There was a recent article on here about signs of bad hips on Labradors and one of the things it said was about Labradors running with both rear legs together. I'm very new to Labradors but my little guy runs at speed with both legs together almost propelling himself forward when running fast and watching lots of videos of Labradors running it looks look that's a normal run for a Labrador. Can anyone shine any light on this?
When a dog is running it's hard to work out exactly what its legs are doing. When they are really galloping along it does look a lot like their back legs are moving together, even though the back paws don't hit the ground at the same time. If your dog looks like other Labradors when he runs and he doesn't have any kind of limp then his gait is probably fine
Good to read this, because I think I read the same article and started panicking a bit about one of my dogs. Her gait is definitely less smooth or, dare I say, elegant than her sister, but, when she wants to move, she can go at quite a lick. I'm thinking that, if all else seems fine (not stiff on rising, doing steps ok etc), then she's probably ok. Hope so!
I hesitate to offer an opinion as I have no direct experience of poor hips. My in-laws lab has bad elbows though and I notice a very stiff, awkward gait where the joint isn't used much (presumably because it hurts) and he kind of swings his straight legs around. If I extrapolate that to the rear end I *think* you see a kind of hopping gait where again the legs are moved using the whole body as opposed to the joint and the back legs hit the ground together and are picked up using the back bone and associated muscles and swung through rather than flexing the joint. Both my lab and may spaniel looks as you describe but you can see flexion in their joints as they drive forward from the back end. Often this is most apparent at the beginning of their run while they're accelerating rather than when they're at full speed when they look more even.
How old is your little guy? It's common for young puppies to run like that. We call it bunny hopping. Bunny hopping is also a sign of the very serious CNM. But we met a Lab who still bunny hops and he does not have CNM and his hips are fine. It's just how he runs. Good for you for noticing but remember, things like that may be clues but they aren't the only one. Another clue to bad hips, per my Vet, is reluctance, difficulty or pain evinced on going UP stairs. Going DOWN stairs might indicate a back problem. Just clues though, suggesting some investigation yes, but not definitive.
He's 5 months old nearly and doesn't bunny hop at all when walking and normal running. Just noticed it when he really sprints like chasing a ball etc. I don't think his hips hurt at all as he always jumps up at us and we are trying so hard to stop that
Still been paranoid on the hip dysphasia article a few weeks back Albie is running at times with both legs together! I wouldn't say it's a bunny hop and watching other Labradors his age they seem to do the same anyone else noticed this in there puppies - dogs?
