knees

[Sherry49]

When Precious was at the vet the last time she mentioned something about Precious's knees turned out alittle. She said that she did not think that this would be a problem, because she was not that big and was slim. She said that because border collies were very active dogs that she would probably stay slim.

 

Has anyone ever heard of knees turning out and does this have anything to do with the hips.

 

Precious is always standing on her back legs, and sometimes walking around on her hind legs, do you think that this might have caused this? She has been doing this since she was a tiny pup. :confused:

[Sue R]

Sounds like the joint that is turned out is Precious' hock (the major joint in the middle of her hind let), right? I have never heard of a dog with hocks that turn out as they tend to be turned in somewhat naturally. Dog conformation aims for fairly straight hind legs when looked at from the rear although, in practicality, hocks that are angled in a bit tend hold up better and are seen in very athletic dogs.

[juliepoudrier]

Sue,

The knee is actually about halfway up the inside of the leg between the hock and the hip (picture the middle of the part of the leg that bends when the dog sits or crouches--that's the knee joint in there). I'm having a hard time picturing a dog with knees that are turned out. Seems to me that if the knee is turned out, it would be because of the way the hip is positioned, but then perhaps the vet is saying one thing, but means something else. Can you post a picture Sherry so we can see what the vet's referring to?

 

J.

[Eileen Stein]

Stand on your toes. Your toes = the dog's feet. Your heel/ankle = the dog's hock. Your knee = the dog's knee. The dog's knee points forward when flexed, the dog's hock points backward when flexed.

 

It's very common for a border collie's hocks to turn in toward each other a bit -- this is called "cowhocks." A no-no in conformation dogs, but pretty efficient for a dog who has to run fast and cut left and right.

 

If your dog's hocks are turned in toward each other, then her feet will be turned out, and it seems to me her knees would have to be turned out a little too. (Try it yourself if you're still standing on your toes.) It would be a little odd for a vet to say "her knees are turned out" -- much more likely she'd say "her hocks are turned in" -- but my guess is that this is what she must have meant. Does it look that way to you? Do her hocks turn in? This is not something I would worry about.

 

Just out of curiosity, do you mean that Precious has walked around on her hind legs while she's on her own, or only when she's on a leash?

[Sue R]

The knee is the stifle, correct? I just thought that, since most folks who don't know better, call the hock "the knee", that that is what Sherry49 meant. However, I never even thought of the vet talking about the stifle. My mistake. The stifle is something I could picture turning out, although I don't know how sound it would be if it turned out very much.

[Sherry49]

The vet said knees, maybe she meant hocks and thought that I would not understand the term, (she would be right until now). Yes she will walk on her hind legs by her self without be on her leash. I will try and get a picture of her from behind, But she is a bit nosy.