth haggling the price to 500$?