Bunny Hopping - Working GSD lines - Page 1

Hi there,.. I have recently got a german shepherd male aged 2 years, he is a wonderful dog and very bright,. his 5 gen predigree is czech and german lines, with super titles and good hip scores.
I have only had him less than a week and even though i have seen him before buying and saw him walk, i only let him off the lead yesterday and found that he was bunny hopping when running, now he still has his dew claws on each pastern which i was going to have removed but I am still shocked.
I have owned show gsd's before and had 2 put down due to severe HD. I had thought that with his lineage being all hip and elbow scored the chances were slim,... am I reading too much into this???
any advice is appreciated. thank you

You will never know without an x-ray,
why not have his hips certified as he is 2 years and fully grown.

It's always a good idea to ask if an adult GSD has had hips xrays before buying it. Pedigree analysis alone means very little. If you're concerned about his hips, have him xrayed.

I agree with the others. Unless you get xrays done, you will always be guessing and not know the truth.
The hip ratings in the pedigree mean absolutely nothing concerning your dog's hip's results.  Its each individual dog.

Several years ago I purchased a male puppy from Certified parents and a solid hip certification background.  At 9mos old he was diagnosed with serve HD.   Another experience is a female that had a solid hip certification pedigree from her parents on back for 4 gen.  I recently found out that 4 from her litter have been xrayed and diagnosed with HD.  

Got to make you scratch your head and go hmmmmmm.  Makes you wonder how can something like this happen with the breeders making more and more of an effort to try to prevent something  like this from happening.  I also believe that the theory of having a solid hip certification pedigree can possibily lessen the chances of getting an animal with HD. But also I think  that theory has been proven to be not so reliable.  As with everything else in life, unfortunately its still a gamble and a 50/50% chance one way or the other.  

JMO

Thank you everyone,.. will get an appointment as soon as possible :-)

Perhaps environment plays a greater roll in outcome of H/E health. Especially in formative months. There must be more than genetics involved when one hears reports like Hutchins'. Just food for thought.

Yes Joanro, that was my thoughts exactly.  That was a bitch a friend of mine had. I am not sure how many there were in her litter, but she was told that of the 4 that were xrayed, all had evidence of HD.  There were no fast normals in this girls pedigree.  If it was an OFA certification, it was nothing less than good.

The 9mo old did have several fast normal ratings.  So that may be something to consider.

Yes, I do agree, that is definitely food for thought!

There are a few things that can be done to reduce the incidence of HD. Raising the certification age to 24 months (the SV) or waiting until dogs are 24 months to certify and making sure one's dogs are sedated for hip xrays may identify some dogs with mild HD that would otherwise be certified as HD free and used for breeding. Also normal dogs with sibs with moderate to severe HD or mulltiple sibs with mild HD should probably not be bred either.

OFA stats show that the breeds with the most OFA excellents produce less HD in their progeny. It's could be good idea to keep the ratings in mind when selecting mates; don't breed 2 fairs or 2 fast normals together.

I'm not sure environment plays much of a role in whether or not a dog genetically predisposed to HD manifests it, but I do think things like always keeping a puppy on a slippery surface or over feeding it, can make HD worse.

I have a friend with a top produging Am. s/l female and several generations of OFA hips. Her first litter 11 pups with 10 of the 11 good H/E.

second litter 10 puppies to a different stud (and from a kennel that does not have a stellar reputation as far as health) with 4 diagnosed with dysplasia before 1 yr. That's 40% just with a different stud.

Lastest litter also 10 pups who are just now coming of age to prelim. Of the ones done so far, no problems.

I not a scientist or researcher, but I have had dogs raised side by side in the same environment with very different hip results. I don't doubt that environment can affect hips, but I'm a little sceptical that it is a major contributor to being the cause of HD.

sorry for getting off track canis, bunny hopping can be an indication that there may be a problem. not always and here's hoping for a good outcome.

Rik

Can someone explain what " Bunny hopping" is?
Thanks.