Our Jodi has a slightly skirted rib cage which was picked up by the vet today. Health wise it will cause no problems at all but would lose points in show events. I have no interest in showing Jodi but am wondering if it will mean it is harder to get a stud if we choose to allow her a litter in furture. What are your thoughts?
 

It will be hard finding a good stud full stop if she's not shown and doing well..........

how do you know she will be a good enough bitch to breed from? - she's only 9 weeks old.

Good question Dan but you need to see what she's like when she's two, and ask someone with alot of experience with dobermanns to see if she's good enough to breed from.  I wouldn't worry about her ribs, she's only nine weeks old they change so much.  Plus for breeding you would have to have all the relevant health test for that breed.

warm regards Susan

Ok, whats a skirted rib cage >???

If you have a dog with an obvious fault why are you intending to breed from her ?

I have to say, I've never heard of a skirted rib cage -so what is it?
As it has no health issues, presumably it's just a cosmetic fault and there are plenty of other issues to consider first - health first and foremost.
DylansDad - in some breeds (maybe not Dobes) having an obvious fault isn't necessarily an automatic no-no for breeding. No dog is perfect & personally, I'd rather use a dog with an obvious fault than a mediocre dog with no outstanding virtues!

Am I right in thinking that the soft part of the rib cage underneath the dog is bending outwards slightly??  If so at 8 or nine weeks this is not really significant, its the growing part of the ribs (ends of the bones and gristle) and can be caused by lying on the tummy a lot (especially on a hard surface) rather than lying on their side ;)  If you can give the pup something soft and warm to lie on and encourage it to lie on the side rather than belly it should sort itself out, also encourage the pup to run and play in the garden, so that the pup can develop properly :)

Of course if its something else than I'm at a loss :)

Hope this helps anyway
Dill

That's the only thing I could think of too, Dill. Not having any puppies here to check on, it's a bit difficult to remember, but I have a feeling most of my pups have quite prominent rib ends when they're small. Just checked my 18mth-old & she hasn't got them now anyway. Thinking about it, apart from heads, ribs must be one of the "bony bits" of a puppy which changes shape the most as a puppy matures.

I would think it would also be more noticeable in puppies of the lighter built, deeper chested breeds as they don't usually carry as much weight as pups, as the chunkier breeds ;)

Hopefully DanR will come back and give more info :)