Conformation/Structure Critque?

vandog

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#1
Anyone care to give it a go? This is my dog that I brought in after my friend could no longer keep up with her energy needs [she is actual low drive for a Border Collie ]. Anywho, there has been some concern over her weak structure, especially in her hind end, particularly the hocks. Anyone care to give it a go? I always appreciate input. She is in training for Flyball at the moment.


 

AdrianneIsabel

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#3
It's hard to judge by these photos, potentially a wee bit cow hocked and slightly flat feet but thats all I see.

For flyball shoulders a big deal and I can't see them well here.
 

RD

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#4
She appears cow hocked, as a lot of border collies are. I don't really know if I can comment on the rest of her structure other than to say she's a very good looking dog!
 
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#9
I agree with the others on the cow hocked and echo Shai's question of how old she is?

Also, absolutely stunning dog. Eventually I'm going to be worn down and become a fan of tri merles kicking and screaming the whole way if I keep getting shown gorgeous dogs like yours
 

Shai

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#10
And another question -- is the first picture is she standing naturally or was she hand-stacked?
 

OwnedByBCs

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#11
She doesn't look bad... I mean, she's a little weak in topline and doesn't have much pelvic angle.. but I honestly doubt that her structure will affect her doing agility or herding... I mean, agility is hard on all dogs but I would just watch her jumping and maybe take some video from the front and back and that would really tell you a lot about her jumping style, if her rear is going to negatively affect her jumping it is probably more from the lack of pelvic angle than her cow hocks... people freak out about cow hocks but its usually because they don't really understand that BCs need flexible hocks to turn quickly..
 

Aleron

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#12
Very pretty girl!

I agree with the others, she seems cowhocked which is very common in BCs and shouldn't be an issue at all. I don't love her topline in the first picture. Mostly though, I feel she could use better muscling but that could just be age related if she's young. The top photo really looks like a fairly young dog to me and if so, she can change a lot as she grows and matures. From what can be seen in the bottom photo, I think she looks better there all around. Do you have a picture of her standing like that from the side? On her own and alert?

I don't really agree that "agility is hard on all dogs" though. Agility should be pretty easy for a fit dog with relatively sound structure. What my dogs do when they are loose in the woods is far "harder" than anything they do when we practice or run agility. My GSD had an east-west front, a missing toe and was roach backed and she competed until she was about 11. And she was a crazy dog, never careful about anything in her life. She did develop some arthritis in old age but nothing abnormal for her breed (actually, I've known plenty of couch potato GSDs who have been far worse off in that area).

So I wouldn't worry about if her structure is going to affect her in agility. She seems to have more than adequate structure for that. I would just be sure she is very fit and well conditioned. And by that I mean she has good muscle, no extra weight and you work on tricks which encourage flexibility, coordination and balance on a very regular basis. That stuff is far more important than worrying about structural imperfections that you can't do much about anyway.
 

lizzybeth727

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#13
It could just be the angle in the photos, but it looks to me like she's putting less weight on her left leg in both pictures. Could be nothing, but... I tend toward the paranoid side. I'd have her hip and knee palpated at least to rule out anything obvious.

She's certainly very pretty! I hope to see more of her!!
 

vandog

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#14
She is a little over 6 months in the top picture, and a little over 9 months in the bottom picture - not naturally hand stacked, I just happen to catch her standing still in these.

I personally see more of an issue with her flat feet and hocks, but will get some updated stacked pictures of her soon.
 

Shai

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#15
If she's 6-9 months in those I wouldn't worry too much to be honest. A lot of dogs go through really funky growth stages where they look like unbalanced hodgepodges. One of the reasons that it's recommended that you not push them too much physically during that stage.

In the first pic she's twisted toward the camera, posting a bit, possibly slouching, and her rear is a bit under her. Just about any dog is going to look pretty bad structurally when you combine those things, and that she's a gangly 6 month old on top of it...

I don't see any reason to worry given her age. As she matures and becomes more fit, her body will change quite a bit. And she may not end up ideal but that doesn't mean she's not sound or fit for purpose.
 

Aleron

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#16
If she's 6-9 months in those I wouldn't worry too much to be honest. A lot of dogs go through really funky growth stages where they look like unbalanced hodgepodges. One of the reasons that it's recommended that you not push them too much physically during that stage.

In the first pic she's twisted toward the camera, posting a bit, possibly slouching, and her rear is a bit under her. Just about any dog is going to look pretty bad structurally when you combine those things, and that she's a gangly 6 month old on top of it...

I don't see any reason to worry given her age. As she matures and becomes more fit, her body will change quite a bit. And she may not end up ideal but that doesn't mean she's not sound or fit for purpose.
ITA with this! I thought she looked more mature in the second picture. You're not really supposed to look too hard at puppies in the 6-9 months range ;)
 

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