"floating" rib?

[apollosdad]

I recently noticed that when my 7-month old Boxer, Apollo, is drinking water or steadily sniffing something intently, he has one rib on his left side that seems to be seperated from all the rest.
My chin dropped the first time I saw his rib do that.
I went over to check on him to see if he had injured himself. I applied some pressure to his rib cage and looked him over thoroughly, I was happy to see that he didn't even flinch. A few other Boxer owners at my local dog park have also shared that their dogs share the same characteristic and that they heard it is called a "floating rib." I wanted to know if this was normal for the Boxer breed? Does anyone else out there have a similar situation they would like to share?

 

[Ronin1]

Ronin has it on one side. My Vet (who owns Boxers so she is really good with them) said that they normally have it on BOTH sides. She said it's like a 13th rib - so yes, a "floating" rib. I freaked too when I saw this thing sticking out on his side! Not to worry though

 

[Lizzie]

Diva has a 'floating' or as I tend to call it, 'spare' rib! (LOL) and on both sides. It's not noticeable all the time, just when she is doing certain things like drinking water etc.

 

[LuVsHeRBoXeR]

People have them as well...

A floating rib on a human is where one end of the rib is attached to the spine (vertebrae) and the other end is NOT attached to the sternum. Hence the term "floating". Does that make sense? I don't know if the same bone on the dog is called the sternum or not. The rib actually rotates out for the inahlation of air, atleast on humans it does. I do know that we are not that different from dogs when it comes to bones and such. As far as the names of bones, not sure on that one.
~Kat

 

[zzzina]

Cashew has one, too

The first time I noticed Cashew's rib, I freaked. The vet said it is a "floating rib" and is completely normal. The vet said as the pup gets bigger and fills out you'll not even notice it.

 

[apollosdad]

"floating rib"

thanks to everyone who took the time to place some feedback to my question.

 

[dexter1]

I recently noticed that when my 7-month old Boxer, Apollo, is drinking water or steadily sniffing something intently, he has one rib on his left side that seems to be seperated from all the rest.
My chin dropped the first time I saw his rib do that.
I went over to check on him to see if he had injured himself. I applied some pressure to his rib cage and looked him over thoroughly, I was happy to see that he didn't even flinch.

Wow!!!! This was my exact reaction when I saw this in my dog while he was eating from his bowl. Since he didn't have any discomfort and acted normally, I assumed he was OK. Thankfully, I know that he is from this post. Thanks BW!