Like you I have a real worry about hip dysplasia and associated problems. I got my Lab when he was already 13 months old and thus have no idea if maybe he was exercised too much/not enough by his first owner.

The advice I've always followed is that until the dog is around 18 months old, do not let them overdo it. As others have said, this is vital with large breed dogs.

I'm glad you are taking him to the vet for a check up and really hope he gets the all clear - also can we have some pics???

I'm both thrilled and immensely disappointed (in myself) at the thought of taking him to a field/park and letting him have a crazy half hour with our staff or with other dogs, all of which is to be carefully monitored of course. Disappointed i didn't think of this before, and thrilled that this beats a short walk to the corner shop and back, which is what i presumed our walking future for the next 12 months might have been. Still, the changes that need to be made can be made without any fuss and this is what matters. Thank you all so much for the straight forward advice!

Pics, i'll find some on my photobucket account and upload the IMG files shortly.

Thanks again

Ok here is the wounded little (i lie, he's huge) soldier.
I hope you like him, all he ever wants is to be loved!
To the poster whose name i cannot remember, yes, he is huge already being 6 months (just turned the other day in fact) and weighing in at 35 kgs (77 lbs).







This last one is not miles from civilisation although the picture does suggest that, it's a park just down the road from us and this spot in particular is about 1/2 a mile from the car park, if that Thought it was a nice scenic photo of him showing his form. It was taken a little over a month ago so he will have been 4 and a bit months old.

Aww he is lovely. Hope the vet visit goes well

He is stunning! Thanks for posting his pictures.

Fab puppy, such a big boy. He looks so huggable

Handsome lad

As peeps have said that's too much exercise..but still u would expect him to be tired but not lame,and defo not swinging his leg,

Was he from hipscored parents?

One thing imo is he is carrying a bit too much weight for his age,and this is also very important for bone development...he needs to be grown lean and slowly

Good luck at the vets

You've gotten some good advice so far, just wanted to add that I would see a vet even if he does seem better. He's a mix of two breeds prone to the joint disease pano. If he's got this starting up best get ahead of it before it gets the better of him. Gorgeous lad by the way!

He is a very handsome boy.

Can I just mention that when letting him romp with other dogs still please take care there bones are soft and they can be injured easily if they romp too much or get knocked into etc.,.

I know its difficult and sounds like he can have no fun at all. He can but it must be monitored and if you feel it is getting a bit rough then halt the game and give them all time to return to normal play levels.

Hi all, the vet appointment is booked for tomorrow evening. Hopefully if anything dramatic is in its early stages, it'll get noticed!
Bill seems almost back to normal today, and if anything i'm hoping his stiffness carries through until tomorrow evening so that the vet doesn't think i've been taking hallucinogenics!
Will the vet carry out an x-ray at my request, or will i have to dress it up a little so that they feel it's necessary? I'm thinking (excuse my ignorance) that going by what i've seen on TV, an x-ray will show most hip issues that may be already there and/or forming, or am i a victim of belief in the box?

Thanks for all the lovely comments on the pictures by the way guys, Bill says thanks very much too.

Hi,
He isn't lame as such, more stiff and moving his legs round and forward instead of straight through forward. His exact movements and symptoms will be mentioned to the vet who inspects him tomorrow evening.
No he wasn't from hip-scored parents but his parents were present when the missus went to pick him up. She says she had a good bit of interaction with them. and whilst she isn't trained, she says that there didn't seem to be anything unusual about the dog or the bitch.
His weight seems ok to us, he isn't podgy by any means, and his ribs are ever so slightly visible. He's on a prey-model diet at about 2% of his expected adult weight as daily feed portions. We're feeding him at the minute expecting him to attain something in the region of 60-70 kgs. He does however carry the Mastiff saggy skin thing in places (mainly around his neck), this may be what is making him seem overweight to you. Still, i'll be sure to ask the vet if he/she doesn't say anything themselves.


Hi,
I'll be suggesting this to the vet to make sure it has been considered, thanks for the head's up :P

Hi,
We always keep a very close eye on him when he's playing, more so for the other dogs sake at the minute as he can be somewhat unaware of his size compared to some smaller breeds and can sometimes knock them a little too hard without realising (just by turning around). Thank you for the advice.