Showling GSD sits with his rear Legs lifted up after walk

[Meshuggah]

Hi everyone:

I am new to the forum and have to say that I am very thankful to this website for providing me a lot of great information regarding GSDs through wonderful members such as yourself.

I and my wife recently got a beautiful 6.5 month old GSD pure bred boy from this very nice breeder. Some of his previous dogs have won numerous awards (including Grand Victor, etc). Its just been 2 days with this boy and we are overwhelmingly in love with him. Here is the issue though:

1) We took him for a vet visit for an overall checkup. The vet was very happy and gave him a clean bill of health. Very happy with the weight, height, temperament, etc. She was NOT a specialist in Showline GSDs though. So toward the end she made a comment about his rear legs being a little cross shaped moving inward and that they were a bit too low and toward the ground while he walked. She actually had to take our boy to a physiotherapist on site to make that determination. This left us very concerned.

2) The OFA clearances of both the Sire and Dam of the boy are normal. We met both the mother and the father at the breeder's place and they look like incredible, healthy GSDs.

3) Our boy doesn't seem to be in any pain and loves the walks.

So our concern stems from 2 things. ONE) the comment the vet made and that she pushed us to see a ortheopedic vet regarding his gait and rear legs. and TWO) I have been walking him regularly every since I got him and even taking him out for jogging. Whenever we return from our walk (and there is lots of snow outside these days), I notice that when he comes back home and sits, he rear legs just lift up. He alternates between lifting up the right and left rear leg but they almost seem to be involuntarily doing so on their own. I am concerned that is this something abnormal? We just got him and are too attached to him but at the same time we are not in a position to pay up hefty surgery bills and the pup is still under breeder gaurantee. And neither do we want a boy who would spend his latter years in a doggie wheelchair (maybe I am thinking the worst of the worst scenarios).

Basically it is just the fact that he is lifting his rear legs (only after walks) a little unnaturally that is causing me stress. Could it just be the salt on the roads that is bothering him or the cold snow sticking to his feet? Or could this be a more involved and profound problem with his left or hips?

Please help...Thank you so much in advance for reading my long post and trying to help me.

Thanks

[trudy]

I would NOT worry!!! the vet said she is not an expert on showlines, and at 6 months your boy is like a teenager just following a growth spurt!!! Call your breeder, find out where they go an if you are concerned take him in for xrays, but only to an expert in taking them, you may have the expert read them or send for prelims to OFA, hope you enjoy your pup

[Andaka]

I wouldn't worry too much either. He is probably very teenagery at this age, like trudy said. Watch the jogging at this age. Walking is enough.

[LifeofRiley]

Originally Posted by Meshuggah

Could it just be the salt on the roads that is bothering him or the cold snow sticking to his feet?

Yes, this very well could be it. After long walks in snow, ice can form in between the dog's pads and could cause them to act that way. I have also noticed that my dog will start to lift his paws in discomfort if he has walked through a lot of salted areas.

To counter this, you can avoid heavily salted pathways, clear the ice that forms in the pads during a walk and wash the dogs paws to get rid of salt when you get home. Some people recommend booties. I have not done this so cannot comment on their utility.

Hope this helps.

[carmspack]

just sounds like extreme rear end angulation - post a picture

[Meshuggah]

Originally Posted by LifeofRiley

Yes, this very well could be it. After long walks in snow, ice can form in between the dog's pads and could cause them to act that way. I have also noticed that my dog will start to lift his paws in discomfort if he has walked through a lot of salted areas.

To counter this, you can avoid heavily salted pathways, clear the ice that forms in the pads during a walk and wash the dogs paws to get rid of salt when you get home. Some people recommend booties. I have not done this so cannot comment on their utility.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for your response. I thought so too that it could be the cold or the salt. I will keep a towel handy so whenever we get back from a walk, I will be sure to clean him up nice and proper. Thank you again

[Meshuggah]

OK thank you very much for the suggestion. I will be sure to keep this in mind. I was planning on developing a "running" schedule with him but if that's the case then I'll be sure to take it very slow and do further research on the matter of running and teenage GSDs. Thanks again

[Meshuggah]

Originally Posted by carmspack

just sounds like extreme rear end angulation - post a picture

His back is not suffering from extreme angulation. I have done a lot of online research on this and he looks like a typical west german showline dog with a "somewhat" angled back. Its not straight by any means as of now but it is definitely not extremely angulated either. His father was big, strong, not very angulated and looked like a very good GSD. His mother had a slightly straighter back, large build, very athletic and fast. Our boys legs seem to be in the "development" state (I feel) and that he will begin to look more and more like his dad.

Once I get an opportunity, I will post his pics. Thank you for your response though. I think as a couple other posters said and what I read from another online article, it could be because of the snow, salt and running fatigue which he has not been very used to up until now. This is my humble opinion but I am open to further insights.

Thanks again

[Meshuggah]

Originally Posted by LifeofRiley

Yes, this very well could be it. After long walks in snow, ice can form in between the dog's pads and could cause them to act that way. I have also noticed that my dog will start to lift his paws in discomfort if he has walked through a lot of salted areas.

To counter this, you can avoid heavily salted pathways, clear the ice that forms in the pads during a walk and wash the dogs paws to get rid of salt when you get home. Some people recommend booties. I have not done this so cannot comment on their utility.

Hope this helps.

Just got him from another walk in the snow. The last one for tonight. And you were right, this seems to have to do with snow in the paws and on the legs. So I got home and cleaned his legs and paws with a towel. And none of the raising-the-hind-legs is happening anymore. Also he is sitting and laying down much rested and calmly now. I THINK we figured out the problem. Thank you SO much for your response.

[Liesje]

He is old enough that you can do prelim x-rays to check his hips. I'm not saying you should be concerned but if you want to rule out hip dysplasia, you can do so with about 85% certainty at this age.

I also have a dog that will raise his legs at random because of the snow. If he's outside long enough, he will actually pull his hind feet up and then slowly fall over onto his side. It looks like he's passing out but really he hates the cold on his paws but can't feel it through his fur if he's lying in the snow.