Hi again, I wondered if john or any other lab experts could tell me what to look for in max and the way he walks. He has been going out for a week now and really loves his walks. I only take him out twice a day for ten mins and he doesnt seem to get tired but his walk is very odd. He does in the best way I can describe throws his right leg at the back out as he walks. My friends have his 2 sisters and they dont walk like this. He doesnt always do it. When he is in the garden trotting up and down he seems to flow quite well but I am really concious of this unusual gait while out walking him. He is going to his first dog training class on sunday and I intend to ask them but wondered if anybody on here had an opinion. I know it is impossible without seeing him but is it too early to conclude a hip problem and am I just being paranoid??!!

If it is a problem I would be more inclined to suspect the knee rather than the hip. Would say if you have any worries about his joints then it is the vet you should be seeing not a trainer. And I would not start any new activity with the pup until you have him checked over.

i did take him to the vet and she just thought it was a quirky thing and was not concerned but he doesnt look right to me. The vet said training would stop him and told me to correct him if he sat wonky etc.

I'd ask to see another vet. How old is this puppy? All puppies sit in a very slack way, the throwing of one leg particularly only on some occasions is not what I would expect. And I would want the joints checked by a vet who knew what they were talking about to take a look, did your vet do a proper examination and watch the dog being moved, did they suggest an x-ray. Mind you I only have your description to go on and can't examine or watch your dog, so it could be that your description has lead me to the wrong conclusion, but would expect a vet to investigate with care any intermittent lameness or irregular movement, the way the pup sits is not IMO that important.

I'd like to see a vet 'correct'  a Lab sitting wonky,
lots of Labs sit wonky and as for his gait he most probably just needs to build up muscle.

Would agree with you if it wasn't just one leg, always the same leg and only on occation.

we cross posted there, and yes I agree with you, without worrying katyb i would want his cruciate checked, there are other possibilities so a specialist is best.

...and the patella. The hip should also be checked, just to eliminate it, and I think the pup is too young for it to be panosteitis and that only usually presents as a limp not an abnormal action.

One of my lab bitches moved in a very similar way to that described. This concerned me to the extent that I had her hips x-rayed at 6 months to see if she was worth training as a gundog. You cant get the score at that age, but you can at least tell if they are dreadful. The x-ray looked pretty much perfect, so I carried on training and forgot about it. Once you stop worrying about the hips you dont notice the movement so much! Her scored ended up 6/4 at 14 months.

The vet didn't mention any of the other possibilities that have been mentioned.

Anyway, she three now, has field trial awards, can work all day and jump a five-bar gate.

Quite a number of the working-bred gundogs that I have come across can have a slightly querky movement, even with excellent hip scores. I guess this is down to successive generations without show-ring type selection.

Get it checked out by all means, but I shouldn't panic just yet. :-)

Only just seen this Katy, been at the Game Fair all day.

Lazy sits and Labradors are synonymous! I think it comes from generations of sitting still in one place for hour after hour! Suffice to say that my Anna sits like this and she's a 2/2

Some years ago a friend in Flatcoats had a puppy brought back because the puppy buyer, on taking it to her vet as told that it had luxating patella's. The breeder invited the puppy buyer to bring her vet along to look at the puppies telling the person she could take her pick. The vet then promptly flipped the patella's out on ALL the puppies!! Knowing the lines and knowing there was no history of problems we were not satisfied so got in touch with the college and were told that at that age it is impossible to determine luxating patella's, the knee caps are just not firm enough at that age. Further more, we were told that by attempting to push them out it is easily possible to permanently damage them!

Loose legs are quite normal and happen so often. They normally disappear as soon as the puppy gets muscled up although are often still seen in the show ring at up to 9 months old. I would never bother about a strange movement whilst on the lead. Very often a young puppy can crab slightly whilst trying to watch you and this can cause it to throw a leg. It often appears to be habit forming so can continue even later in its puppyhood. Watching the puppy off lead in the garden when it is just wandering around can give you a better guide.

Really all I can tell you is "Wait and see!" I'm afraid we all have our little panic sessions with our puppies, I know I do and I really should know better! They cause us so much worry that I seriously wonder whey we put ourselves through it, then I look at Anna and I know why!

Best wishes, John

thanks everybody. I think I am just gettting very paranoid about max. I wasnt this bad when my kids were babies!! In the garden he seems to be fine but he is very floppy generally and is going to be a very very big dog so I think he just needs more muscle. Max went to his first training session this morning and the trainer thought he moved fine. She told me to relax and enjoy him so I am going to try to!!! I will keep you posted anyway. hanks again for putting up with my panicking

Don't forget....some puppies have a particularily long wait until they are very aware of their hind legs. I see this in my Dobe. They just don't always quite know what to do with them. I'm sure things will level out.

Carrie