Seiko v Dorndorf L, now 14 months old, is with Laura Knoll and Jennifer Fry. They will meet up with Stan Knoll, Babe, and Oslo, who are on their way from Mississippi to Ohio to compete in the Buckeye field trials this weekend.

Seiko was the pup I chose out of the three females by FC Audi Oslo von Dorndorf x DC Nadja v Dorndorf L SE. Tina Knoll had leased Nadja to me for this litter but Nadja stayed in Mississippi where the Knolls whelped and raised her three puppies. I brought the pups to Ohio in October, 2009. Sage went to live with Maxine Brinker in Ilinois, then Sonic went to Michigan with hunter Mike Suchodolski. Seiko stayed with me. I'd waited and strived a long time to obtain my next female and Seiko was just what I wanted.

However, in January of this year when Seiko was five months old, I began noticing that something was not quite right with her rear stance and movement. Her hocks looked like they were bowing out some. I watched and watched, and waited and waited, hoping this was a stage she would come out of...

It wasn't. Eventually, with some assist from orthopedic specialist Dr. Matthew Barnhart at Med Vet in Columbus, I learned more about Pes Varus than I ever wanted to know. And I realized that, although I've never seen it in my own dogs, I'd seen bowed legs like this in other dachshunds. I just hadn't known what it was.

Pes Varus is also known as Angular Hock Deformity. It is a developmental problem caused by uneven closure of the growth plate at the far (distal) end of the tibia. It often becomes noticeable when puppies are five to six months old. Here are two definitions.

"Pes Verus is a distal tibia deformity described in dachshunds and associated with asymmetric closure of the distal physis."

"Pes varus is a distal tibial deformity seen in Dachshunds. With this condition there is shortening of the medial tibia with maximum curve and rotation at the distal metaphysis."

There isn't a whole lot of information out there about Pes Varus but I learned as much as I could. I found that it is likely an autosomal recessive trait which meant that Seiko was NOT a future candidate for breeding. You can imagine how very disappointing this was.

Ironically, her excellent rear structure as a young puppy was one of the reasons I chose Seiko over her sisters. Sonic and Sage are unaffected by this condition.

Fortunately, Seiko has a mild form of it. She shows no lameness whatsoever and RUNS with the best of them. In fact, I've long said that Seiko loves to run more than any dog I've ever owned. She darts and zooms and circles in the yard as fast as she can go, whether anyone is chasing her or not!

Last month, I began to talk of finding another home for Seiko. Tina Knoll announced that she wanted her to come back to Mississippi. Tina wants to track and field trial her. Seiko displays an affinity for tracking, (she was certified by a tracking judge at nine months), and will likely display a lot of talent on rabbits.

So it is a win-win situation for everybody. Except Viljo. Seiko was his wrestling buddy. And of course I will - eventually - be on the hunt again for a female.

Seiko, you be a good girl.