Bit worried about my puppy

[Tramun1982]

Hi,
From 3 to 4 months I've been noticing (or thinking) that my 4 month cane corso is sitting a lot during the day, as well as laying. When he gets up after sleep it takes a while to walk "normaly", and it seems like a lazy dog most part of the day. He is much "softer" in body term than a boxer we had.

I don't mind if he doesn't sit perfectly like others dogs, because the main CC, BM, DDB, I've seen (adults and puppies) they sit with the rear legs soft and open; when they are not ready for something. My puppy sits well when we train obedience.

On the other hand, at evenings he is pretty (or very) active, runnig, playing,... But I am always concerned about a future hip dysplasia.

Have your puppies similar behavior? I'll try to make a video.
Thanks a lot for the answer.

 

[Liz_M]

Your vet should be able to check for joint laxity by manipulating his legs and feeling around the joints...my vet did this as part of the puppy wellness visits.(I don't know if this is standard but my vet is also a board-certified orthopedist.) X-rays would give you a pretty definitive diagnosis, if there is something going on. Could also be panosteitis aka "growing pains", which is usually self limiting and will resolve as your pup grows.


Here's a good article about HD, will give you an idea of some things to look for and what you can do:
Baker Institute : Animal Health : Canine Hip Dysplasia


I hope your puppy is fine and just going through a phase!

 

[tmricciuto]

I live in AZ and my pups are pretty lazy during the day also cuz it's hot out. They play outside a few hours in the M and then an hour or so in the pm and then they are inside chillin with me the rest of the time.


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[season]

You shouldn't be letting him run etc too much at that age. Use a good structured walk for his mental and physical exercise.


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[Tramun1982]

You shouldn't be letting him run etc too much at that age. Use a good structured walk for his mental and physical exercise.


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Thanks for the answer. We don't let him run too much, he just run at home, in the garden or few evenings with the leash off. We don't encourage him to run neither we play with a tennis ball or similar.

a 100 yards close to our house there is a track where we have walked and had a picnic today. There is a cricket pitch as well.

Here you are the some clips.
The first part is just 30 seconds after a 4hours sleeping.
Then 5-10 later, walking. After that he tried to play cricket,...
Then, bit more walking.
And the last clip he was finding a place to poo.

Do you think he walks properly?
Thanks a lot.

18 weeks cane corso gets up, walking clips - YouTube

 

[Tramun1982]

Thanks LIZ_M for the article, very useful. I hope it is just something I am wondering rather than something he has.

Tmricciuto, Yes, he is very lazy during the day. Sometimes in the morning he looks active, but mostly in the evenings.

Cheers!

 

[Smokeycat]

My EM didn't seem to know he was a puppy until after he was 6 months old. By this I mean his activity level was that of an old dog not a very young one. At 6 months it was like a switch was flipped and his energy skyrocketed and he started acting like a puppy. His vet agreed that he likely was just growing so fast that all his food was needed to grow rather than being active.
I have no experience with HD so I hope he's alright.

 

[DDSK]

My CC's Zoey and Abby's activity schedule.
Lay in bed until pee time, back to bed till breakfast 10:00 to 11:00 post breakfast wrestling for half an hour post breakfast nap. Get up in a couple hours go pee drink water and bark at the neighbors, construction workers, post man etc.
Back in for an early afternoon nap. Out to pee and poop bark some more and then early afternoon nap.
Out to pee again more barking back for late afternoon nap. Mom comes home from work dogs get excited to greet her and wrestling for a while and down for evening nap.
Up for dinner then after dinner wrestling match and an evening nap, up to pee and water then snuggle time on the couch with mom and late evening nap, out for water and pee bark at something and down for bedtime.

 

[season]

Something looks "off" with the way he walks. I'd think at 4 months old he shouldn't be laboring around like an old man. From the vids he also looks like he could afford to lose some weight. Cut back on his food intake. Did your breeder give you hip scores?


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[Liz_M]

I agree with season. He looks stiff and gimpy for a puppy and I'd definitely have him evaluated by your vet. He also looks somewhat overweight, which is a huge risk factor for ortho issues. Slightly underweight is absolutely preferable than slightly overweight.


This is not necessarily the end of the world. I once had a young,well-bred Rottweiler come up lame with elbow dysplasia (which is lots worse and more expensive to fix than HD) and with management he achieved an agility championship, obedience and tracking titles and had a very full and active life.


Based on your videos, I think your pup needs to be evaluated by a vet, and also lose some weight.

 

[Hector]

Your pup looks like it has problems with the rear. It looks painful and loose.

 

[Tramun1982]

Thanks for the answers,... Sad to confirm you also think like me. Tomorrow we will go to the vet. Last friday we went to the vet for the kennel cough and we asked for it. She wasn't a vet, the girl who gave him the vaccination was a vet assist. She said he looks fine,, in terms of HD but I am still worried.
I hope I will not too bad.
thanks.

 

[marke]

if he were mine i'd skinny him up and get him moving gently for long periods of time , lots of shorter periods add up to long periods , and is actually the best ......... he needs to get the muscle strength to support himself ..... the only way he'll do that is moving ...... I personally would just treat him as if he was dysplastic , I raise all my pups that way anyway , i try to raise them to turn out as best as possible by keeping them skinny , and keeping them moving , especially during the fast growth period , their strength has to keep up with their size , that takes a lot of low intensity work , for what should add up to a long period of time .............18 weeks is pretty young for an x-ray , an experienced vet could tell you how normal or abnormal his hips are at that age , but that's about it ....... I personally wouldn't x-ray him unless he showed me obvious pain , like an obvious limp , refusing to get up ,or yelping .... some pups do just move odd due to conformation , weakness , an lack of coordination .............. his trot looks fine , he could use some strength and less weight , I think you get some weight off him , and get him stronger , and he'd look better . I personally wouldn't be taking that pup to the vet for hd , unless it was a guarantee contract thing ........

 

[season]

if he were mine i'd skinny him up and get him moving gently for long periods of time , lots of shorter periods add up to long periods , and is actually the best ......... he needs to get the muscle strength to support himself ..... the only way he'll do that is moving ...... I personally would just treat him as if he was dysplastic , I raise all my pups that way anyway , i try to raise them to turn out as best as possible by keeping them skinny , and keeping them moving , especially during the fast growth period , their strength has to keep up with their size , that takes a lot of low intensity work , for what should add up to a long period of time .............18 weeks is pretty young for an x-ray , an experienced vet could tell you how normal or abnormal his hips are at that age , but that's about it ....... I personally wouldn't x-ray him unless he showed me obvious pain , like an obvious limp , refusing to get up ,or yelping .... some pups do just move odd due to conformation , weakness , an lack of coordination .............. his trot looks fine , he could use some strength and less weight , I think you get some weight off him , and get him stronger , and he'd look better . I personally wouldn't be taking that pup to the vet for hd , unless it was a guarantee contract thing ........

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[marke]

i would add , taking your pup to the vet is never a bad idea if you are unsure , might be a bad idea monetarily but certainly not as far as the pup is concerned , you can learn a lot from a good vet . the vet could also recommend some supplements , i've used vitamin c on pups without any ill effects ......maybe glucosamine supplements or something like phycox is ok for pups ......

 

[Tramun1982]

Thank you very much to all of your for the answers.
I going to go this afternoon to the vet. I'll inform you about what they say. Cheers.

 

[tmricciuto]

Thank you very much to all of your for the answers.
I going to go this afternoon to the vet. I'll inform you about what they say. Cheers.

I hope all goes well at the vet. Your pup is absolutely adorable. Mine or starving compared to him though. He's a cute little chunky monkey (which isn't good but makes me want to kiss him).

 

[Tramun1982]

Unfortunely we have a hip problem.
Parents are HD free.

The vet said we have to walk much more with him (as marke said) with lots of shorts walks. Furthermore work sit/stand, lots of time with the dog's hip's between the wall and our leg; to be sure that his hip work in the correct range of moment.

We will also change the feeding, more condroprotector than we are giving him at the moment.
We are sad but with hope; he said he can be well because he is very young, and there's differents things to do.
The first one, get him fit. He needs a bigger and stronger glutes, pectineus, and the whole muscles involved in the hip join. Sometimes the acetabul and the femur head develop in a good shape and attach very well because of the muscles work.

In three weeks we have to go back an check it again. If we don't see to much difference he will probably have a X-Rays. And then we will decide what to do.
If the surgery is the way, there's a few options to do.

Fingers crossed.

 

[marke]

when i am home i will find some pics of really bad x-ray of some young dogs and some pics of those dogs at 10-12yrs of age ......... i personally would be extremely hesitant about surgery for hd ,i've yet to have a case that wasn't manageable through diet and exercise ........it's not uncommon for hd free dogs to throw hd , it is not common for hd free dogs to throw serious hd .........

 

[Liz_M]

I agree with marke...surgery should be the last option. Sounds like your vet is onboard with taking a conservative approach.


I had a Rottweiler come up lame at 8 months, turned out he had bilateral elbow dysplasia. I was devastated but by keeping him really lean and lots of swimming and low-impact exercise, he turned out great. Good muscle tone really can compensate for bad joints.I also kept him on glucosamine-chronditin for life. Even got an agility championship and many ribbons by 8 years old, I just jumped him at lower heights. BTW, that dog also came from health-tested lines, from a very reputable breeder, (Evrmor U R The One son.)


Anyway, I know it's a tough thing to hear but hopefully your boy will get past this.