# Something Off in gait? (video)



## Jami Craig (Jul 5, 2010)

I keep thinking something is "off" with my 4 year old ACD but general checks for pain have turned up nothing, he's running and jumping around with the same energy he usually does, jumping just as high. Something just seems off but I'm not sure what it is or if there is anything

He broke his outside rear right toe towards the end of last year when he was sidechecked by my old housemate's large barrel shaped dog chasing a toy. Vet recommended not wrapping it and just to keep him on crate rest, he stayed off it with some help but he was pretty good about staying calm in his crate.

Am I insane or is there something here? Now I'm wondering if I'm seeing bunny hopping (though he may just be doing a collected bouncy canter type gait with his head and tail up looking for his toy). It just doesn't look like he was the right amount of extension in the back end...

Figured more eyes the better....not the best video, he's a bit of a velcro dog

Attempts at Side Views
http://youtu.be/nUQphmacJyc
http://youtu.be/-CyCU92f924
http://youtu.be/x_fMWdUoYnM

Jumping for his frisbee
http://youtu.be/S2ToKpmLLEo

seeing anything off or am I nuts?


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Jami Craig said:


> I keep thinking something is "off" with my 4 year old ACD but general checks for pain have turned up nothing, he's running and jumping around with the same energy he usually does, jumping just as high. Something just seems off but I'm not sure what it is or if there is anything
> 
> He broke his outside rear right toe towards the end of last year when he was sidechecked by my old housemate's large barrel shaped dog chasing a toy. Vet recommended not wrapping it and just to keep him on crate rest, he stayed off it with some help but he was pretty good about staying calm in his crate.
> 
> ...


in video 2 you can see an ever so slight delay in the use of his back right lower leg, nothing really obvious and noticable but it is there. This is an injury of about 4 to 5 months old? He doesn't seem to have any problems with it. Lands both hind legs at the same time, doesn't pull up the paw or stretch it as in indicator anything is wrong... It might just be irritating him a bit but it doesn't appear to be radical.

He is a nice looking dog! I like his colour very much!


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## Elaine Matthys (May 18, 2008)

Your best bet for a gait evaluation is to put him on leash and trot him back and forth sideways to the camera. It's just about impossible to judge a dog running around like this unless the injury is glaring.


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## Laura Bollschweiler (Apr 25, 2008)

Plus something from a Chris zink seminar...video the dog standing still to observe possible weight-shifting, and then into a walk. It's sometimes easier to spot a problem watching from standstill to a walk.


Laura


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## Chris Keister (Jun 28, 2008)

Yep you can tell far more about a dogs gait from a walk or trot. 

What I am seeing there is a dog that is maybe not wanting to extend and flexate the back. Hard to tell from video but I would take a look at the back. 

What I can tell you for sure is you will end up saving yourself a lot of time and money by just going to an orthopedic specialist right off the bat. Trust me on that one


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Jami Craig said:


> I keep thinking something is "off" with my 4 year old ACD but general checks for pain have turned up nothing, he's running and jumping around with the same energy he usually does, jumping just as high. Something just seems off but I'm not sure what it is or if there is anything wrong.
> 
> seeing anything off or am I nuts?


There appears to be a lack of drive and full (forward and rear) extension in that right leg. Do you have older videos of him and if so check back and see if he's always had a predisposition to turn to the left. If not, that might be your first clue that something is off. It's difficult to know from watching a few short clips what his natural inclinations are though.

Depending upon whether or not there's evidence of supination in this dog (in other words slightly barrel hocked), which I would be inclined to suspect that naturally there may be some, he may protecting that side by turning away from the right when he needs to change direction. This is of course speculation but it is possible that his foot falls (particularly on the right rear leg) are being controlled by an effort on his part to limit the extension to guard landing placement based upon the original injury site.

I looked at another video of him from about a year ago and I'd swear that there was a hint of that extension issue back then as well suggesting something may have been off higher up on the leg (structure, injury, etc). A few times each of the videos stopped at a point where I was able to see that his right foot at least sets down with an outward turn which supports my suspicion that there's pronation (better said a slight turn out) on that right rear leg particularly down by the foot.

You can confirm that quickly by moving him on wet sand or in slightly firm mud or even with damp feet across a paved surface. This is one of the visuals I used for years when working my dogs by ATV. It's also a standard by which I initially measure the onset of fatigue. On dry ground those conditions can be duplicated simply by pooling water on the ground and having the dog walk through it.

If it were me I'd take the dog in to have him checked out closer.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

good comments here

great observations Nicole !
hopefully you will have some pics to compare when the toe was broken, other than just the toe area

an owner will often see differences in gates quicker than someone else, but not always, so it was good to post vids. recently happened with a dog i had worked with but hadn't seen in a year or so. Xrayed and found a break.

i would trust your gut and get it thoroughly checked 

does it go over the woodpile they same way it did in that vid you sent awhile back ?

an old thread also had a very good exam video by a sled dog Doc that showed range of motion checks ...


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## Jami Craig (Jul 5, 2010)

thank you very much for the feedback. I'm going to try to get some help handling tommorrow (someone to man the camera), get some walking and trotting video. I'll also bring him to a muddier area and check his tracks (noooo shortage of wet sand here -_-).

I'll also go thread diving, see what info I can find 

I'm going through my records now to find some motion test video I took a while back before his injury for a project. I also know I have a picture of him stacked up with his injured toe somewhere and some shots from various angles pre-injury.

He's shown no hesitation to do anything and his balance is still spot on (we not longer live around the woodpile, but over similar surfaces he's active with good balance), he certainly uses his toes equally with no signs of weakness to climb. I did notice today over pavement that he drags his nails on a few steps (right side rear) when he's tired, I checked them, they seem to be wearing evenly however.

I've contacted an orthopedic vet, I planned on taking my mal in for his OFA xrays in the near future anyway, looks like I'll be able to bring my ACD along as well and take a peek at his toe bones, see if they're doing anything funny. I would love to check his hips as well (he's a craigslist mutt of questionabl lineage) though I've yet to find a place sedation isn't required and he's got a little heart issue so I'm iffy about putting him under for something I know he can hold still for, they'll do his foot no sedation, not his hips.

I'm wondering if maybe a chiropractic visit is in order, he's had 4 years of activity, climbs and jumps everything, has done a lot of pulling, and is no stranger to falling (dog likes to hunt squirrels on their home turf, hasn't mastered jumping tree to tree). I have heard him crack his back at times stretching but was told it was no big deal by a few different vets.


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## Elaine Matthys (May 18, 2008)

It's hard to do hips without sedation as the dog needs to be relaxed while laying on his back with his legs being pulled. For dogs that are good about being handled and can pull this off, it's worth finding a vet that will do it without sedation. For other dogs, it's better to just sedate and get it done.


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## Hunter Allred (Jan 28, 2010)

Feel all the muscle tissue and see if anything feels firmer or consistently more contracted than the opposing side.


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