Cow Hocked... Questions

[hethir]

I am sooo bummed. I've been noticing that Clutch, my 7 month old GSD's back legs point in quite a bit. I did some research yesterday and came across a condition called being "cow hocked" that seems to describe him. My parents in law have his littermate and he has normal appearing back legs. My Father in law took all our dogs out to play today and pointed out to me that he noticed not only this, but also that his back end seems weak. Also that he isn't keeping up with the pack like he used to a month ago.

I thought I did all the research I could do before choosing a breeder to purchase from. I realllllly wanted a dog that would prove breedable but I guess buying any puppy really is a gamble. Do you think this could be a breeding issue? Could I have possibly done something to cause this? Our contract from the breeder said that we purchased a "breeding quality" dog. Generally speaking, would this cow hocked-ness be considered a breach of contract in anyway? Serisously, though, I paid 3K for the BEST possible dog from the best possible breeder I could find in this area. I emailed my breeder to let him know and to ask if he could possibly take a look and see what he thinks. I'm definitely NOT an expert. Any opinions/advice? Thank you guys!!!

[zyppi]

Do you have a photo?

Could be a puppy stage..

[hethir]

I really do need a photo! I will try to post one later tonight or tomorrow!

[Alto]

If his back end seems week, I'd check that out - being cow-hocked should not be a reason for not keeping up with the pack: one of the fastest dogs I know is a cow-hocked BC (mix or just poor breeding).

[MaggieRoseLee]

Be nice if you had some photos, or even a bit of a video of him walking away from you (most digital cameras can take at least 30 sec of video).

Talk to your breeder! I know some AKC showlines have a stage where they are very wobbly and cow hocked and I'm told if you can muscle them up with exercise, they lift up and get more solid...

Clearly you can also get to a vet, but I'd go with your breeder first to get their input....

[Liesje]

Is the dog west German show lines? If so, unless he's terribly cow hocked, it probably won't matter. He might straighten a bit with age, but even if not, lots of highlines are a bit cow hocked. I asked my breeder about this b/c I really don't care for it at all, but she said they just don't really care, and in fact many people believe it makes the dog more agile and better at quick turns.

[hethir]

OK, I will work on getting pix later today... I wrote my breeder and here is what he said:

Don’t sweat the "cow hocked", what it means is two things; 1-genetics-that is the way these blood lines are, it is the length of the rear leg, we see it all the time, which brings me to point #2-development-because his rear legs are so long he has to get bigger & stronger in order to put them where they belong, I'll bet that when he trots he moves perfectly straight from the rear. The best thing you can do when it is warmer is to swim him, it is the best exercise.

Does this seem right? In my email to him I asked if he could take a look and tell me what he sees. He never even mentions this. I will send him a pic and video, too. As far as being west german show lines... I'm not sure!! I know I should know this but I could have sworn the breeder told me he is from working lines. Maybe you can discern from these pix of his parents:

Mom:
http://www.vonwaldberggermanshepherds.co...y&animalID=149 9

Dad:
http://www.vonwaldberggermanshepherds.co...y&animalID=174 1

[Chris Wild]

West German show lines. Not working lines.

[Liesje]

Those are west German show lines.

If the cow hocking is severe, that might mean something, but a lot of west German dogs have it, especially as pups when they are gangly and leggy and haven't developed a lot of muscle yet.

I'm trying to find an example without unintentionally offending anyone so I will offer my own west German dog about a month ago, you can see he is cow hocked. I don't like it either but I guess it's just not a priority in these lines of breeding. He is usually not as bad as the bottom pic but it shows a good example. Generally, when he is alerted to something and stacks on his own, he is straight and looks a lot better. When he is doing a lot of physical activity and starts to wear out, or is pulling forward on something he's much more cow hocked.



One of my favorite things about the conformation of my working line female is that she is not cowhocked at all. I love watching her from the rear.

[hethir]

Show lines, huh? What is a good example of working lines??? Just curious :-)