curved in paws - Page 1

Hi, I have a friend who has a female GSD when she stands normaly with no interference from us her front feet tend to curve outwards they don't point forward. Why is this? Is it because of her chest? she is very round in the chest could this be the problem? Or is there something else? Please help

The width of chest is important in order for the fore-legs to be straight and firm. If she's narrow chested then east-west feet is quite obvious. If she's still young you can excercise her and develop her chest further!

Thanks, I would say she has a barrole chest she is overweight and is a lazy girl but she is still young she is 7 months old now and I hope the feet will get better.

First, this pup needs to go on a diet. No pup this age should be fat, you should always be able to feel ribs easily. And pups this age are usually not lazy! Something seems very wrong here. The feet might hurt and keep her from moving. I would think there is a host of other problems though. Most pups will go past any pain in trade for fun. Take her to a vet to make sure everything is ok. Have bloodwork done to make sure all systems are running ok. This problem will not get better. If the owner does not address it now, chances are that pup is going to pay for its bad start in life more sooner than later... Next make sure she gets proper nutrition. She is probably still on puppy food, which she no longer needs, or she is on a junk type food with high carb content, possibly sugar in the food, soy, fillers, etc. If the chest barrels out like that it may not be just the way she is built, it could be that fat stores inside the body cavity enlarge pushing the ribs outward. There are different layers of fat in the body, not just the fat that is under the skin. Excessive fat stores inside the body cavity is extremely unhealthy. The barrel chestedness will also bring her whole front assembly out of whack, hence the poor foot position. Food wise it could be that a lot of things are not working for this pup, common culprit could be wrong calcium:phosphorus ratio. She may also just not absorb her food properly. A visit to the vet will clear that up. If nothing comes up that may point to special dietary needs, I recommend to put her on Eagle Pack Original Adult (http://www.eaglepack.com/pages/ep_orig_adult.html) because it is one of the few formulas with correct calcium:phosphorus ratio, and overall it just seems to work really well for medium to large size breeds and I have seen many problems corrected just by changing to this food. If fed in appropriate amounts! Ribs should always be easily felt in a pup. And won't hurt if you can feel them on an adult too. But please tell your friend that what you describe is not normal and now is the time to do something about it. Next year, when everything in the body is firm and set, it will be too late. Good luck, keep up posted. Maybe post a photo in the gallery?? Would like to see what exactly the problem is. Hard to go by just a couple of sentences.

Thanks For the reply D.H. We have put the pup on a diet and a regular walking regime. She has slimed down but she still is round now we must wait to see once she has slimed down. She is on Adult food and is doing fine. She eats 2 times a day and if she does not eat it all she is given less the next meal. She has picked up some bad habbits but they hopefully will be corrected. She will be going to her first conformation show this saturday along with her 2 sisters so that will bean exciting moment for us. If you are curious to she what she looks like her name is Biska V. Abington's Jessy. Hope you like the pics if you are interested you could also look at her siblings.

JFU, I especially like Bicha from that litter.

I Know SGBG that is my dog I would not part with her for the world she has a wonderful temperment and loves to work I am very proud of her. She will be shown on Saturday and I can't wait to see how she does.