Yesterday I allowed my 18 week old pointer to play with a very boistorous 6 month old Staffie for maybe 20 minutes and he had a great time!  Today though he seems really stiff, particularly in his hind legs and his movement overall seems laboured.  Is this normal after a particularly strenuous play session?  Im so worried about his joints being a med/large breed puppy and I've tried to stick to recommended exercise limits - I feel really sad that I unwittingly let him overdo it. Should I avoid taking him out on his walk tonight and let him recover?  Should I take him to the vets today or should I wait and see if he improves?  He's my first puppy and I can't help worrying!  Please help!
Thanks Rach x

My Dobe has had his cruciate ligament replaced and gets stiff when he has over done the running about.
I give him a mixture of arnica ruta and rhus tox 200c tablet twice a day for a few days and within a day he is back to normal.
You can get these from any good health food shop/herbalist should be around£11.50 for 200 tablets.

Good Luck and hope he is better soon

Carol

Thanks Poohbear
Will pop into town and try to get hold of some, thanks for the advice - I hate seeing him loking sad and will do anything to ease his discomfort! Will make sure I give him lots of cuddles tonight to make him feel better as well! I've tried moving both legs around and massaging them gently and there doesn't appear to be any pain so hopefully he'll improve in a couple of days.  Will have to be more careful in future not to let him overdo it.
Thanks again, Rachael

I would advise you to get your vet give him the once over if he still seems stiff - puppies should "bounce back", and any on-going stiffness does need investigation - hopefully nothing that a bit of crate rest won't cure - but I would err on the side of caution.

Regards
Margot

Thanks lokismum, that was pretty much as I thought - I'll leave it a day and if he's still stiff then ill get him checked over by the Vet.