miss_lissa Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Hi all, My 10 month old boy Shadow has the funniest looking legs. When standing or sitting, his paws seem to angle outwards. This is the same on the front and back legs, although the front legs are worse. Could this be a genetic problem? We got him from a backyard breeder so obviously his parents hips wouldn't have been tested. Or is it something we are doing wrong and could fix? We have never over exercised him and he is not overweight. We've noticed he does it more when he's inside as we have polished timber floors and they are quite slippery. Could this be the problem? He also prances when he runs. When we take him to the dog park we have noticed that he doesn't really bend his front paws when he runs. They sorta stay straight - if that makes any sense. Our 4 month old has the most straighest legs and paws so we definitely know Shadow's aren't right for his breed. I've attached some photos showing how his paws turn outwards. (I converted these pics and uploaded them so they were easier to view) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSNS Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 i can't view the pics on my profile though what do you mean by back yard breeder hopefuly not a puppy farm but have you seen his parents or their papers. I would strongly suggest going to vets and see if it is going to cause problems for him if left untreated but as i can't view the pics it may just be how he likes to sit. I'll have propper look in, morning an give better opinion but defo chek his parents see if its anything from them and the vets as i said. And you say 10 months is this some thing u noticed over time or suddenly come about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miss_lissa Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 No no not a puppy farm. What i mean is that they weren't registered breeders, they were just a couple who decided to breed their huskies (probably for the money i'd say) We saw his parents and they looked alright to us. Didn't notice any problems with their legs but then again i wasn't really paying attention to that. He didn't come with papers and his parents didn't have any either. It was actually a friend of ours, who also owns a husky, that first picked up on the way he runs and stands. At this time it was just one front paw that seem to turn outwards. This was around 6 months. We thought maybe it was something that would go away but over the months we noticed the other paws starting to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Sorry don't know anything bout this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 i am really intrigued by this so i just googled around a little bit. it seems to be a problem in certain breeds (not huskies though) but gets better with age. i also read a thread about hard floors possibly being the cause of the problem as you mentioned. other than that there doesn't seem to be a lot of information about the problem. honestly, those pictures concern me. does he have any pain especially in the hips or the elbows? have you taken him to the vet? sorry i can't help much but keep us updated. hope everything gets better. also, when you hold him up by the chest, do his paws still turn out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Likely, it is partly just his build - some tend to have their legs turn out, some are straight forward, some turn in (ever seen a polar bear walk on a documentary film?), but it's also his age. Take a look at his chest - it hasn't yet 'dropped' - his sternum will, at some point, come down and forward as he matures and fills out. As he does mature and fill out, and as his chest does 'drop', it should improve, at least somewhat. If you look at pictures of wolves, many of them have this type of build. As long as he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable and doesn't come up lame after exercise, it probably isn't something to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Likely, it is partly just his build - some tend to have their legs turn out, some are straight forward, some turn in (ever seen a polar bear walk on a documentary film?), but it's also his age. Take a look at his chest - it hasn't yet 'dropped' - his sternum will, at some point, come down and forward as he matures and fills out. As he does mature and fill out, and as his chest does 'drop', it should improve, at least somewhat. If you look at pictures of wolves, many of them have this type of build. As long as he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable and doesn't come up lame after exercise, it probably isn't something to worry about. very helpful to me at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miss_lissa Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 does he have any pain especially in the hips or the elbows? have you taken him to the vet? No he's not in any pain whatsoever. He's a very happy dog. I don't know if this has anything to do with it but he's not a very jumpy dog. Took him ages to jump onto the couch and our couch isn't that high off the ground Our other pup has springs in her legs. She bounds all over the furniture, she has even jumped the fence a few times. Sutsibe - i didn't know that dogs drop their chest. wow maybe that's all that's wrong with him. He'll be going to the vets next month to get desexed so i'll ask the vets then what they think. When we first got him and they checked him over, they said everything was normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magical Merlin Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 i'd see what the vet says, He does look like he may have hyperextention of his front paws but alot of the time they grow out of it. Can you take a video of him moving? Would be intresting to see his gate and if his posture effects him. One of merlins legs turns out like that at the back but it is severly deformed. Personnaly I would want to get one of my dogs checked ASAP if their legs looked like that. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 If you stand a Sibe square, back feet should point forwards and front feet at 'Five to one' (as in a clock face). Deviations are usually conformation faults, so yes, could arise from less-than-selective breeding. A decent breeder would take a good long look at conformation and stance and probably not choose to breed from the dog. I might take some pics here to illustrate. We have some spot-on stances, but do have a cow-hocked boy who points his rear feet outwards, also a girl with feet nearer quarter to three, similar to your boy, and a girl who points her front feet slightly inwards. Both overly outwards and over-straight on front feet are incorrect conformation and we wouldn't chooses to breed from any of ours with less than ideal stances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
js2001 Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 I got a friend whose Sibe has similar problem as yours.When she sits there ,her rear feet outwards,then they finally got the reason ,because of their polished timber floor very slippery . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miss_lissa Posted July 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 I got a friend whose Sibe has similar problem as yours.When she sits there ,her rear feet outwards,then they finally got the reason ,because of their polished timber floor very slippery . Yeah he'll sit on the floors and because it's so slippery his feet will keep sliding out until he's almost lying down. So i've noticed he does turn his paws outwards to stop him from sliding. Which obviously isn't helping. Thanks everyone for their ideas! I googled hyperextension and was shocked at how bad these cases can get. If he does have that, he would only have a mild case. Still i'll be bringing this one up with my vet as i think his pasterns are very weak. I'll get a video of him walking and running when i take him to the dog park this weekend. I don't think his gait is too bad, it's just when he runs that you notice a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 As they mature and fill out, the breast bone moves downward and forward - which is what is meant by the chest "dropping". If you have an adult dog around (a friend's?) of any breed, feel for the sternum - a pointed area in the front of the chest - then feel Shadow's chest, and feel how different it feels. You will see many show dogs - at least here in the US - who's front feet will point straight forward when they're in a show stack. When they start moving, they tend to turn their front feet somewhat inward, which is less efficient movement than if they didn't turn in. Makes for a pretty dog while standing, but not so good on the trail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Leigh Darwall Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 One of my previous dogs (beagle X) had the same problem and i never really cared, and if it makes u feel any better he lived a long life and died at 13 i had no problems what so ever, his feet went out but he was in no pain, i think its just how there born, think of it as having a unique dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniffynintendo Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 My husky is the same, they have become worse as he is recovering from torn cruciate, his hips have been screened and they are 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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