[Chris Yako]

Hi, i'm looking to adopt this German shepherd that I've attached on the photo, he is 11 months old, can anyone experienced tell me by looking at the picture that his hips and elbows are healthy?

 

[lhczth]

Hi. No, we can not tell by just looking at photos. Only way to know is with x-rays done by a vet that knows how to correctly position the dog and knows how to read the x-rays. Is he a rescue or coming from a breeder?

 

[Jchrest]

I can tell he looks overweight in the photo, which won’t help with hips and elbows, but no, no one will be able to tell except an experienced vet using X-rays.

 

[Fodder]

even if we were a board full of veterinarians specializing in orthopedics we couldn’t tell you from a photo, and don’t believe anyone who tells you they can (in person) without x rays. he is also fairly young to give any definite information.

 

[Fodder]

I can tell he looks overweight in the photo, which won’t help with hips and elbows, but no, no one will be able to tell except an experienced vet using X-rays.

i actually disagree about this weight. you can see and indent/outline of his rib cage, slight hip bones and a nice tuck (you have to zoom in to see that the light color is actually just cement from the background). i’d be more inclined to think that from a top view he’s pretty lean.

 

[sebrench]

An experienced person/vet might be able to guess if a dog has HD from watching its movement and feeling their hips in person, but nothing is conclusive without x-rays. I wouldn't let him gain weight but I don't think the pup looked overweight in that photo--you can even see a bit of a tuck in his waist. OP, is this a puppy you are thinking of buying? Have the parent's had their hips/elbows rated?

 

[Magwart]

@Chris Yako, compare your dog to a canine body condition chart (easy to find with a Google search). This short video explains how to evaluate them using a chart:

This video has a longer explanation with a demonstration on a real dog:

 

[Fodder]

OP, is this a puppy you are thinking of buying? Have the parent's had their hips/elbows rated?

based on the file name of the photo - looks like the dog is at a rescue in New South Wales