Any opinions on these photos. Does this look ok or should I be worried?

[Saintly Girl]

Considering that I only know one other person with a Saint and it's Max's brother, does his hind legs look ok?  They kinda point outwards sometimes and his back "knees" are closer together.  He doesn't limp or show any signs of pain.  Is this just the way they grow???  How does your saints legs look? 

[VdogLover]

When a dogs hock (what your calling the dogs back knees) point inwards its called being cow hocked. Its a conformational fault in most breeds. A dogs knee is up further midway between the hip and foot in the front of the leg.


To me it appears not that he is cow hocked but that he is not placing even weight on his rear legs. In the photos his "good" leg paw is splayed showing that more weight is being placed on that side.
 Without seeing him gait its hard to say if this is so but my guess is that this is the onset of HD or a knee problem. I would take him in to the vet and have x-rays done.

[BabsT]

I agree...you a gaited video would be better but what can you do LOL...I dont know how old the dog is, but he might have a bit of growing pains which could explain him favoring one leg over the other OR he was getting ready to walk in the picture

When my boy was 7 months old he walked like a train wreck LOL...i broke down and got his hips and elbows exrayed even though I was trying to wait until he was 2...both cam back great (THANK GOD)

Now here I am in the same boat with my CO girl doing the same exact things as Zero and I am still worried LOL

Good Luck and owning a large/giant breed puppy is very stressful during the growing years

[Saintly Girl]

both of his back legs looks the same.  He doesn't favor one or the other.  Maybe in the photo he is putting more weight on one but usually he doesn't.  I though that getting xrays was supposed to be done when the dog is 2 or so as he is still growing and not fully developed.  Is this not so?  I think I will call my vet this week to see if this should be done or at least for a quick check up.  If anyone out there has a Saint, let me know what your saints back legs look like.  I went on the Westminster website and watched the video of the saint judging.  They too seemed a bit like Maxwell's.  His is a little more.  He doesn't limp or seem to have any pain so can it be hd?

[RedyreRottweilers]

It's off the topic of this thread I know, but wow, that's one gorgeous little vizzy there.

When a dogs hock (what your calling the dogs back knees) point inwards its called being cow hocked. Its a conformational fault in most breeds. A dogs knee is up further midway between the hip and foot in the front of the leg.


To me it appears not that he is cow hocked but that he is not placing even weight on his rear legs. In the photos his "good" leg paw is splayed showing that more weight is being placed on that side.
 Without seeing him gait its hard to say if this is so but my guess is that this is the onset of HD or a knee problem. I would take him in to the vet and have x-rays done.

[shangrila]

The breed standard calls for "Hocks of moderate angulation" so they expect saints to have slightly angled feet, just not very much. It doesn't have very good pictures, but you can see the saint bernard club's illustrated examples of proper hind legs here: http://www.saintbernardclub.org/IC/ic_7.htm

As for my own Saint, her feet are not as angled as maxwell's, but they are not perfectly straight either. I just looked through my digital pics and I can only find one that is of her standing up and sort of shows her hind paws. It's from a weird angle so you can't really see what they are like to compare, but you can get an idea

[VdogLover]

I though that getting xrays was supposed to be done when the dog is 2 or so as he is still growing and not fully developed.  Is this not so? >>

 A dog can have hip x-rays at any age. Two years old is what they need to be to get an real OFA evaluation. The OFA will prelim at 4 months old. Penn-hip does their real evals as young as 4 months.
 My Rott was x-rayed at 6 months old after injuring his front leg I said hey while your there do the hips real fast. He was found to have HD even at that young of an age although he showed no signs. When repeated at 2 years old yes they had changed but only for the worse. I feel getting them done is better then worrying for the next year...JMO

[VdogLover]

It's off the topic of this thread I know, but wow, that's one gorgeous little vizzy there.

When a dogs hock (what your calling the dogs back knees) point inwards its called being cow hocked. Its a conformational fault in most breeds. A dogs knee is up further midway between the hip and foot in the front of the leg.


To me it appears not that he is cow hocked but that he is not placing even weight on his rear legs. In the photos his "good" leg paw is splayed showing that more weight is being placed on that side.
 Without seeing him gait its hard to say if this is so but my guess is that this is the onset of HD or a knee problem. I would take him in to the vet and have x-rays done.

Thank you thats my youngest one...May.

[jabear]

From my experience with the x-rays, I would say hold off if he is not in pain until he is at least 2 because the bones do change and often solidify from what once looked like HD or ED. We were told once that Bear has terrible elbows and once he grew into his bones and we did it again we learned he is totally fine! And, I think your photo looks a lot like Zoey's....which is a good thing.

[Saintly Girl]

Thanks a lot guys.  He's not in any pain so I might wait.  I see Zoey's photo has her toes pointed outwards too so that's a little comforting.  I went to the SPCA dog jog and ran into 2 of Maxwell's brothers.  They were older brothers and they didn't have angled legs as much as Maxwell.  Their dogs legs were thicker then Maxwell's  so maybe he just needs to thicken up to have more support.  They told me that they thickened up a lot between 1.5 and 2 years.  It's funny.  Maxwell was the youngest of the 3 and he was the biggest.  I'm not overfeeding him and he's not fat but his body and rib cage was much bigger then his brothers but their legs were bigger.  I have a freak!!   Oh well, it was so fun meeting the other Saints.  I videotaped them and when I develop the photos I'll post them here and give you guys a peak. 

[Sullivan]

My St.'s legs look a lot like yours, if not worse.  He is REALLY bow legged.  It had me worried too, but he doesn't seem to be in pain and he is really active.  My vet hasn't sensed any problems yet, but we haven't gotten him x-rayed.  I'll try and see if I can get a picture of them so you can see that you aren't alone.  Let me know if you find anything else out, and if I should get Seamus checked.  Thanks!

[brigid67]

Willow totally had legs like that - I was all worried.  They have since straightened out quite a bit.  By vet said that they are like that when they are little because their pelvis has to grow a bit and the legs will turn more foreward....  I know willow is a dane but my vet said that is pretty normal for all large x-large breeds

[brigid67]

Oh and make sure your baby is ettig plenty of vit C

[Saintly Girl]

Vitamin C?  I never heard that but it's worth a try.  It's funny but Maxwell's legs are mor bowlegged at some times then at others?  It seams like he makes them that way when he's tired.  When he just gets up from a nap, the legs seem straight but after a while he goes bow legged.  It might just be my imagination as well.  At my local SPCA Dog Jog, I met up with Maxwell's brothers and they are older then he.  One is 2 years old and the other is going on three.  Both have straight legs and no signs of HD.  So that's a good thing.  Here they are.  One is named Bernie and the other Mason.  The oldest is the one on the right, Bernie.  Bernie's leg bones are much thicker then Maxwell's so I'm thinking that Maxwell still needs to put on some bone mass and then he'll straighten out.  I've decided to hold off on the exrays as well as Maxwell seems fine and pain free as well.  Sullivan, post some pictures and I could see if it's the same type of bowleggedness.

[brigid67]

Yeah - Vitc is great for joint growth amoung other things.  I also add MSM, and I use missing link which has glucosamine.  Althiugh I am out of it and think I will just start giving st glucosamine.  The Supplements I use are all just from a health food store.  The vit C is waer soluable so they just pee out whatever they are not needing.  I started my guys out slow...started with 500mg per day separated then just kept adding more.  Willow is up to about 1000mg aday without problems. I also give Vit C ester because it is easier on the tummy.  I found liquid at Wild Oats.  Just start giving it.  It may cause loose stools.  If it does back off on the doasge for a bit until the stools are firmer and feed that for a bit.  When it is tolerated then add a little more.  That is how I did it.

I would suggest reading "Give Your Dog a Bone" and "Grow Your Pups On Bones" by Dr Ian Billinghurst.  His section on supplements is really good and easy to understand.  It is about BARF feeding but you can just use the supplemet section if your not into feeding BARF.  Also Pitcarin's book raising your dogs and cats naturally is really good also.