I just got back from the groomer with my almost 2 year old little Shih Tzu- I had her completely shaved so we could start with an even coat. And, to my surprise (unnoticed before) one of her front legs looks almost backward.
I had noticed her foot seemed a little pigeon toed before, but she doesn't seem handicapped in any way. Is this something to worry about? She has no limp or anything. FYI-she is the only dog I have ever owned, so I am pretty new to pet ownership. Thanks in advance.

The Vet never noticed this?

Where did you get the dog?

On one hand if it doesn't bother her, it's probably only a cosmetic problem. On the other I question if it will worsen as she gets older.

I'd ask a Vet.

I know little about the breed. I'm a big dog person. Is she a good pet?

The Vet never mentioned, and she has been there 3 times.
I got her from a personal breeder, not a dog farm of any kind. The breeder loves all her pets, and is a real Dr. Doolittle.
Dalai - She is wonderful, very loving, caring, gentle and sweet little soul. A real love bug. . I felt so bad for her first thing, but now that I watch her closely she doesn't seem bothered at all. It doesn't slow her down any, when we play fetch, tug of war, etc. I will definitely ask the vet. If it is purely cosmetic, I will leave her alone, I would not want to put her through any unnecessary inconvenience.. ie... cosmetic surgeory. LOL. She is beautiful!Thanks for your reply Judy, I really appreciate it.

How old was she when you got her?
Is there a chance that it resulted from an injury that was not noticed or treated and healed on its own?
Just to ease your mind you could have it x-rayed to see if it was an old fracture that healed itself, but caused the leg to turn abnormally.
The x-rays themselves will cause no pain just give you a possible answer.
Also Shih Tzus tend to have short crooked legs, so I'm assuming it is pretty noticeable.

I just came back from a two mile walk, and keep wondering the same thing, wondered if she injured it somehow without me noticing. I am very attentive. She has never exhibited any kind of pain. Thank you about the x-ray, I think I will ask the vet to do one... and yes both legs tend to flare out at the foot pad (don't know how best to describe that) :)... This one leg looks a bit twisted at the first joint.-which I think would be the same as our knee.
Thanks for responding! I appreciate it. And yes noticeable only this morning and I have had her for a year and a half. She was 3 months old when I got her.

Sounds like she has an east west front. Not good for the show ring but perfectly fine for a pet.

I have one dog here who is east west (meaning the toes point east and west rather than straight ahead) and to top it off she can almost touch her elbows together under her chest. She failed as a show dog for that reason but it causes her no problems whatsoever, it just means she has a bad front :)

I'm having trouble tracking down a diagram online, but if you could post a photo of your girl it would help usg et a better idea.

Puppies can sometimes "break" a leg at the growth plate, (epiphysis) and while it may be sore for a few days, they resume relative normal activity fairly quickly. These epiphysial fractures are fairly common and the mildly injured ones are easily overlooked. But, the plate may be damaged in the process and not grow properly... it 'seals' shut and stops or partially so, growth at that spot. This usually produce misaligned a foot, if it is in the wrist or ankle joint, as the pup grows to adulthood. If there is no problem with the dog in using the foot, there are likely no further changes that will occur, as long bone growth has ceased... almost a year, now. Nothing to rush to the vet about, but certainly worth a question at the next visit.

Thanks for your posts, I am going to go take a picture of my bald little girl right now!

Can't wait for the photo - as I said, I know little about the breed but from your description of her I'm interested.

Thanks again for your post, I have attached a picture of Dalai - running to the window, she sees a bird. This does show the leg quite pronounced. All of your opinons are greatly appreciated. I still feel so bad that I never noticed this, (she had long hair until yesterday). I had never considered showing her.
She was purchased for the pure joy of ownership. Thanks again, to all of you.
Warmest Regard, Cindy Duhamel - Dalai Lama's Mama

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That is pretty pronounced, but she sure is a cutie.
Seems to be at the elbow. If it doesn't cause problems Like Paleo said I wouldn't rush in, but I would surely mention it at the next visit.
I adopted a terrier mix a few years ago whose leg looked very similar, turned out at the elbow joint.
We x-rayed to find that he had, at some time had a fracture close to the joint that had healed on it's own. It had actually knitted quite well and never caused him any problem other than a slight limp.

Thank You so much LadySam, I was looking in past photos, and notice (now) hindsight, you can see a bit of an angle on that leg, even at 6 months. I will sure ask the vet, thanks to you and other posts, I won't run there tomorrow, all atwitter. Thanks again. See her graduation photo... with all that fur...

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Oops, sorry this was 9 months old photo. :)

Definitely not what I was thinking, certainly worth getting checked out by a vet, but there's no need for an emergency appointment as said. She's a real cutie!

Going entirely by the picture, that looks like the foot has developed at a 90 degree angle 'left' of normal, and as a compensation, he has learned to rotate his front leg to the right (by throwing his elbow out, to the left) in order that his 'wrist' will flex in approximately the same angles as his right foot, when he steps on it.
This has made an abnormal joint at the wrist, but it works for him, apparently.

This could have been a developmental abnormality, or an epiphyseal fracture that rotated during the healing phase and 'set' this way, I tend to favor a developmental problem because re-learning to use a joint that far out of alignment should have resulted in a noticeable limp.

If he was born like this, as he grew the bones in his leg would reshape to accommodate, as best they could, to the forces put on them in trying to walk 'normally'. An example of this can be seen in small breed dogs who have congenitally dislocated knee caps (bilateral luxated patellae). Uncorrected, the dog's knees tend to point to the outside, to the extent that they are unable to walk without great difficulty. The knee caps dislocate towards the inside (body side) if the knee, thus changing the direction of pull the thigh muscles put on the leg when extending it in walking. (Try walking with your toes pointed as far in as you can and imagine how far your thigh would have to turn outward so you didn't kick yourself when taking a step.) Both of the dog's knee and hip joints have changed their shape and angle of motion over the years in response to something as "insignificant" as a little change in direction of pull across a joint.

As I said, just a possible answer. If so, I don't imagine there to be much advantage, but quite an expense, in attempting return this to it's proper configuration.

I also have a Shih Tzu and he has the same problem. We didn't notice it until he was shaved. I have not had him to the vet about this but I have found that many Shih tzu's have this. He walks on it fine, but I plan on asking the vet about it.

My 7 month old baby named Chubby has the same thing. I noticed it when I first shaved her down about 3 months ago. I took her for x-rays and she saw a othro specialist. They wanted me to have her operated on for $1,700.00. I told them I would think about it and I have thought and I am not going to do it.
She is still a baby and she is not in pain. I have a 11 month old Bechon Frise and
the fight all day long. Chubby enjoys the play. She runs all day and jumps off the couch and bed.
Don't worry about it your baby will be all right.

Chubbies' Mom

We have the same with Snoopy our 1 and a bit year old Malshi (Shih tzu - Maltese cross). We also just had his coat shaved short as he had too many knots and his foot seems much more twisted than before - his front right foot points East - South East when standing still. I mentioned it to the vet a few months ago who said it was common for this breed and not to do anything, but Snoopy was much hairier then and now the hair is so short it looks really twisted. He has full mobility and runs and plays normally but when he is still he often stands lifting the bent foot off the ground. I am now concerned enough to go back to the vet but not sure after reading that you have the same. We love him so much and wouldn't want him messed around with just for cosmetics! This is also our first dog. Please update me with what your vet said as I see that you posted yours several months ago. Thanks

Chubbie is fine. She just went for her shots and the doctor said don't worry about her leg she is healthy. I am not going to get her fixed because it is just money that will be wasted on something that does not bother her. She plays with my other dog (her brother) all day long, she still jumps off things and runs faster the him.
I love her, and I would not do anything to fix it. Don't worry about it as long as he doesn't show that it hurts.

Hey hi!
Was doing some research about front leg deformity, and came across your post. My 1 year old dog Shih Tzu have the same problem too, only realise it after he came back from his grooming. Initially, I thought he injured himself without me noticing. Similarly he doesn't feel painful when I press softly on his twisted leg, even when looks normal, painless and the leg looks normal straight when he's running or walking around. Only when he's sitting down, then we can see the twist.
We sent him to the vet for check up and they recommended us to bring him to see a bone specialist.
Would like to check with you, did your dog went for any surgery and how's she doing now. I'm worried my dog's leg will get worst/ twist even more when he grow older.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Thank you!^^

Regards,
Wayne Lee