My 14 month old Bullmastiff seems to have developed stiff back legs. I noticed it about a month or so ago, its only when hes trotting he walks fine and runs fine, and most of the time trots fine. Obviously wanting to show him I'm concerned that it will never get better. Hes off to see a physio and hydrotherapist next weekend so should have an answer then.

Watching him it looks like he does not bend his legs and on occasion moves while throwing one out. He lies down fine, I can flex his legs in all directions fine, he shows no sign of pain or discomfort. He can rise out of his bed fine, I have checked his pads and nails for anything suspect but found nothing. Its odd because its not all the time, its most of the time but he is more than capable of moving normally.

I havent taken him to the vet yet as he seems totally un affected by it and in no pain, so will see what the physio (also a bullmastiff specialist) says.

Has anyone else had this?

Just to add he has been fine this morning, moving like a pro :)
I'm just so confused as to why he keeps doing it?

> I'm just so confused as to why he keeps doing it?

He's not finished growing yet, I'm not sure how similar the growth pattern between a Bullmastiff & a Mastiff will be, but I have found with Buster he grew in fits & starts. Everything seems to grow at different rates so there would some times when he seemed a bit 'floppy' (far too  floppy when I had him on the wrong diet, to the point he was almost flat-footed :( ), other times he would seem a bit 'tight'. .

Examaning a dog yourself does not always tell you the full story though. I'm not sure how much it has to do with the dog trusting you or how much it is about the vet knowing how hard they can prod, poke & bend things without snapping somehting! Maybee a bit of both. Anyway, Buster developed a limp at about 5 months old. I could not get the slightest pain response from him when manupulating the leg. The vet, on his second examination of Buster, did get a TINY pain response, it was the slightets flinch shown in his face.

So allthough your dog may simply be growing, I would still take him to the vet. It's much better to be on the safe side & know what you are dealing with.

Some conditions will be better rested, others will be better exercised and if it's a matter of growth, exercise must not be over-done. Have you spoken to the breeder? They should be a wealth of information & advice for you :)

One of my bulldogs started doing this at about 6 months and she had luxating patella in one leg.

The reason she sometimes appeared fine was that the knee cap was in place, other times she didn't want to bend her leg and that was obviously when the knee cap had slipped out. She never appeared to be in any pain but just liked to keep her leg straight and would sometimes shuffle around on her bum instead of standing up.

Its just an odd movement, he almost circles his paws rather than moving them back and forth if that makes sense.
I'm more worried that its his hips even though hes from scored lines its not un-heard of is it. Bless him hes such a happy boy so he probably wouldnt let me know if he was in a small amount of pain. I must say I have not been impressed with his breeder as it seems more a chore to answer questions I have for them.
The physio I'm taking him to used to breed and show Bullmastiffs and was also the secretary for the British Bullmastiff League so he should be a good port of call :)

> I must say I have not been impressed with his breeder as it seems more a chore to answer questions I have for them.
>

That's not very good is it :(

> The physio I'm taking him to used to breed and show Bullmastiffs and was also the secretary for the British Bullmastiff League so he should be a good port of call

Yep, he shuold know his stuff :)
Fingers crossed it's just a growth thing. Gosh, doesn't it worry you when you notice somthing with thier movement. So very sad that the breeder is useless, it's really reasuring to be able to chat to the breeder about things like this.

Best of luck :)

I used to have bullies, and mine had a ridiculously high pain threshold. My boy never limped in his life, collapsed at the age of 7, hips were completely shot to pieces, the ball was flat and had obviously worn away over a number of years, but had never shown any sign of being in pain.

I'm not sure whether my boy was an exception, but the bitch I had didn't show signs of pain either.

Bullmastiffs have a very high pain threshold one of the reason they were used as gamkeeps dogs oftern these dogs would be punched, kicked, stabbed and shot by poachers trying to get away from them and sadly owners dont know there is something wrong with them until it has got very very bad. Its one of the downsides of owning a bullmastiff.

Thanks all for the advice and thanks denny for the additional info :)

I would like to get my boy hip scored, does anyone know of someone good and trustworthy in the Midlands?

Have PM'd you a message re Vet in Midlands Bullmastifflove.