My 8 year old GSD does pace, and he has since he was a puppy. Not all the time, but sometimes. And his hips are OFA’ed as “Good”.
The hair loss could be from a food allergy. My 6 year old GSD has food allergies, and I fostered a GSD that had severe hair loss because of a food allergy that had been ignored. They itch, they scratch. They lose the hair, and in bad cases the skin becomes thickened and somewhat discolored from all that scratching.
Sheilah
[QUOTE=tradewind;6229068]
The next time he is at the vets, you might want to have them take a peak at his hips. Dogs with hind end issues frequently pace. If he does have issues with his hips, the sooner you know, the more options you will have dealing with it. Good luck. GSD’s are on of the all time great breeds.[/QUOTE]
This^. Does he ever “canter” ? GSDs sometimes have stifle issues, too. My parents bred imported GSD in the 60s and 70s and at one time had a big pup that we kept because his conformation was off a bit. He was super tall as well. I was just a kid but I remember he moved differently than his parents. My dad and I were talking about it years later and he called it a stifle issue. That dog would keep up with us 6 kids but I never remember him “loping”, always that rocking pace.
Usually dysplastic German Shepherds “hop.” They keep their back legs together and hop with them instead of spreading them out to trot or pace.
If he has some yeast issues going on, that is probably due to whatever environment he came from and whatever the heck he was actually eating.
He is probably incredibly grateful to be with people who are caring for him.
Something else to build up the atrophied rear muscles (without causing too much stress) is swimming or hydrotherapy (even if, when it’s warmer, you have to get in the water with him wearing a life jacket, supporting him, and helping him swim.) It builds and heals muscles and injuries miraculously.
Oh, it’s plenty warm enough here in Houston for swimming :lol:
In fact, there is a doggie daycare downtown that has a very large indoor pool available. Maybe I’ll take him down there next week and see if he likes it. I need to get all his vaccinations up to date first though.
I’ve considered allergies as the cause of the hair loss, but he really doesn’t scratch much at all. Which is good, because I don’t want to have to play the “unique protein food shuffle” with him while he needs so much food. He’s eating Innova adult large breed right now - nothing but the good stuff for this fellow.
To answer the question posted upthread: - yes, he does “canter”. As well as gallop when he sees a squirrel. Thank goodness for practice holding onto exuberant horses at the end of a leap rope – otherwise he might have yanked me off my feet this morning. My husband thinks squirrels were his main protein source prior to his re-homing. I think he just likes the chase.
I also witnessed him trot on the lead this morning, even at a slower speed. I think that back end is definitely getting stronger.
Since I’ve been talking about him so much, here is a link to some photos. These were taken last week, I think he’s probably put on about 5 pounds since then.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150925176194498.514698.790594497&type=3
My 9 month old Doberman paces and he in great shape and very healthy. He trots if he is going fast, but he paces as if he were just jogging. A lot of times he’ll start off in a slow pace and then pick it up into a trot…
Should I be worried?
I have a part lab that has paced as an added gait since birth. My friend’s whippet only paces.
Bless your heart for taking him in. He will repay you tenfold for sure. I would still have the vet check his hips when he is feeling better. Also, demodectic mange does not cause itching, but causes extensive hair loss. It does not always show on a scraping. You need repeated deep scrapings sometimes. If his haircoat does not improve and other things are ruled out, I would treat him for it. It is different from sarcoptic mange which causes intense itching. It can be brought on by the immune system being stressed which his most obviously was being in the situation he was. Demodectic mange is NOT contagious. Sarcoptic mange is highly contagious. Anyway, I would still have his hips checked out when he is more up to speed. The breed is sooo riddled with hip issues that I would want to know asap, so I could offset as much as possible the development of problems. Swimming is fabulous, do not let him get heavy, and I would so be using vitamin C and fish oil. Both of these are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. They are also both good for immune systems and hair coat. And again, bless your heart for helping this dog, angels do abound!
I think pace is often an in-between gait for dogs. When we walk them the speed may be too fast for a regular walk but not fast enough for a trot.
When I learned to show dogs (a million years ago) it was emphasized to find the proper speed to show your dog’s best trot for his breed (with a few ambling exceptions). You were to avoid walking at that in-between speed for any length of time so your dog wouldnt pace and perhaps look awkward. Some dogs had a greater tendency than others to pace, but all of them were healthy and would trot at the right speed. I would train the dogs so that they knew that when we stepped out in show position that they were to trot right out!
[QUOTE=OveroHunter;6231573]
My 9 month old Doberman paces and he in great shape and very healthy. He trots if he is going fast, but he paces as if he were just jogging. A lot of times he’ll start off in a slow pace and then pick it up into a trot…
Should I be worried?[/QUOTE]
Trotting, but more specifically the ‘flying trot’ is a breed trait of German Shepherds. 
Quote:
Originally Posted by OveroHunter
My 9 month old Doberman paces and he in great shape and very healthy. He trots if he is going fast, but he paces as if he were just jogging. A lot of times he’ll start off in a slow pace and then pick it up into a trot…
Should I be worried?
well, he’s young and probably not very well developed in the muscles yet. When we’re fittening up dogs, the best gait to work the body evenly is, of course, the trot. When you start out conditioning them, the young/unfit ones can’t hold a trot unless you move forward quite fast; as they get fitter, they can begin to perform collected trots at slower and slower speeds. So I’d have to agree with the others who say the “pace” is what the fatigued dog does, and it’s what the unfit dog does when he can’t hold a trot due to the slow speed. Another thing I’ve seen with dogs in pain is they will avoid the trot by pacing and then switching into a canter as they go faster, but always on the same lead. The canter allows them to “protect” one side of the body from full work.
The op’s dog sounds like a classic case of “unfitness” due to being tied up all the time, the gaits should all improve over time as the dog recovers.
[QUOTE=ElisLove;6229260]
Not always true. My mutt dog likes to pace rather than do a fast walk or a trot and the vet has never found any problems with his body, he can race about faster than you can imagine (even at 11 yrs old!), but he’s lazy!!
It can be due to those reasons but it certainly isn’t always.[/QUOTE]
I had a Cocker Span that paced ever since we got him as a puppy. Never had any physical problems until he died of a heart attack as an 11 yr old.
[QUOTE=HydroPHILE;6232703]
Trotting, but more specifically the ‘flying trot’ is a breed trait of German Shepherds. :)[/QUOTE]
Hehe, we just demonstrated this for my neighbors. They owned a shepherd (also a stray who found his way into their lives) for 14 years. Heinz and I passed by on a walk/pace and when the husband complimented him, I picked up a jog and we gave them a little show to display that trot. They applauded 
Update on my pacer: he’s trotting more and more! His hip strength is definitely increasing – he can hop in the Outback unassisted now, and he can handle a flight of stairs. Mostly. He sometimes has a bit of an undignified scramble/controlled fall going down the stairs.:eek:
New gait question for ya’ll: I noticed when he does trot, he doesn’t track up evenly. His hind paws land to the inside of his front paws, on both sides. Also, the two middle claws on his hind feet are wearing faster than the outside claws. Again, both sides, he’s not dragging one foot more than the other. He is sickle-hocked, so maybe his poor conformation is causing this? Or he’s still building muscle? Just curious, he’s getting around just fine and is super charged and ready to go run at the dog park (once I get his vaccinations up to date!)
I’m really happy he found his way into our lives. Such a good boy and an absolute joy to work with. I am a GSD convert.
you mean both paws tracking to the inside? Or either direction.
It is not uncommon for them to hmm, to put in in horse terms, make four tracks: front-hind-front-hind, offset to the side, sometimes quiet noticeble.
Thanks! Clearly I’ve been analyzing dressage horse tracks in the arena for too long. Makes sense that there would be different “tracks”, since they are designed to have a ground-covering reaching stride. We wouldn’t want interference
[QUOTE=Sunsets;6250273]
Thanks! Clearly I’ve been analyzing dressage horse tracks in the arena for too long. Makes sense that there would be different “tracks”, since they are designed to have a ground-covering reaching stride. We wouldn’t want interference :D[/QUOTE]
This post made me laugh because I too will analyze my dog’s movement. It drives me bat $h** crazy when they cross canter. I’ll sit there telling them to fix their hind end! :lol:
I had the same question as Alagirl, if both hinds are landing inside (but ahead of) the fronts, that seems odd. But it is very normal for them to track to the side, as you say, where else would those feet go in a long stride? If it’s just ahead of the fronts, that would not worry me at all. My dog does the same.
If you ever curious to see more detail, I’ll bet you can google to find slo-mo or still pictures of show dogs in motion; often times there is a show photographer at things like the nationals and they get a motion shot of each dog.
My GSD mix would pace by choice. Especially in the woods while loose on the trail. Seems it was a good cruising speed for her and her nose.
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