Puppy sits weird and refuses to walk. Very worried.

[Romo]

Hi everyone. I just got a black lab puppy named Naomi. She's only 3 months old now. With all the talk about elbow and hip dysplasia, i'm getting very worried. I take her out for short walks three times a day. Since yesterday she's been refusing to walk. Thats when i noticed that her sitting posture is very weird. She doesnt sit with her feet flat on the ground. Her left leg is always awkward with only the sides of her feet touching the ground. This is hard to explain online so i will describe as best as i can. She sits with her hind flat on the ground as if she doesnt want to use her legs to hold herself upright. When she does that, her legs are just sorta awkwardly positioned and out of place. And the fact that she refuses to walk no matter how much i praise her or even tug... she just refuses. I've had many dogs in my life and this is just very weird and i'm getting super worried. Any help would be great! thanks so much!

[black storm dog]

i'm far from being a dog expert but had some of those same concerns about my pup as you do with yours. to be honest , i didn't do that much research on LABS before i got my puppy so i wasn't familiar with the hip/elbow dysplasia issue with the breed before the breeder mentioned it as we went through the paperwork that came with the purchase of my puppy. i've heard of large breeds getting arthritis and that's about it.
i have a 4 month old male black lab and i noticed that he would never sit like a normal dog sits.( this was about 1 1/2 months ago) he always sat on his butt with his feet out to the side. after i had my pup home for a week or so, i found this web site and i read all this stuff about hip/elbow dysplasia and i got paranoid. my pup would also bite his paws and hind legs at times too and then i got really paranoid. well after doing lots of reading and talking to my vet and asking the vet to really look the dog over real good it turns out that the pup sitting wierd and paw nipping is from growing pains. my pup started to sit properly more often when i taught him to lay down. i guess it was easier to go from sitting to the laying down position when he was sitting properly then when he sat in the wierd position.
i didn't start to walk my pup until he was 3 months old but i tried to get him used to the leash in my back yard but he would not budge. he would bit the leash and roll on his back. once i started to walk him through the neighborhood for real, he loved it. now my issue is getting him to stop pulling on the leash
i don't know if this story helps but good luck to you..

[imported_kiddsmom]

Called a sloppy sit, very common in puppies. At 3 months, I would not be taking her out very far from your property until she has had all her shots.

[kaytris]

Is she sitting like the dog on the right? If so, thats a sloppy puppy sit, and really nothing to worry about. Like kids, puppies don't necessarily have the best posture and will flop down however is comfortable.

Some dogs go through a phase of not wanting to walk on leash either - I would start by letting her drag the leash around the back yard, then, as you are holding one end, let her meander whereever she likes in the backyard.

She shouldn't be walking in public areas till she has had her full complement of vaccines, so you have a month or so to work in your own yard before 'taking it on the road" again

[4yelloweyedogs]

Can you post a pic of her sitting ?

Melissa