Gangly and awkward!

[Ronda]

Wow, Saphira is going thru a wonky stage right now! She just turned 5 months old last week and is as awkward as she's ever been.

It seems like almost overnight she sprouted these gangly, long, loose, legs and once again, you can see wayyy too many ribs. She looks like a hungry kangaroo and she moves like one too! She is so clumsy, trips over her own legs and eats it multilple times a day. Stresses me out each time she hits the ground. When she trots her hindlegs overlap her fronts and either she hits herself or doesn't track straight. Running is ok except she can't transition down gracefully, she gets going so fast when she stops or slows she just sorta lands in a heap.

I also never really thought she was cow hocked but all of a sudden, her hocks are really turned in too!

I can't wait for this stage to be over...hopefully it goes away as fast as it came.

Make me feel better people...who else has a half grown klutz crashing into things, knocking stuff down, falling off the couch, tripping over their own feet, big eared, long tailed, goofball?

Ronda

[robinhuerta]

Except for the "long tail"...you just described a guy I used to date when I was much younger...LOL!

[Ronda]

Robin, that made me spit water out when I read it!!! Too funny.

Ronda

[sagelfn]

Robin!!

Sage is 2 and is a total goober. He still has moments where he forgets how big he is

[TrickyShepherd]

...Right there with ya on the awkward stage!!

Zira is 7 months and she has the longest legs I have ever seen on a dog, with a tail that looks like it's the length of her whole body... it drags on the floor when she has it down. Her ears are still huge, her body is very long, she has the longest tongue I have ever seen in my life... I mean, I have no idea how the dog doesn't bite it and draw blood. Lol! She is SO weird right now. Her movement is sometimes beautiful, but there are moments to where it's just a disaster... and honestly, a bit embarrassing when out and about! She gets very clumsy, and also tends to eat the ground still. It's not as bad as when she was younger, but... still is awkward. She is not graceful at all. I was told by many though, that once she hits a year or so, all should fill out and look normal! I sure hope so! haha Gotta love the growing shepherd awkward stage!

Fortunately for me, I work with horses... and there is nothing on this earth more awkward then a young horse. So I am used to waiting a while for the real look and movement to show! lol

[Ronda]

YES! That's exactly Saphira! The movement can be breathtaking sometimes, other times, I'm ready to X-ray her hips and spine because she looks so bizarre and is falling all over the place!

Ronda

[VomBlack]

Shade is 6 months old and just the other day I was looking at her and thinking "Where the **** did those legs come from?!" It's like she sprouted overnight, she's got long gangly legs and her muzzle seems longer.. she reminds me of an awkward deer. She's looking ribby too, i've upped her food a little bit but the dogs are so active and she keeps growing in all sorts of crazy directions.

Poor Odin had awkward stages until a little after 2, when he finally started to fill out more, so i've accepted the fact that with puppies they're going to hit some downright goofy stages.

[bocron]

We tell everyone to not look at their dogs from about 5 months to a year old. Otherwise you'd be tempted to set them free, they are so awful to watch at this stage. We have taken to calling my 8mos old girl "The Black Noodle" because she is so long and her movement is all over the place. I just close my eyes to it and know that "this too, shall pass".

Annette

[Anjulian]

My younger dog,who is a GSD/Husky also hit this at 5 months. He would run at a gallop then smell something, the nose would go down and the rest of his body would go over the top and he landed on his back. He then got up and did it again. He would also jump for the sofa, miss, and crash onto the floor. Julie

[DWP]

You folks with those gangly pups; you bring fond memories.

Both the Girls went through that stage and did much of the same things. Get ready for more! Our girls, grew out of it of course, but until they were at least two plus years old, the gangly puppy trot would still show itself once in a while. Our youngest is 2 yr and 8 mo, and it has only been a few months that she hasn't relapsed. Rest assured that by 2 and a half, they will be all grace and power. Of course they still act goofy once and a while, but you will come to miss the laughter.