Loose Backend of the German shepherd puppy

Loose Ligamentation

German Shepherds tend to be more angulated than most breeds, and for this reason, they can appear to be having serious problems when in many cases they are going through fairly normal stages of development.

Common problems are:  Excessive looseness of hocks can be secondary to excessive depth of hindquarter angulation or increasing length of hock. Down in pasterns. Flat feet, roached backs, lameness – both perception of and real.

Symptoms can include soreness with roached backs, very loose in the hocks and/or down in pastern. The age they present can be as young as 12-14 weeks, however, more commonly at around 5-7 months of age. As some of these puppies can appear to be rather loose and or sore, many veterinarians will immediately assume the worst (HD, etc) when it can be a relatively easily corrected problem in many cases.

The vast majority of the problems listed above are diet and weight associated, acerbated by (in some cases) the perception of excessive angulation. Most conditions arise following excessive rate of weight gain, usually secondary to the overuse of high energy, high density dry foods. Breeders are generally more aware of feeding protocols and are more likely to keep weights within desirable levels. New owners (ie. the general public) are far more likely to over feed.​

Source: Dr. K. Hedberg 2010, www.gsdcv.org.au