Hi guys, I’ve been reading this forum for weeks and it’s helped enourmously but this is my first post so bare with me as I’m not too sure how forums work. I have a 12 week old black lab called Daisy who’s been with us since she was 8 weeks. I’m just asking for some of your opinions to (hopefully) ease my mind as I’m so paranoid about hip problems in labs. I’ve noticed Daisy has quite a noticeable sideways sway with her back legs when she’s walking, she walks with quite a wide stance. She also bunny hops everytime she goes into a run but I’ve heard this is quite normal in Pup’s. Her sitting position seems fine but when laying down straight her back paws are basically underneath her with her hips splayed very wide, this is what I’m most concerned about as I thought when dogs layed down their back paws were parallel with their body. I’ve attached a link (I hope it works), showing pictures of her laying down, sitting and a video of her walking with a wide stance and slight sway. In terms of exercise I’ve been sticking to the 5 minute rule the best I can in relation to forced exercise, and giving her longer off lead in an open area. Although she doesn’t really run around and play like I wish she would as she sticks to my feet like glue. I’m just hoping for some other opinions on this as I’m a first time dog owner, have spent years researching and preparing for a pup but nothing beats personal experience. https://imgur.com/gallery/MCPB3FN
Hi @Jordan Maides Welcome as a participant. It's hard to tell what is going on. When she is on the grass her gait is vastly different from how she walks on the tiles and floor. I wonder whether is having trouble walking on slippery surfaces. How does she walk when she is on carpet? I would ask the vet to evaluate her gait.
Thank you for your reply. I know it’s extremely difficult to get a clear video of her walking, I will try and get another one later and upload that too. When we first had her she was slipping about on hard floors but her pads have hardened up a bit now so she doesn’t seem to have too much trouble anymore. She definitely still has a wide stance and sway on grass as I can see this every time I take her out to toilet. She walks very similarly on carpet too. I mentioned it to the vets a few weeks ago and she felt her hips and legs but said you wouldn’t usually see hip problems this early on. She put it down to the fact Daisy had very bad dirraroeah (giardia) and was probably walking that way because she felt she needed the toilet all the time She’s now better and she still walks like this so that clearly wasn’t the reason. I am hoping and praying this is just down to her being a gangly pup but it just seems so unnatural
Hi @Jordan Maides from the photos and video I wouldn't be unduly concerned; having said that ceramic and laminate floors aren't good for puppies, or adult dogs for that matter, as it's easy for them to slip and hurt themselves. The floor surface doesn't provide any traction for their claws. Rubber backed mates for the main walk ways would help to protect growing joints. If you are worried about hips I would make an appointment with the vet for a chat and a check up.
Thank you! I think I will ask when we’re next at the vets just for peace of mind. I’ll also have a look into getting some mats to put on our floors as our whole downstairs is tiles or laminate.
With a 12 week old puppy, I really wouldn't be concerned about how they are moving. Their joints have not yet developed properly and at the moment there is cartilage where bone will be - see: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/...he-bones-of-puppies-not-joined-at-2-weeks-old Look at that x-ray and how the bones are not connected. (Cartilage doesn't show up on X-ray.) Of course that's going to result in a lot of swaying... In addition, due to rapid growth, pups often haven't developed sufficient muscle strength yet to hold their joints in place. Muscles do a lot for supporting bones... But I would completely agree with the suggestion of getting mats, rugs or grippy vet bed in areas where the puppy lives. Anything slippy is not great for developing joints. If you have a Dunelms near you, they have some cheapo (£30) carpet runners and mats which look much more expensive(!) and can be replaced if accidents happen - and if you search on Facebook for Vet Bed Man, you will see cheap vet bed with a grippy backing which you can buy really large pieces of relatively inexpensively. You can wash vet bed easily, so sometimes that is best with a puppy....
Thanks for your reply! That photo is very reassuring as I can see now why they may not be stable on their feet this young. At what age do those gaps get smaller and close up? Yes I have a dunelm near me so I will definitely look into those mats, thank you for all your suggestions and info!! It’s so hard not to worry about them, they’re so fragile and all they want to do is run and jump over/off everything
Between 10-18 months the growth plates will fully close. We have 2 of the largest size of these rugs in different rooms: https://www.dunelm.com/product/natural-chunky-jute-rug-1000045120 And we have the matching Natural Chunky Jute runners down the wooden floored hallway.
This has a lot of information about growth plates with diagrams and ages for when different growth plates close https://www.dogworksfitness.com/sin...9XhshUUKtiMDOFRXHpou81qXhrGDr7p_b-a4WVSlZ_lEo
