Anyone else's dog run sideways?

[Charliesmommy]

Whenever I play ball with Charlie I've noticed that he runs kind of sideways. Meaning, he runs in a straight line but his body is a bit sideways. He has done it since he was a puppy, I guess it's just more obvious now that he's bigger. Is this weird? I tried to take a pic but I would have to take video for you to actually see what I'm talking about.

[Doberluv]

YES! My boy Chi, Jose` trots that way, diagonal body position but in a straight path, like a car that is severely out of alignment. When he breaks into a run, he straightens is body out so that it is in line with the path he is taking. I don't know what it is. I always thought it might be due to his bad patellas and his rotten rear conformation. But maybe not.

[Charliesmommy]

Dober - I have wondered the same thing about Charlie's knees and/or hips. He was a rescue from a puppymill so I would not be at all surprised to find out down the road that he has some problems. Didn't know if this might be an early sign of it????? Or if he's just a bit of a goof. The vet says it's too early to really do a good check on those things, wants to wait until he's a bit older, but says so far he appears to have good knee/hip health.

[Scooter]

Mine doesn't, but a dog she plays with, a 7 month old male lab does. It's weird, but kind of cute.

[Sweet72947]

When Daisy gets excited and wants to play she'll dart sideways and jump around. Its so cute.

[oc_spirit]

I''ve heard it is a sign of bad hips but dunno how true it is. All I know is that my one mushng mentor will not breed or use a dog that runs sideways like that and usually ends up selling it to a pet home. *shrugs*

My APBT puppy and my AST male both do it when they are excited. I also have a pomeranian that like to use only two legs at a time. He either walks on his front legs after taking a pee but mostly hops around on the back legs lol

[Roxy's CD]

My guys do it during their retrieves.

At first we thought they were off but after a few times we noticed it's just how they run...

I think it's like savethebullies said, when they get excited it's kind of like a hop.

Roxy's had x-rays done, and our vet said she had mild HD, and the specialist said she didn't, just had a long hip...

They only do it when their "loping", or at half speed. When they open'er up they don't sidetrack at all.

[Doberluv]

I'm pretty sure what Charliesmom and I were describing....isn't the same thing as hopping to the side. It's a matter of the gait of the dog...going in a straight line, like when trotting along for a while and watching from behind, you see that their body is not straight or parallel with the track they're making. Their body is diagonal, but traveling in a straight line. When Jose breaks into a run, his body is no longer diagonal, but straight, in line with the path he is taking. He only does that weird out of alignment thing when trotting. And even then, sometimes he's not.

[J's crew]

Originally Posted by Doberluv

I'm pretty sure what Charliesmom and I were describing....isn't the same thing as hopping to the side. It's a matter of the gait of the dog...going in a straight line, like when trotting along for a while and watching from behind, you see that their body is not straight or parallel with the track they're making. Their body is diagonal, but traveling in a straight line. When Jose breaks into a run, his body is no longer diagonal, but straight, in line with the path he is taking. He only does that weird out of alignment thing when trotting. And even then, sometimes he's not.

Yep, that's exactly what one of my dogs does. He hasn't had his hips x-rayed yet because he doesn't seem to be in any pain, but I'm going to do it soon just in case.