Cow hocks

Question
QUESTION: Our 5mth old GS female pup has a funny twist to her walk, several people have commented and asked if she has HD.  We bought her from a breeder who wanted to show her, our pups heritage shows 4 generations of no HD.  We took her to the vet who said he found signs of atrophy, but her movement was good. He suggested x-rays. We called the breeder and she said it is cow hocks.  I am confused.

ANSWER: I am a little surprised the vet is suggesting X-Rays since they don't show much until a year old.  HD is a complicated matter and it can show up even after 4 good generations.  I guess I would let the vet go ahead with the X-Ray.  Modern X-Rays show a lot of soft tissue too.  

I think it is mostly a matter of waiting to see.  The one thing I would do is switch her to an adult chow if she is on a puppy chow.  that slows growth and allows the joints to develop under less strain.  It is also very important to keep a large breed puppy lean.  Young Shepherds are more likely to have their ribs showing a little than be overweight.  Avoid supplements, just stick to an adult chow, making sure it is less than 1.5% calcium.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thankyou very much for your response. Our puppy has been on adult food since before we got her at 3 mths.  We feed her twice a day, 2 cups each time.  We are having her spayed next month which is when the vet suggested we do the x-rays.  But could this be caused by cow-hocks as the breeder suggested?  If so will she grow out of this stage?

Answer
I have to admit I am not sure.  While the best around have taught me things like the early switch to adult chow, their breeding program is such that I see very few such problems in my own dogs or others in the program.  I know much more about avoiding problems than coping with them.  That is part of the reason I discourage medical questions in my profile.  

Among the well informed, the main debate on puppy chow is how soon to switch to adult chow.  I am convinced it needs to be before the dog reaches most of its adult size.  I see nothing wrong with weaning puppies on adult chow.  

Dogs are best X-rayed when they are under to keep them still.  Waiting a month for the spay sounds like a good idea.