At what age does a German Shepherd puppy stop running like a bunny and begin to run with that beautiful German Shepherd gait?

When ever you teach them to trot instead of run or pace.

Some lines are more 'natural' in the trotting tendancy than others. A fit dog will 'gait' better than an unfit dog as well.

Hello: I was scanning the topics and came across yours as related to bunny hopping. SOME puppies will engage in bunny hopping as a matter of course, especially ones that are to heavy or not in the best physical condition. Thirteen years ago we had a pup who bunny hopped (we had never seen it before). He didn't grow out of it, and by 6 mos. was still doing it when he increased his speed. We took him in for a hip eval. and found that he had early HD. He has done well and is now 13 yrs. with severe hip degeneration. He is so well muscled, however, that it keeps the hips well alligned. We have given him Rimadyl for the last year and he still seems fine. For how long this will last is unknown, but he is 13 and going strong (still runs, jumps in cars, chairs, etc).

Bunny hopping early on is nothing to worry about, but if your pup continues to do this (or is over about 6 mos.) I would take him in for an eval. Bunny hopping is a classic sign of poor hips, especially when it is not in confirmation with the usual gait of the breed. The dog bunny hops to get more stability by using both back legs. A quick x-ray by your local vet could get you the answer you need. If nothing is wrong, then build up the pups hock muscles by allowing him to gently pull against a rope or leash. This is a quick was to firm up his back end. However, DO NOT do this until you have the dog x-rayed or you could make any existing problems much, much worse. I have heard of all types of natural products from ester-C to shark cartilage that alledgedly help if a dog has bad hips, but I don't know much about it. Perhaps someone else on this board can help you there.

Our newest pup has had the shepherd trot down since 8 weeks. He is an incredible sight to see--like mercury spreading over water--incredible. He is now nearly 7 mos. and lst hip x-ray was wonderful. Don't know what the future holds, but we keep our fingers crossed and don't run him or do agility with him, yet. He does a lot of play and walking. We have had our trainers and vets say they have never seen a dog move with such fluidity, especially when he is already a big boy.

Hope you find out all is well with your pups hips. But, if not there are a number of options available that were not available even a afew years ago. We live 8 miles from Washington State University Vetrinary College and they specialize in hip reconstruction and reallignment. There is now a new surgery that if the HD is caught before one year they can go in and sculpt the bone so that gait will be normal (I think it is called a TPO). IF you find there is a problem, the University works with folks from all over the world--I would call them.

Even if the dogs hips can be 'fixed' you should never breed such a dog. You do risk arthritis as the dog ages, but at least they won't have immediate pain. There are also many other options.

Good luck.

Barb, when Caesar was 4 months old I would cringe when I took him out for walks... He had just started to "learn how to run" (you have to learn to walk before you can run, right? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> ) I swear he looked like he would do a face plant at any time with those long dangly arms and huge feet. But over the past two months Caesar has grown into a graceful pre-teenager. The gait will come with time, just give him a chance. I do agree that you should have a prelim done on his hips to make sure that he has good health. But like any child he has to be allowed to develop physically. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />