caitlin95uk
Well-Known Member
I have a 4 month old golden retriever puppy. He's small for his age but his mum was quite small so will possibly be a smaller golden retriever when older. He's a lovely sweet puppy.
In the morning, he gets a 2/3 minute walk to do his business. It's worth saying, he hates mornings and would rather stay in bed. For the first minute or so in the morning he has this front leg lameness/stiffness, really ever so slightly, other people don't see it well but I can (perhaps I know his gait better or can spot lameness easier from my life in horses). It is usually gone by the time he comes back into the house and definitely gone when he wakes back up later in the morning. I have only seen this two times, but would like to monitor it to make sure it's not anything bad.
Some have said it could just be growing pains? If most of their growing is done in their sleep, I can imagine mornings being a bit stiff. Just to add, he is a very active puppy the rest of the day and shows absolutely no troubles at any other point and happily runs and plays with other dogs.
Obviously with his breed is the possibility of elbow dysplasia so would like to keep an eye, but am I over-worrying? Has anyone else had this with a puppy? He grew slowly when we first got him and was quite behind averages of his breed. Now it seems like he's doing all his growing in one go!
Thanks for any advice.
In the morning, he gets a 2/3 minute walk to do his business. It's worth saying, he hates mornings and would rather stay in bed. For the first minute or so in the morning he has this front leg lameness/stiffness, really ever so slightly, other people don't see it well but I can (perhaps I know his gait better or can spot lameness easier from my life in horses). It is usually gone by the time he comes back into the house and definitely gone when he wakes back up later in the morning. I have only seen this two times, but would like to monitor it to make sure it's not anything bad.
Some have said it could just be growing pains? If most of their growing is done in their sleep, I can imagine mornings being a bit stiff. Just to add, he is a very active puppy the rest of the day and shows absolutely no troubles at any other point and happily runs and plays with other dogs.
Obviously with his breed is the possibility of elbow dysplasia so would like to keep an eye, but am I over-worrying? Has anyone else had this with a puppy? He grew slowly when we first got him and was quite behind averages of his breed. Now it seems like he's doing all his growing in one go!
Thanks for any advice.
