# Does my puppy walk normal?



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

It could be your puppy is "pacing" or has a puppy sway going on. From what I understand, it could be normal for puppies? It's not a concern unless you are showing your dog.



> A trotting dog’s right front leg and left back leg move forward at the same time, then the left front with the right back. If the dog is moving the front and back leg on the same side of his body together, this is pacing.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Sounds like pacing. Watch her move. If the front and rear legs on the SAME side move forward and back at the same time, it is pacing. This will cause the dog to rock when moving. The front and rear legs _should _move front forward, rear extended back.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Megora said:


> It could be your puppy is "pacing" or has a puppy sway going on. From what I understand, it could be normal for puppies? It's not a concern unless you are showing your dog.


Actually, it can be a concern if you are not showing your dog, because it could be a means for the dog to avoid/alleviate pain.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Pointgold said:


> Actually, it can be a concern if you are not showing your dog, because it could be a means for the dog to avoid/alleviate pain.


No, I agree... except you would have other symptoms besides the pacing.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Overweigt dogs tend do walk like this. Is there any way you pup is overweight?


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

When in doubt get your vet to do a physical examination of your puppy's gait next time you are there for something. I was at the vets today with my 7.5 year old Golden for his rabies innoculation and asked his vet to do a physical evaluation of his hips and his gait to make sure we weren't seeing any changes or issues. He's got great hips and we want to keep it that way. She took me out to the front parking lot and had me walk him up and down the curb doing figure 8s while she evaluated. Then she did hip extensions on him. Her assessment that he's doing great gave me peace of mind for a while.


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## uat1 (Jan 25, 2011)

Thanks, I am taking my pup for her shot this Friday, I'll have vet to check her gait.

I uploaded a very short clip of her walk to YouTube, can you guys take a quick looks at them? My pup is 4 months old and weighs about 30 lbs and very lay back. She looks normal when she runs or walk fast, but when she walk slows, she walks funny.... She has been walking like that the day I took her home when she was 8 weeks.







many thanks


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I'm no expert, but to me it looks like typical pacing. I think it's sort of like us 'ambling' when we slowly walk.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

I think there's a few reasons a pup or dog could pace. It could mean problems like hip issues, but I find lots of times Ranger paces when I'm walking too fast for him to just walk and not fast enough for him to trot so he paces next to me. I think some dogs do it when they're tired and some (like my foster pup) do it when they're meandering around. He paces when he's sleepy and about to crash somewhere. 

If you're really concerned, I'd recommend going into the vet to get everything checked out.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

I see what you mean. Hmmm...I'm not sure, but I'm interested to hear what some of the more expert members on here will say.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Megora said:


> No, I agree... except you would have other symptoms besides the pacing.


Not always. 

Pacing can also be a result of fatigue, poor structure, and even "training" - a dog walked slowly or on a tight lead may compensate for not being able to move out by pacing.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

uat1 said:


> Thanks, I am taking my pup for her shot this Friday, I'll have vet to check her gait.
> 
> I uploaded a very short clip of her walk to YouTube, can you guys take a quick looks at them? My pup is 4 months old and weighs about 30 lbs and very lay back. She looks normal when she runs or walk fast, but when she walk slows, she walks funny.... She has been walking like that the day I took her home when she was 8 weeks.
> 
> ...


This, I would say, is normal, as she doesn't have the room to move out. It is not a true pace, but rather "ambling". If she moves fine when out and having the room, don't worry.


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## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

Pointgold said:


> This, I would say, is normal, as she doesn't have the room to move out. It is not a true pace, but rather "ambling". If she moves fine when out and having the room, don't worry.


 Pardon if I jump in? Jonah paces (ambles) when I walk him but has a beautiful gait when I let him freely walk in the yard. Thank goodness, he heels in obedience with a nice gait too. I've tried walking at different speeds but to no avail. Is there any kind of training I can do to keep him from pacing?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Pointgold said:


> Not always.
> 
> Pacing can also be a result of fatigue, poor structure, and even "training" - a dog walked slowly or on a tight lead may compensate for not being able to move out by pacing.


*nods* I certainly believe the "training" (or habit) of walking that way if they have a slow moving owner or don't have room to step out. 

UAT - your pup is adorable<:


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

Max has a swagger that I worried about until forced to watch Kitty Galore in the movie theaters with my son. It was so bad I turned my attention to "swagger" and the dogs onscreen had the same sort of swagger as Max. The big thing I see as a different between your dog and Max is that when he swaggers, it's a hip hinny thing but your pups swagger seems to be in the midsection more. I wonder if it's because your pup isn't in porportion yet and is growing? You should take some video of your dog at a run and post it. It may be normal puppy walking - I don't know enough about it to make any kind of an intelligent statement other than to compare your pup to my dog.


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