# If a Havvie walks on his hind legs, can it strain his back?



## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

Benjy has decided to start walking on his hind legs. (I don't mean instead of using all four - just sometimes). It started like a baby learns to walk. We were sitting down and he was standing with his front paws on one of our knees and then hopped over to the other person's knees. Then he started walking on just his hind legs forward and then also backward. Sue has discovered that she can make him twirl all the way around simply by rotating a treat over his head.

This is all very exciting. But should we be concerned about him straining his back or anything when he walks standing up? It seems effortless to him and he has never fallen.

We have a dog buggy we push him in when we are on tough terrain or in crowds and we want to maintain control of other people's access to them. And it makes it easier for them to pet him if they don't have to bend over. He likes to be pushed in it in the house too. Anyway, he has been able to stand behind the buggy and push it for a long time. That is one of his ways of asking us to put him in it.

Happy Thanksgiving. We are having 19 family members at our house this year. Benjy loves that!

Jeff


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

My vet has suggested that I not encourage hind-end walking, or spinning/twirling with my Havanese. She says that as loner backed dogs, they ATE prone to more possibility of back strain or even disk problems as a result.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

SPLAbby said:


> But should we be concerned about him straining his back or anything when he walks standing up?





krandall said:


> My vet has suggested that I not encourage hind-end walking, or spinning/twirling with my Havanese.


Bow WOW! I love walking on mi hind legs and spinning doing the Mambo! I go to mi Vet tomorrow for a scheduled Heartworm test. I'm going to tell mi Popi to ask mi Vet about dis! Muchas gracias!

besos, Ricky Ricardo


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ricky Ricardo said:


> Bow WOW! I love walking on mi hind legs and spinning doing the Mambo! I go to mi Vet tomorrow for a scheduled Heartworm test. I'm going to tell mi Popi to ask mi Vet about dis! Muchas gracias!
> 
> besos, Ricky Ricardo


My guys do it too, but I don't encourage it the way I did before she told me that. I think it's like jumping when they are too young. You cna't (and don't need to) completely stop it, but you want to keep it to a minimum.

Also, my vet is a veterinary chiropractor, who specializes in keeping performance dogs sound. Pet vets rarely have the same level of expertise with performance dogs... Which is why I switched to this one!


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Oh gosh, and here I've been trying to teach Willow to "dance" on her hind legs. I should know better since I had a corgi with a long body and knew to discourage certain activities because of the back. I've also been spinning her around on the wood floor when she is playing tug-o-war. Bad mommy!


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

I talked to Ricky's Vet about this today. He gave Ricky a physical examination and said all his bone structure and muscular/joint development was healthy with no obvious problems. He said that Havanese are not typically prone to spinal disabilities, like for instance Dachshunds who are. He said he doesn't have a problem with Havanese doing leg walking and dancing for very brief periods and only periodically. However he would not encourage a Havanese to do it frequently on a daily basis. A few seconds a day, broken up into a few different sessions, should be okay.

I also asked him about Havanese jumping off of beds or furniture or out of a shopping cart (like Ricky did once!). Again, he said that it is natural for energetic breeds like Havanese to do that. He said he would not encourage this behavior as much as possible, but jumping from beds and furniture is probably not going to cause long term damage to joints if they do it a few times a day and it is onto a padded carpet floor. He said the big risk is that they might land incorrectly and cause a strain to ligaments and muscles or sometimes even a bone fracture.

So he recommends caution, but walking, jumping, and dancing, if done at very brief periods and done infrequently, is not something I should worry about.

Ricky's Popi


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks for the info Popi. I'll just be sure I'm reason and caution with Willow.


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

Thank you everyone for your concern and research. We won't encourage Benjy to do the twirling etc. (Except once at Thanksgiving and Christmas to show them what he can do. :wink2 We don't want to take chances on his health. Like a lot of things, moderation is key.

We have carpeting wherever there is furniture that he jumps off of. But he won't jump off our bed because it is unusually high. That just leaves the couches and lounge chairs which aren't as high. He will be one year old Sunday. A couple months ago he was 13.4 pounds. He is bigger than that now. He was so cute smaller, but it is nice to have the extra sturdiness from being a little bigger. (He is still just as cute!)

While I am in the health issues forum, I have had trouble with my sinuses. This year I have also had ear infections. The ENT specialist had me get a CT scan of my sinuses. The imaging center gave me a disk with the images on it to bring to my next appointment with the ENT specialist. I put the disk on my computer desk. Benjy got up on the computer chair and got the disk off the desk. My wife yelled from another room, "Jeff, Benjy has something in his mouth that looks like it is yours." I ran to him and got the disk. The sleeve that it is in is pretty messed up, but I put the disk in my computer and it seems ok. Phew! Benjy has NEVER before taken anything off my desk. What a fine thing to start with! Kids!

Thanks again
Jeff & Sue & Benjy


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

SPLAbby said:


> Benjy has NEVER before taken anything off my desk. What a fine thing to start with!


ound: Way to go Benjy! I foun a way to get up on the kitchen counter - jump up on dining chair, from dining chair jump up to barstool, from barstool jump up to kitchen counter and help your self to all the left overs! :hungry: So easy a cavedog can do it :thumb:

Well dat dint las long cause Popi rearrange da furniture! :frusty: Like chill out Popi!

Bengy, yu and mi could be the perfect cat burglars team! ound:

su amigo, Ricky Ricardo


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ricky Ricardo said:


> ound: Way to go Benjy! I foun a way to get up on the kitchen counter - jump up on dining chair, from dining chair jump up to barstool, from barstool jump up to kitchen counter and help your self to all the left overs! :hungry: So easy a cavedog can do it :thumb:
> 
> Well dat dint las long cause Popi rearrange da furniture! :frusty: Like chill out Popi!
> 
> ...


Oh, Ricky! You are a BAD doggy... but you make us all laugh!  I bet even your Popi is laughing when you aren't looking!


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

Ricky Ricardo said:


> Bengy, yu and mi could be the perfect cat burglars team! ound:
> 
> su amigo, Ricky Ricardo


This is the perfect time of year to establish a new Holiday tradition!

We can be the best cat burglars team around. First we burglarize all the houses with cats. And then put all those bad ol' puddy tats in the stockings of the girls and boys who have been naughty this year!

Sign me...

Your pardner in crime

Benjy


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

SPLAbby said:


> This is the perfect time of year to establish a new Holiday tradition!
> 
> We can be the best cat burglars team around. First we burglarize all the houses with cats. And then put all those bad ol' puddy tats in the stockings of the girls and boys who have been naughty this year!
> 
> ...


Benjy, I lick da way yu tink! But yu r forgetting somethin amigo. Before we take da kitties, we gonna eat all of Sandy Claws cookies :hungry: an den shred all computer discs firs! ound:

I've been naughty this year! I'm jus tryin to save Sandy Claws a trip to mi house.....den I get too eat all Christmas cookies Momi makes! :grin2:

su amigo, Ricky Ricardo


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

Sandy Claws is a good friend of m Momma's. I can borrow his suit when we play cat burglar. Then if we are caught we say we are Santa's helpers. No one wil guess.


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