My 8 month old puppy has recently started twisting her right hock inwards when moved at a trot!How can i help stop this......she only does it some of the time!

My experience puppies often throw a hock when gateing at some time during their developement. It often sorts it's self as they start to muscle up a bit more. It usually seems to be in the medium to large breeds. (Although I must admit these are the breeds I usually watch so i'm not so familar with the traits of the smaller breeds.)

Is it a breed which could suffer with Luxating Patella's? It could be worth a checkup at the vets. My experience of this is that the dog will often "Pace" when moving rather than gate in the normal manner.

Regards, John

If she were mine I would do a lot of walking, (not trotting) to encourage equal weight distribution on her back legs and get her striding equally (this is what I was taught with racehorses in my younger days!) Yes it's boring, yes it takes ages, but it certainly helps, and can do no harm. She will still need some free running too.

What breed is she?