Pasterns - Page 1

I have a pup that I'm looking at in a litter who has very weak pasterns. Looking at her pasterns compared to the other pups it is quite noticeable. However, the female is a very nice female. Do pasterns tend to improve as the dog gets older? It is almost as if she is damn near walking on them. What are your thoughts

how old is this pup?

one of the pups in our club looked normal at 3 months, at 4 months its pasterns were very, very weak, and by 5 months looked normal again.

cannot say that this is always the case.

personally, i wouln't buy a puppy with known problems, hoping it will improve....

I once had a female puppy in a litter who had noticibly weak pasterns up until about three months when she was sold, but I saw her again at about a year old and she was fine, so it obviously can improve. I also at the moment have a 3 month old who about a month ago was sick with amoebas. When she was recovering I noticed that her pasterns had gone really down and I was concerned about this, but they are back to normal again now so I assume it had to do with the illness. Bearing this in mind, it might be worth checking the puppy again after a little while? I think this fault would almost certainly improve with exercise but maybe not totally. Also, I am not sure, but I think weak pasterns may often be related to loose ligaments in general and so you might find the same pup also has a wobbly back or hocks (though you have probably already watched her runninng etc.) It could be hereditary. However, if its just the pasterns and all else looks firm, and the female is otherwise just what you want, then I would say its a fairly minor problem that could be worked on and will likely improve. After all, what puppy are you going to find that is absolutely perfect?

Pasterns always improve with age.

If she is not walking on her wrists, I don't think it will be an issue. Keep in mind that weak pasterns are 100% genetic., so if breeding is in her future, you will need to account for this.

Rik