Hello Everyone/Anyone Reading this...
My boy Optimus is 4 months, one week old (English Mastiff). Every time his hips come up he gets very stiff which I think is normal (?), and he slows down for a couple days then he is fine again. The reason for my worry is that yesterday he started getting sore & almost limping then today he is REALLY stiff, like takes him longer than normal to stand up and you can see him adjust & re-adjust himself before he stands up. I'm just wondering if this is normal for them? He did seem to grow LOTS this spurt so am I being a paranoid mom or is this normal???
I'm no vet, but I am a paramedic so I feel semi qualified in checking for abnormalities and I assessed his hips legs and everything and they feel equal & like nothing is out of place, and he did not seem to be in any pain anywhere I was pressing or touching... Thanks for any input!!!
J.
(06-11-2010 08:14 AM)Optimus Wrote: [ -> ]Hello Everyone/Anyone Reading this...
My boy Optimus is 4 months, one week old (English Mastiff). Every time his hips come up he gets very stiff which I think is normal (?), and he slows down for a couple days then he is fine again. The reason for my worry is that yesterday he started getting sore & almost limping then today he is REALLY stiff, like takes him longer than normal to stand up and you can see him adjust & re-adjust himself before he stands up. I'm just wondering if this is normal for them? He did seem to grow LOTS this spurt so am I being a paranoid mom or is this normal???
I'm no vet, but I am a paramedic so I feel semi qualified in checking for abnormalities and I assessed his hips legs and everything and they feel equal & like nothing is out of place, and he did not seem to be in any pain anywhere I was pressing or touching... Thanks for any input!!!
J.
Every time I go to the vet, I have them check his hips, even if just by touch and look. I ran into some literature that said it is normal for these guys to have "growing pains." I'm glad I found this for myself because, after naps specifically, Brooklyn kind of trips across the house. He's never done this for more than an hour, but I try to get him to sleep on beds (Optimus has that nice couch, right?) rather than on the cold, hard floor. When he wakes up and seems really sore, I massage his joints.
"There will be periods of growth when your mastiff puppy is gaining up to 5 pounds a week. The muscles and tendons do not grow at the same time as bone structure does. So some times the muscles and tendons are tight over the bone structure. [...] It is very common when your mastiff pup is 5 to 14 months of age to wake up in the morning acting stiff and sore. Watch your pup careful, if as the young mastiff walks around a bit the sore and stiffness goes away then do not worry. [...]
If the soreness gets worse as the day goes on, you will need to take your pup in to the vet to have it checked out."
Good luck.
(06-11-2010 08:31 AM)Danka Wrote: [ -> ] (06-11-2010 08:14 AM)Optimus Wrote: [ -> ]Hello Everyone/Anyone Reading this...
My boy Optimus is 4 months, one week old (English Mastiff). Every time his hips come up he gets very stiff which I think is normal (?), and he slows down for a couple days then he is fine again. The reason for my worry is that yesterday he started getting sore & almost limping then today he is REALLY stiff, like takes him longer than normal to stand up and you can see him adjust & re-adjust himself before he stands up. I'm just wondering if this is normal for them? He did seem to grow LOTS this spurt so am I being a paranoid mom or is this normal???
I'm no vet, but I am a paramedic so I feel semi qualified in checking for abnormalities and I assessed his hips legs and everything and they feel equal & like nothing is out of place, and he did not seem to be in any pain anywhere I was pressing or touching... Thanks for any input!!!
J.
Every time I go to the vet, I have them check his hips, even if just by touch and look. I ran into some literature that said it is normal for these guys to have "growing pains." I'm glad I found this for myself because, after naps specifically, Brooklyn kind of trips across the house. He's never done this for more than an hour, but I try to get him to sleep on beds (Optimus has that nice couch, right?) rather than on the cold, hard floor. When he wakes up and seems really sore, I massage his joints.
"There will be periods of growth when your mastiff puppy is gaining up to 5 pounds a week. The muscles and tendons do not grow at the same time as bone structure does. So some times the muscles and tendons are tight over the bone structure. [...] It is very common when your mastiff pup is 5 to 14 months of age to wake up in the morning acting stiff and sore. Watch your pup careful, if as the young mastiff walks around a bit the sore and stiffness goes away then do not worry. [...]
If the soreness gets worse as the day goes on, you will need to take your pup in to the vet to have it checked out."
Good luck.
Oh my! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! The soreness is only when he is getting up from lying down or napping...once he gets moving its like he warms up and is much better. He is totally racked out on the couch right now....possibly with an afgan & pillow ha ha! I can hear him snoring over the TV and I'm not even in the same room!!
Thank you so much for that comment, I feel much better...I will keep a close eye on him & as soon as I'm done making this massive batch of burgers I'm working on he's getting another "puppy massage"