5 month old puppy.

Hi hope someone can help.
I have just rescued a pup from someone who was basically trying to get rid of it by any means.
The man gave me all the info vaccine papers etc and I called up vets who told me the pup had no problems and vaccines etc were up to date.
I now know the pup never ever got walked or any exercise at all and was stuck in cage all day.
What concerns me is that the pups shoulder blade on one side is more prominent than other side as it isn't as muscly.
It's a gorgeous wee thing and runs about like mad and jumps about and fully stretches out with no pain at all and it lets u stretch its leg out and has no reaction. It also chases its tail etc and I'm thinking it wouldn't if it was in pain.
It has however a slight limp now and I'm wondering if it's a result of me walking it properly after being constantly in cage or something else like still developing.
I have recently been made redundant so definitely cannot afford vet bill.
Thanks.

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Hello and welcome.

Good on you for taking on this pup.
How old is the pup, by the way ? And how much are you exercising it ?
It will help to understand if you’re overdoing things or not. There is a “5 minutes per month of age” rule for imposed exercise on the lead.

My first thoughts are to favour exercise off the lead, like in a garden or a park, rather than walking on the lead, if possible. Observe the pup to see how they move and let them rest whenever they try to.

It can be growing pains too if pup is under a year old, or something a little more serious.
I would really suggest showing your pup to a vet, at least for advice if you can’t afford expensive treatment for now. It will help you to know what you’re up against and maybe already help the situation now in the right way.

Any chance of posting a couple photos or a short video ?

Oh whoops, just seen that pup is 5 months old so exercise rule and growing pains could apply.
And don’t forget the sociabilizing part of the education too, especially as pup probably hasn’t seen much from it’s cage prison.

PS. Does pup have a name as I’m bothered by refering to “it” instead or “him/her”

Hi & welcome!

If there's no muscle, or uneven muscle due to constant crating then that could well be the problem. Staffords are known to have a high pain threshold & so not show little aches & pains.

I would give very light exercise to start with, about 10 on lead (so that you can gently stretch muscles & socialise), three times a day. After a couple of weeks you could start to teach your pup recall so that once you let him/her off lead you can get him/her back again! For a couple of months avoid any high impact exercise (jumping, running up & down stairs, chasing a ball etc). If at any time you notice the limp getting worse, then I'm afraid you'll have to see a vet.

Hi and welcome!

Well done on the rescue, it sounds like it was badly needed.

I'd agree with the advice on gentle exercise to build up gradually. It does sound like it could just be due to the lack of movement that you've got poor muscle development.

I would start with training, including recall, now. Training pups is really just playing structured games with a learning goal so it should be fun for both of you. Training is also great for bonding and for mental stimulation. There are some great videos in our training sheet on external resources:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t66721-puppy-information-sheets

And we'd love to hear more about your pup and how you get on.

Thanks for replies and sorry for accidentally uploading 2 many pics. There is only meant to be 2. The pic with my finger shows the less developed shoulder. The other side is more muscly and normal looking.
As I said Jasper the pup was constantly caged and never walked so hopefully this is cause. This was only time I could get a picture after he was running around for 10 minutes at 100 mph playing his toys. What do yous think?
Regards..

I deleted the copies of the pictures

It's very difficult to say from the photo. Any chance you can upload a photo of the shoulder/upper arm with him standing? Side view & front on will help.

Jasper has a lovely, shiny coat!

Looking down on Jasper. U can see small lump which is shoulder sticking out on right. As I said it just isn't as muscly. He walks fine and runs about like mad but has a small limp after it..

Has a vet seen it?

I've only had it from Friday as an undesirable man was basically trying to get rid of it on the street. I also mentioned I have recently been made redundant so I can't afford vet bill..

To be honest, all you can do is very gradually build up the exercise & hope for the best.

If he's limping, then there's pain & the only one who can diagnose why there's pain is a vet, and if you can't take him to the vet then it will be a bit hit & miss.

It could be lack of exercise, an old injury or a congenital problem.

Thanks. I'm not an expert but to me it looks like lack of exercise due to the poor pup being constantly caged and never walked. He fully stretches his legs out, let's u move and inspect the area and is constantly running about so it doesn't look like he's in pain at all.

Hopefully it's just an ache from using muscles he's not used to using. We've all felt that ourselves, but gentle exercise with a gradual build up should help.

But if it continues, there really won't be a choice - For his sake he'll have to see a vet.