# Swaying hips



## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Not knowing how old Molly it is it could be a few things.

First of all and most common, is "lazy". When you see her doing her Marilyn Monroe impersonation, watch her feet. My dogs when I see this are moving the right and left sides "together" (horse word "pacing) instead of diagonally. That puts emphasis on the sway. I can't necessarily move fast enough long enough to keep my dogs steadily trotting (diagonal) unless we are using the bike. My legs are shorter than theirs. 

Another common reason is conformation. My Teddi is longer through the back. As a result she wiggles more. Same with my lab. Both dogs are longer in the back. 

This is not really a issue that needs to be worried about. Some training ideas I was told, was making the dog work in a big circle (both ways) they usually can not "pace" in a circle. Be sure to work both sides to not teach the dog to be one sided. 

Now you may have heard that this is a sign of hip issues... I have a dog with hip issues. This by itself is NOT necessarily a problem so please do not worry. If you see other things, then you may have grounds for concern but not because they sashay. It is really a rather common movement. Even among dogs with perfect hips. 

Ann


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

The poopy diaper walk? Fairly common in goldens, for some reason. At least the ones I know that like to pace. Bender and her relatives all do it, all have had good/excellent hips. They just like to pace as a regular gait.

Lana


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Cut n pasted from a post I made in a previous thread:

It sounds like *pacing*. *Pacing* is when the front and rear legs on the same side move forward and back at the same time, and will cause the body to "rock" back and forth. Some dogs pace when fatigued, or if simply lazy.Young dogs can do this during their "qawky" phase - when their front and rear angulation hasn't caught up to each other . An adult dog that regularly paces usually has some other structural issues. The lateral movement of the pace can in itself cause injury, and if it seems to be the gait most used by the dog, should be checked. A normal trot is when the front leg on one side is reaching forward and the rear leg on the same side is driving back, whiole on the other side the front leg is back and the rear on the same is forward. 
I wouldn't worry unless the dog is *pacing* to relieve pain, which your vet would be able to determine by watching her move and examining her.


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## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

I have noticed this on our 4 month old male as well, his rear end moves back and forth when he walks. Interesting comments about the coordination of their walking (diagonal vs. left side/right side), I am going to watch for this and see with my own dog. I haven't noticed it as much on our female.


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

Kirby and my first Golden Sunshine had a "wiggle" when they walked, no hip issues in either one of them, figured it was a "girlie" thing. Darby has no wiggle. I have not payed any attention to their gate, something to watch.

This is a very interesting thread.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger paces a lot only on leash for reasons stated above: my walk seems to be too slow for him to trot and too fast for him to be able to walk normally so he paces. He is also built with a very long back...my dad says if he was a horse we could get two saddles on him! 

I've never seen Ranger do it when he's tired, though. That's usually the time he walks normally, like after 6 hours of hiking or 30 min of rollerblading. But even his normal walk has a lot of hip swing to it for some reason. We must be quite the pair as we sashay down the block!


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## Karen2 (Jan 5, 2009)

Sierra is a pacer, her butt wiggles a lot when we go for our walk, I had almost wondered if she had hip problems, until I noticed she was pacing.
Karen


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## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

Layla developed this habit when I was training/showing while pregnant. She was so used to me moving out (I'm 5'11'' with very long legs), that it threw her off when I slowed down a bit (i got really clumsy near the end...) and unfortunately it became a habit. she is better now, but when I catch her swaying, I take a running step to forcer her to change & she usually goes right back to normal.


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## macchelle (Dec 28, 2008)

Oh, you all are so helpful! I think now it must be because I cannot walk fast enough for her. (She isn't quite 2 yet) Also, because Mosby is still a baby he walks a lot slower than her so she has to slow her pace for him. I will not worry anymore, thank you!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Karen2 said:


> Sierra is a pacer, her butt wiggles a lot when we go for our walk, I had almost wondered if she had hip problems, until I noticed she was pacing.
> Karen


 
Pacing can be symptomatic of attempting to alleviate pain - if the dog paces as a regular gait I'd radiograph hips at age two, minimum.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Rookie does that when he's on leash and trying to keep pace with me and not pull on the leash. When he's off leash and running around at his own pace, he has a beautiful gait. I'd be more concerned if he was doing it when off leash.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Hmmm, my dog wiggles his bottom when he walks so his bum feathers swish like curtains lol. However, some dogs wiggle/sway their bottoms with the whole rear end,even the tail wagging the whole rear end wags with it! I learnt from a show judge/breeder that this is known as stiff stifles. Im not wholly sure if there would be concern but best to research a little -just as you are now


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