Weak rear

[Pipbull]

I have a question regarding my dog, Axl. At this time, I am not doing a lot of conditioning with him, but even when I did, I could never seem to get those strong back leg muscles that you see on a lot of dogs. I'm not sure how to describe it, but how it seems like the legs are plugged into the core. Is there any exercise that works the back end specifically? Or at least gets that rear in gear with the rest of him? Or is this just something genetic that working out just won't fix?

Thanks

[bahamutt99]

Dragging weight worked wonders for my dog's rear. Of course, you always have to consider the dog's genetics and blah blah yada yada. ;)

[Aussiedogman]

yes pull weights and also run him sprints up steep hills to put the weight on that area. Some dogs dont know how to run and pull with their front legs so get nice shoulders. some dogs need to be taught to gallop propelling with their back legs.

[Patch O' Pits]

Lacking rear muscle tone and development is also often a sign of HD. You may want to have the vet check that out next time your dog has an exam. Hopefully that is not the case.

Running in sand and swimming is also a good one for overall body conditioning

[purplepig]

Running in sand and swimming is also a good one for overall body conditioning
Yea, what Patch said. Also running through water will work the legs very well.

[BoiBoi]

hold up, ur dog is half apbt and half boxer right, well it might just be genetics because most boxer's that i've seen have slender rear legs, i doubt there will be anything u could do about it, just work him like everyone has described. My dog is the same mix but his body structure leans more towards and apbt with the muscle mass because he's got great shoulders and great rears

[Pipbull]

Lacking rear muscle tone and development is also often a sign of HD. You may want to have the vet check that out next time your dog has an exam. Hopefully that is not the case.

Running in sand and swimming is also a good one for overall body conditioning
I had his hips checked by my vet before I started pulling with him, so far so good. When he's older, I will have some x rays taken, but I haven't started really stressful pulling.

Are backyard is basically sand now, does that count? I've been slacking ass on ordering this harness for some pulling, but I've been playing tug/making my arms a springpole for him where he will tug while standing on just his back legs and it has seemed to help. At one time, he had the muscles, but I don't know what I was doing before that is different than now. I'm trying all kinds of different things to see what fits best for him. No bodies of water around here that I'd feel comfortable letting him off leash in, so swimming isn't the best option for a conditioning program for us. But my next steps are pulling weights, treadmill, and springpole. Not solely, but adding this into what I already do.

I've been conditioning him for an ADBA show tomorrow, and though I'm not completely satisfied with his shape, I'm content with how quickly he got to that point in the short amount of time I started the conditioning.

[Pipbull]

hold up, ur dog is half apbt and half boxer right, well it might just be genetics because most boxer's that i've seen have slender rear legs, i doubt there will be anything u could do about it, just work him like everyone has described. My dog is the same mix but his body structure leans more towards and apbt with the muscle mass because he's got great shoulders and great rears
Nah, no boxer, he's just got a docked tail. His mom may have been 1/2 AB, came from some hog hunters, but he's at least 75% APBT. Here's another pic of him, shows his build a little better than my avatar.
http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL939/4245577/8908139/220240156.jpg