Have you ever noticed your dog sitting with their legs splayed out, paws turned awkwardly, or weight unevenly distributed?
It might look cute, but sloppy sitting can signal underlying issues that affect your dog’s health and wellbeing.
Let’s take a look what proper and improper sitting looks like, why it matters, and how you can help your dog achieve a stronger, healthier sitting posture.
In a correct sitting posture, your dog should:
This alignment (as seen in the right photo) ensures your dog engages the right muscles—like the knees, thighs, and glutes—when standing up.
A sloppy sitting posture is when:
This sitting form often indicates:
Improper sitting forces the dog to apply greater lateral bending forces to the knees and hocks when standing up, which can lead to further strain and injury.
Improper sitting posture, also known as sloppy sitting, can often be a sign of underlying health problems.
Addressing these issues is critical for your dog’s overall wellbeing, as they can significantly impact mobility, comfort, and fitness.
Here are the key health-related factors to consider:
Dogs with a history of injuries—whether from accidents, sports, or play—may develop compensatory behaviors that lead to improper posture. Injuries to the hind limbs, such as ligament tears, fractures, or muscle strains, can limit the range of motion and prevent your dog from sitting correctly.
💡 Example: A dog recovering from a torn ACL might avoid fully flexing the knee joint, resulting in legs splayed out to the side when sitting.
2. Joint Weakness or Pain
Chronic conditions like arthritis, hip dysplasia, or luxating patellas (kneecap dislocation) can make sitting properly uncomfortable or even painful. If these conditions are not addressed, they may results in a reduced joint range of motion, and dogs lose the ability to fully flex these joints. They may also shift their weight unevenly to avoid putting pressure on affected joints, leading to an unbalanced or sloppy sitting posture.
💡 Signs to Watch For:
Problems in the spine, such as lumbosacral diseases or spinal injuries, can affect a dog’s ability to maintain proper posture. These issues often lead to weakness in the hind limbs or difficulty engaging core muscles, causing the dog to adopt a sloppy sit to compensate for discomfort or instability.
💡 Why It Matters: The spine plays a critical role in stabilizing the body. Weakness or pain in this area can lead to improper weight distribution and further strain on the joints.
4. Soft Tissue Damage
Damage to ligaments, tendons, or other soft tissues in the hind limbs can lead to instability and improper sitting. For example, an injury to the iliopsoas muscle (a key hip flexor) can cause pain and reduce the dog’s ability to flex the hip joint, resulting in a sloppy sit.
💡 Warning Signs: Look for limping, stiffness, or difficulty standing up after sitting.
Dogs are masters of masking pain, but subtle signs like sloppy sitting can be a clue that something isn’t right. Discomfort in any part of the body—whether it’s due to an injury, a chronic condition, or even age-related changes—can manifest in poor posture.
If your dog consistently sits improperly, consult an orthopedic vet or certified rehab professional to address underlying physical limitations through a proper individualized approach.
Sitting on slick floors, such as tile or hardwood, makes it harder for dogs to maintain proper posture, as they don’t provide enough grip for your dog to keep the legs in proper position, let alone load the hind end to stand up.
Ensure your dog is sitting on a non-slip surface like a carpet, concrete, or grass for better grip.
A weak core can prevent a dog from maintaining proper posture during sitting.
The core muscles—including the abdominals and lower back—are essential for stabilizing the spine and supporting the hind limbs.
Without adequate core strength, dogs may struggle to sit squarely and evenly distribute their weight.
Core weakness is often tied to a lack of conditioning. Strengthening the core can significantly improve sitting posture and reduce strain on other parts of the body.
Obese or overweight dogs also lack the needed strength to sit correctly.
If your dog does not have a known history of past injuries or joint diseases, and is sitting sloppily on non-slip flooring, a lack of strength might be the reason!
Young puppies might not yet have the body awareness or strength to sit properly, let alone work out.
In this case, don’t worry— possibilities for proper sitting come with growing up.
A smaller sitting area encourages a better sitting position, helping to strengthen the correct muscle groups. Use a slightly raised platform or balance pad to start with.
Guide your dog to sit on a narrow plank that’s just wide enough to promote proper limb positioning, but narrow enough to prevent turning the feet out.
This helps improve body awareness and strengthens adductor muscles (which keep the limbs close to the body).
We have talked about the differences between using stable vs. unstable surfaces in your dog’s fitness routine.
Working on unstable surfaces additionally challenges body stabilizers and will certainly aid in strengthening the core, and muscles around joints, as well as help strengthen joint ligaments.
Even if you don’t own any dog fitness equipment yet (i.e. balance discs), something as simple as an air mattress will also do!
It is extremely important that we teach or help the dog achieve a proper sitting position first before we work out.
Pay a lot of attention to the dog's ability to maintain a correct sitting position during fitness exercises! Only working out with a proper form (for a particular exercise) can gives us the desired strengthening outcomes and great results!
Trixi, the Malinois in the first photo, struggled with a sloppy sitting posture. By focusing on proper sitting form and targeted exercises in our online conditioning classes, she not only improved her posture but also enhanced her performance in Obedience!
Addressing sloppy sitting isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about helping your dog remain healthy, build strength and improve mobility.
A strong core and hind limb musculature prevent unnecessary strain on the joints, reduce the risk of injuries, and improve performance in activities like Obedience, Agility, and everyday life.
Start today with small adjustments (in just 10 minutes per day, a couple of times per week!), and see how your dog’s sitting posture transforms for the better.
They’ll thank you for it with a happier, healthier life!
COMES WITH 12 EXERCISES AND LESSONS & covers topics like:
➜ Bony Landmarks – Get to Know Your Dog
➜ The Core – Center of Gravity
➜ Introduction to the Skill Room
➜ Starting Points – Front Feet Up
➜ The Cavaletti Exercise
➜ Walking backwards
➜ Workout: Rear + Core
➜ Resting day
