# are there any real issues with being cow hocked



## c20spit (Jun 18, 2009)

considering sam is a 10 month old pet and not going to bea show dog is there really any issue with him being very cow hocked. he's always been like it, it shows up more when he walks as he seems to put his foot down then rotate it 75 gedrees outwards which then brings the legjoint swivelling inwards. he runs fine and is in no pain .


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

He is going to more prone to injuries and probably to arthritis later in life so a bit of a worry but fingers crossed he will be fine.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

hey, twenny! :--)

i am sorry to hear this about Ur teen-pup, particularly as he is a Giant breed - this bodes very ill for his long-term ability to get around. 

cow-hocks cause LOTS of trouble - they alter the weight-bearing angle of knee, hip + hock, so they can cause problems in any joint from the paw up, sadly.  the knee in Giants is especially prone to be an early-victim of the instability consequent to cow-hocks; but unless he has ** excellent! ** hips, i would also be very concerned about his pelvis / femur socket + ball joints.

cow-hocks affect the dogs endurance even at low-speed, as the efficient up-and-down folding of a normal rear-leg becomes an inefficient complex side-to-side AND up-and-down movement, increasing wear on joints + using more energy simultaneously. 
i would strongly recommend getting him a Penn-HIP X-ray (which uses 3 poses not one, and has breed or type-specific diffraction tables for various joints, making them reflect the function + structure of the breed / type, not some generic *dog* or single-breed model). Penn-HIP can be used as early as 12-WO with an 85% accuracy for predicting joint dysplasia as an adult; such early-warning for him can be invaluable, as there are surgeries that can be performed BEFORE certain ages, that become impossible later - like TPLO.

 were he mine, i;d keep him very lean -  
actually underweight for his frame - it will greatly increase the longevity of his joint-function, and help to minimize pain + keep him mobile longer / more often. but he *may develop * early-onset arthritis as early as 12 to 15-MO.

 supplements -  
Glucosamine-chondroitin, green-lipped mussel extract, and DSM can help to maximize joint-function + mobility whilst minimizing joint-damage due to cartilage loss and bone-on-bone friction. 
ANYthing anti-inflammatory in general can also be explored.

 re cow-hocks + breeding - 
cow-hocks are very heritable, so his prospects as a stud are now nil, even if nothing else pops-up that is an un-wanted heritable problem. to be responsibly bred, he would need to be at least 2-YO, and have passed his genetic-screening: cardiac ultrasound; CERF / eye-exam by a k9-opthalmologist; elbow, knee + hip scoring for dysplasia; have had a healthy puphood without any indications of poor immune-function (demodicosis, ringworm once past 3-MO, etc); any DNA-screens for heritable disorders in Molossers; and be of good temp.

it would also have been important if he was not shown, to have him examined by at least 2 breeder(s) [not affiliated with his own breeder] or judge(s) who are well-regarded within the breed and who would each assure that his type, structure, coat, etc, was both fit for function, and worth reproducing.

 re desex vs intact + behavior affects -  
has he been desexed yet? 
i ask because he is a Giant breed + an LGD - this makes him turfy + more intolerant of strangers, whether human or animal, and less-social with non-family dogs than most other dog-types. being intact elevates his risk for biting + fighting, and of course greatly magnifies all M-M dog-aggro. 
since he cannot be used for breeding due to his un-sound structure, i would suggest a desex-appt ASAP.

i can only hope he has a very-long period of symptom-free relatively normal mobility! :nonod: these things are so individual, and can be very idiosyncratic. 
all my best, 
--- terry


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

What breed is Sam?
In some breeds such as Giants it may make a lot of difference, but in smaller breeds - especially those with very low incidence of hip dysplasia - it may not be a huge issue.

Yes it is a structural fault that can lead to problems later, but that has to be weighed up with the breed, as some breeds are more or less prone and it doesn't _always_ cause an issue.


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

MerlinsMum said:


> What breed is Sam?
> In some breeds such as Giants it may make a lot of difference, but in smaller breeds - especially those with very low incidence of hip dysplasia - it may not be a huge issue.
> 
> Yes it is a structural fault that can lead to problems later, but that has to be weighed up with the breed, as some breeds are more or less prone and it doesn't _always_ cause an issue.


I think he's an Estrela.


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## c20spit (Jun 18, 2009)

yeh he's an estrela, i had his hips xray'd at 6 months old because of the gait he has, the x ray showed no problems with the hips at alll. if castration would help his legs then that would be fine, as for aggression , he must be the most unaggressive dog i have ever met, to either humans or other animals.


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