# Wagging hips and dragging back feet



## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

I would highly recommend that you have her radiographed. "Hip sway" could be from pacing - do both front and rear legs on the _same side _move forward and back at the same time? Dogs can do this to alleviate pain. If she isn't pacing, the hips dropping could be an indication of dysplasia. Dragging toes can be a sign of a neurological problem. Radiographs will eliminate or definatively diagnose any issues, and allow you to be proactive as she matures.


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

Laura is right of course - but I've also recently seen the exact same behavior from a boarding dog - one that I'd had here about 6 weeks earlier - and I noticed the same thing with the toes pointing inward and the "trails" on the ground. Upon closer inspection I found his toenails to be so long that they were deforming the foot. <sigh>

Off to the vet we went for sedation and a bloodbath as we kwiked the heck out of him all around. He was visibly better the next day. 

A trip to the vet is in order....


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I agree a vet trip is in order. Hopefully she will be ok and not need surgery but it is best to get it checked out.


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

shawna8235 said:


> My 9 month old golden, Bella, looks like she's wagging her hips when she walks. Her feet point inward when she walks and I noticed that when she walks through the snow, the tips of her back feet never actually come off the ground and there are streaks between her footprints. She's pretty big...88 pounds & 26" tall. (I've questioned whether or not she's a purebred, but her parents don't look like they could possibly be anything but golden retrievers.)
> 
> She doesn't appear to be in any pain, jumps up on furniture just fine and easily climbs the stairs. But is it possible she has early signs of hip dysplasia? I haven't had her x-rayed yet b/c she doesn't seem to be bothered by it, but I want to be prepared if it is.


 
Wow!! She's bigger than Monster Max even!! Max was at the vet a bit over a week ago and he was 78 pounds so I wouldn't worry about her not being purebred as he is as well. His dad was big so he's taking after him.

As for the dragging feet thing, can't help you there but the tail whole back end wagging thing is how Max has always wagged his tail when he is really happy and he is really happy quite often!!


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

A lot of goldens have the 'just crapped my diaper' (parden the crudeness) look... but it sounds like she might need to get checked out. It could be that she's not done growing, doesn't have the greatest conformation or it could be a problem that needs to be looked at/after.

What you can do (don't laugh) is paint her back toenails with a bright color, then check to see if she's dragging her feet or not. I had a dobe years ago and did this a week before an appointment to get him checked for it, the vet was impressed as it gave her conformation right there that he was dragging his feet (and I had the only male dobe in town with pink toenails).

Lana


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Not to be a Debby Downer, but Flora, my 1 year old, does the hip swaying walk, and her hind paws will drag in the snow so that she leaves behind a little trail. Flora's got not-so-great knees and potential hip dysplasia, so I would definitely get your pup checked out.

How does she run? Flora's hind legs move together, like a bunny hop, which is another sign of... well, it's usually a bad sign.


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