Hi all. Baby my dogue de bordeaux is doing really well i am glad to say apart from a couple of little set backs, one being he yelps alot as he is standing up, sometimes he does it when he is just laid down, when we took him to the vets for a health check when he first arrived i already knew about the weakness in his back legs after being locked in a shed for 2 years and i was told that it is possible that we can build his muscle tone up, but also yesterday we were both laid in the garden and he put his back leg up on my shoulder and i noticed between his toes he had what i can only describe as wart looking callasses, we are still doing the short walks but some days he just isnt going nowhere! he wont move, so after a day off he is raring to go, cannot get him out of the sea, we have to start walking away and then he thinks oh no they are leaving me and comes bounding over, he swims well, he runs well on the sand and grass and in the sea too, could both of these just be down to the same thing neglect? I am also starting to think that maybe he has damaged his legs permently as when looking at his back claws too yesterday they are like well like a persons shoes who walk on the inside of their shoes do you know what i mean? or could that be just from the past 4 months of walking? His pads are getting rougher because as you know they were bleeding on walks, but the sand is doing them the world of good. Any way if anyone has any more tips or any idea what these warty looking things are that would be great, btw husband has ordered some glucosime for him too.

Thanks Roxie Buster and Babys mum x

It's good to hear Baby is doing well :)

> i noticed between his toes he had what i can only describe as wart looking callasses

could it be pressure sores?.....warts?....imbeded grass seed? probably best to get a vet to have a look.

>I am also starting to think that maybe he has damaged his legs permently as when looking at his back claws too yesterday they are like well like a persons shoes who walk on the inside of their shoes do you know what i mean? or could that be just from the past 4 months of walking?

It could be that as he's not been exercised over the years his tendons & ligaments responsible for keeping the shape of his toes are weak? The swimming should help this and walking on pebbles/sand/gravel is also meant to be good for strengtheing toes/feet/wrists  :)

Glucosamine suppliments have had fantastic results for my pups ED, I hope they help Baby as much :)

have you considered taking him for hydro therapy? it would help build up his stamina etc but not strain his still healing pads and legs. poor thing.

roxie this is not intended to upset, just give a heads up. if he was so porly treated his whole life he might have permenant damage due to poor diet. molosser breeds require careful diets and excersize (as mastiff lover will tell you as well) to develop properly. we had a rescue mastiff who was on the streets for the first few months of his life, he came to us so thin we thought he was a bully/dane cross not a mastiff. he had really awful HD because (probably) of the poor diet he had had on the streets. eventually he couldn't walk without screaming so we had him pts, he was only approx 4 or 5. this is not to scare or upset you just give you a warning of things to look out for. baby has had a horrible life so far and i am sure you will make it much better for him and do the best for him in everyway, he's lucky to have gotten a second chance.

best of luck with him, you'll do fine.