Hello all,

I have never bought a puppy before in my life until now, and he is a sweetheart!  He is a 7 week old Aussie Shepherd.  My son (who is into Lord of the Rings) named him Strider.  But thats the thing.  Striding doesn't seem to be his strong point.  His rear legs seem stiff while walking, but not while scratching, sitting or laying down and dreaming.  He is quite wobbly.  Is this normal?  I have had a kitten recently and I now they are a bit wobbly when young.  Is it the same for puppies?  I just now read up on possible hip problems for Aussies. Could this be a problem and is there a solution?

Thanks for your attention,
Mike & Strider

Give him time he is only a baby he isnt going to be that strong on his legs yet and if he is running about to much he will be wobberly on his legs, he must be able to sleep when he wants take it slow with him dont let him go up/down stairs/jump on or off sofa/chairs and dont take him out for long walks.

I would ask the vet to have a look at him, as I don't think his rear legs should actually be 'stiff' whilst he's walking.  My first Aussie pup was younger than 7 weeks when I got him, and his legs never looked stiff - he just walked and ran about like normal.  As to being wobbly, pups do sometimes lose their balance when young, but I wouldn't expect to be seeing it all of the time. 
  Hilda

Hi There,
           Just wondered if you are in the U.K. or the U.S, and your puppies sire and dam is ??
Aussies are usually very hardy puppies, who are fairly strong and robust from an early age.... I first saw the litter my two aussies were out of at 7 weeks, and they were very active and running around playing with one another....
We do have hip problems in the breed, but most breeders do only use low/average hip scored dogs to breed from and to, but as with every breed, there is the odd one, who does their own thing.... :-(
Would be interested to hear how you get on with this....
Gabrielle x

Gabrielle,

I have to thank Hilda for telling me my error!  Here is the answer:

Sire : Big Marine's Bowie Knife
Dam : Sure-Wood's Trixie Blue

There you go!
Mike

Hi Mike,
          I wanted the names so I could have a look at their pedigree, and check with a friend who has more knowledge than me, and see if any of the dogs in their past lines, had any hip problems. I checked the aussie pedigree database, and your puppies' sire and dam are not listed.......
Is there any other dogs back in the lines, that you can remember, and I will have another look for you........
Hopefully he is getting better now. ???....... Do his parents have OFA scores do you know??
Gabrielle

Hello Gabrielle,

Strider is much better now.  He is acting like a puppy should now.

I don't know anymore about his lineage other than his parents.  I met his grandmother but didn't get her name.  As for OFA scores, would that be listed somewhere on his papers?

Mike

Hi Mike,
           Glad Strider seems to be a lot better. Hope it was just ''one of those things''.... and he is now healthy and robust. Try and make sure he has a good quality food with all the things that growing puppies need in it...... Mine enjoyed scrambled eggs as well as their puppy food and a multitude of other things.....including milk, nylabones and vegetables chopped up.........
I know when I bought my 1st aussie girl, I got copies of her sire's hip, elbow, heart, patella and eye tests....... (he is American, and they test for more things than we do), and also copies of her dam's hip, elbow and eye test scores..., so I knew that with them having low hip and elbow scores and clear eye tests, the girls probably would to....... (and they have)... :-) So, yes, in theory, you may have got paperwork off the breeder, with all the clearances on it.... There is no harm in going back and asking if you want to...
Let us know how he is doing........
Gabrielle x

Hi Mike,
  I was thinking, are you looking at him from the rear to think his legs look stiff when he's walking?  Sometimes I think Aussies can look a bit like that, and it's probably more noticeable because of no tail.  What about when he has a little run around, and 'bounces' along more - do his legs look okay then? 
  Hilda

Thank you all for the replies.

Let me try to answer your questions...  I live in Northeast Ohio in the U.S.A.  The parents of Strider are listed as Sire and Dam.  And yes, it seems I have been seeing the stiffness from the rear.  Hoipe I got them all, if not I'll post another.

Now an update.  He's doing much better today.  It has bee so long since I've had a puppy around, I'm guessing it may have been a little depression (from leaving his brthers and sisters) mixed into his inactivity.  But today he is running around and playing.

Thanks again!
Mike

Hi Mike,
  I think Gabrielle was wondering what the actual pedigree names of the dam and sire are - they will be on the pedigree form or registration papers.  Anyway, glad to hear your puppy seems to be okay - like I said, if I was worried, I would get the vet to check out his movement.  At least the puppy isn't limping, which can be a sign of hip problems, so that's one good thing.  I'm sure he wouldn't be running around if he was in pain, but at least you know that Aussies can have hip problems, so you'll be aware if something isn't right.
  Hilda

Thank you Hilda.

Mike