Puppy weak back legs?

[jocoyn]

My Toby (also a WL x WGSD ) looked very much like that as a puppy and was always a bit mismatched (front and back) and cowhocked as an adult but did not seem to experience permanent impairment other than the fact he was not an efficient mover and was a bit clumsy all his life.

But I agree. Make sure the vet see's no actual issues, keep him lean and follow SL folks advice on letting him grow into those legs.

[Carriesue]

Hip and elbows, of course lol... Sometimes I am really dense but yes I will definitely be getting that done, luckily I have an amazing vet nearby that I trust.

So plan of action... Have my vet look at him this weekend, work on getting rid of his chubs, strengthening his legs and loving him for his mismatched goofy self.

Hmm, do think this would effect his ability to do agility or flyball in the future?

[Jag]

What was the outcome of the vet visit?

[selzer]

It can. He is cow hocked, and very loose in the back end. It can tighten up some. A lot of puppies will go go go way beyond what they should. Your puppy stops and waits. A few times I saw him looking back to you, which means he might just be attached to you and does not want to go too far without you being there. It can also be that he is tiring or having some pain.

At his age it could be pano too if he is in pain. I would definitely do pre-lims on him. But I would wait until he is at least 6 months, maybe a year old to do them. I would also follow whatever regime there is for healthy hips -- diet, moderate regular exercise, staying lean, not encouraging the dog to jump or running the dog on a hard surface.

BTW, that area looks like Puppy Heaven.

[Carriesue]

This is a current video of him taken today, he's grown A LOT since that hiking video! I think he's improving somewhat... He's been getting more exercise and I've had him on a light diet(didn't want to go overboard since he is a growing lad)...

I'm waiting to see the vet I trust but should be soon here, I also talked to his breeder and showed her videos of his movement... She said its pretty normal for them to be "loosey-goosey" and cow-hocked till about a year old(SL WL difference I guess though he is half WL). He's not in any pain I can see, he was romping and zooming around today during his play date with a female pit. I may start supplementing him for pano(vit C, etc) since he's getting close to around the age when they get it and he is growing a lot right now.

Fetch2 - YouTube

Fetch2 - YouTube

[selzer]

I cannot watch this video. Your breeder said a year? That's interesting. I have a pup born in May that looks awful right now, I won't even show her to anyone because she is loosey goosey and cow-hocked. Her sister looks awesome. I am hoping she tightens up a bit and doesn't have anything seriously wrong. But if she does, I am glad that I still have her.

[Carriesue]

She said that its pretty typical for dogs with a lot of rear angulation(being loose) and its not uncommon to be cow-hocked also at this age and that it should start to straighten up at about a year old.

Obviously I will do prelims too but I trust her, she's been doing this almost 40 years. Though if something "is" wrong that won't change anything for me, no way I'm giving him back!

[carmspack]

looks like a result of the dogs conformation -- cow hocked yes , restricted rear movement -- in first video dog was leaning on his left side .
In last video you get a better look at overall conformation. Low whithers , roaching back .
Get prelims done for peace of mind.

[sprklnh2o]

My pup is WGSL and when he was that age, people asked me all the time if he already had hip displasia already because he was such a goofy runner! He was also slower than all the other dogs at the dog park and it got me super paranoid. Now he's 1.5 years old, he's now one of the faster dogs at the dog park! He used to also have cow hocks...but it straightened out quite a bit. He walks/runs beautifully now. We also had his hips X-rayed when he was 1 and there was no problems what so ever. I think GSDs just go through an awkward phase and I wouldn't really worry about for now. Just make sure you keep him light like what others said (mine has also been on the skinnier side) and don't let hime jump on and off things too much. I think your pup will be fine!

[warpwr]

Miss Molly is show line and her back legs concerned us when she was a pup. No muscle strength to speak of and I blame SL breeders for wanting that sloped, stacked look.

We don't show Miss Molly but she does run almost every day chasing down tennis balls or her chum. Her back legs have strengthened a LOT and she can run and jump very well now. She is super fast and herds and corners other dogs on the fly like they were cattle, ha.
She has jumped into the back of my pickup before I can even let the tail gate down.

As long as your pup gets lots of exercise I would bet he will be plenty strong when he gets a little older.