[tmk101]

I have a quick question about Cooper. He is about to turn 11 months old, and in the last month or so I noticed he is sitting in a lazy position sometimes. I call it lazy, but it is when he flops his back legs off to the side instead of sitting straight. I correct him by saying sit straight and he fixes his sit with no problem.

He is in a Level 3 obedience class and the instructor told me that it is a sign of HD. She asked me how his parents rated... they both rated excellent.

Since Cooper has continued this lazy sit position I was wondering if any other GSD owners have run into this with their dogs. If so, I would love to hear any information that anyone can share about this. I obviously have started to worry about HD and whether I should alter his regular exercise routine. I also have been told to wait until he is two years old to get his hips x-rayed.

Thanks for your time everyone.

Terry

 

[JKlatsky]

I think it can be a sign of HD, in so far as that sitting properly causes pain and sitting to the side is a way to ease the pain...but I don't think that just because your dog sits to the side it's means he has HD. My dogs sit to the side when they're feeling relaxed, especially the puppy becaused she's all floppy limbs anyway.

The safest thing to do is just go ahead and get Xrays. We do Xrays at 6 months just to make sure nothing is radically wrong before we start working the dog. OFA won't certify hips until the dog is 2, but many people get prelims done before then and Germany will certify hips when the dog is a year...so you can defnitely do Xrays now and go back to Xray again at 2, which will give you peace of mind.

 

[TMarie]

I have always thought that was a myth. In my dogs at least it was untrue. Two of my Shepherds were rated excellent hips, yet they both quite often did the lazy, puppy sit all through adult hood.

Yet, Jake has severe HD in both hips and has always sat straight, and his downs are always straight too, and never rocks to one side.

I would do a prelim just to ease your mind, and then you will know.

 

[WiscTiger]

Dogs with great hips will sit lazy. When you are working your dog is his sit correct? If you are concerned good ahead and get some prelim. Xrays done by a qualified Vet or Ortho Vet. Spending more on most Vets to shoot Xrays can be a waste of your money. They don't get the positioning correct and that is VERY important in evaluating the hips.

 

[tmk101]

When I work with Cooper he sits correctly most of the time. Every once and awhile he flops to the side and all I need to do is say "sit straight" to him and he fixes his sit perfectly. I am torn about x-rays. I did call our vet and they do check hips and also certify (when he is 2). The cost is okay. They will charge $42.50 per x-ray, $30.00 for the visit, and then $15.00 for the sedation. Not too bad... considering some figures I saw earlier on hip x-ray postings.

Another thing that crossed my mind is that he seems to be clumsy sometimes. He will "trip" sometimes with his front feet, and then allow his back feet to sometimes slide under him which causes his back end to go down. I remember reading about pano on this site and wrote this off as just a case of growing pains for Cooper. Then, when the trainer made that comment to me it made me start thinking about HD.

I appreciate everyone's comments. I may go ahead and get prelim. x-rays done just to ease my mind.

Take care,
Terry

 

[WiscTiger]

If you decide to do Xrays, go to an Otho Vet and have the elbows done. Tripping on the front end could be an elbow problem, could just be nothing. Not all Vets are good at Xrays and Especially elbows.

 

[Eve-Lynn]

Link is 5 months old and he sits in the lazy position sometimes. When he lays down he shifts his back end to one side also.

 

[Liesje]

My Kenya does this all the time now. It started in August 2007, she did something to her hind foot. She's been to the vet several times. Other people who saw pics of her sitting funny insisted she had a joint or neurological problem, but all it was was something stuck in her foot. However, she does not allow it to heel and chews on it so it's a vicious cycle. There is no infection. The vet has been giving cortisone shots and then she leaves it alone for a while. If it continues much longer, the next step is to hack off her toenail way up at the joint and just start over.

I do not reward crooked sits. I say "uh oh" and have her sit again. If I catch her chewing on the foot, I say "eh eh" and try to distract her with something else.

Anyway, is this what you mean? This is how she sits. The problem foot is is her left hind foot. She pushes the right one out so she can favor the left and not have the nail digging into the ground.

 

[tmk101]

Liesje -

Thank you for posting the pictures. That is exactly how Cooper will sit. I have him scheduled to go in next week for x-rays. I am sure he is fine, but I guess it is better to be safe than sorry (just in case he may have a problem).

Thanks once again to everyone for their responses. I will let you know how Cooper makes out.

Take care,
Terry

 

[Eve-Lynn]

Yes Link sits like the top and bottom right pictures. But have been paying more attention and he can sit properly. Like I said he is only 5 months so I am wondering if this is just puppy behavior?

 

[Natasha]

Tasha sits liek that often. Unless we're walking and stopping at a corner -she's trained to sit each time I stop- she also switches side to side if she's in a long down

 

[.PHOENIX.]

Hello i wanted to know if it is normal fro a six month male German shepherd to sit lazy?

 

[Hadley]

My puppy is only 4 months old and he sits in a lazy position sometimes. we took him to the vets and they said that it was normal and that way is just comfy for them to sit. ill show pics later but, honestly, if he hasn't complained (started to cry) when you fix his position, i want to say that i think he's alright. but just in case, if you want to get him checked i would recommend so.