Glossary

Hock

The joint on a dog's hind leg between the lower thigh and the foot, roughly the equivalent of a human ankle, used in judging structure and movement.

Also called: hocks, hock joint, cow hocks, dog ankle, hind leg joint

The hock is the joint halfway down the hind leg, pointing backward. It is the dog's counterpart of the human ankle and heel. The bump at the back is the point of the hock. Many people call it the dog's back knee, but the true knee, called the stifle, sits higher up, at the front of the leg.

In a breed standard, hock length and angle are described because they affect how a dog pushes off. A hock that turns inward, called cow hocks, is considered a structural fault in some breeds.

Judges look at hocks when a dog is posed in a stack, and they watch how the dog moves in conformation. If a dog limps or is stiff on a hind leg, ask a veterinarian.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

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Related terms

Withers The ridge between a dog's shoulder blades at the base of the neck, the standard point from which a dog's height is measured. Stack The standing pose a show dog holds so a judge can see its structure, set by the handler (hand stack) or held by the dog on its own (free stack). Conformation A dog show event in which each purebred dog is judged on how closely its structure and movement match its written breed standard. Dewclaw A small extra digit on the inner side of a dog's leg above the paw, found on the front legs of most dogs and on the hind legs of some breeds.