CRB_423
New Member
Rufus is about 5.5 years old and after a trip to visit my parents (they live about an hour away from us) she absolutely DID NOT want to come up the stairs. We live in a split level ranch so she has to come up and go down stairs when she goes out to the backyard or when we take her out for walks. She usually is stubborn about going down and coming up the front stairs but she never has a problem with the stairs from the back deck even though those stairs are longer and steeper (about 10 feet from the back yard to the top of the deck).
Yesterday she sat at the bottom of the deck stairs for 30 minutes and didn't come up until we put the leash on and coax her with her favorite treats. I had a similar issue this morning after she took her normal morning poop and pee. She does not appear to be limping, but responds as if there is some tenderness around her hips.
I am aware that English Mastiffs are prone to hip problems, but this came on so suddenly. We have removed several brown ticks off of her in the last two weeks and I have not seen any deer ticks on her. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow, but wondered if anyone had any thoughts about this.
Also, should there be a permanent hip problem can anyone recommend a solution for helping her get up and down stairs? We thought about getting our handy man to install a plywood ramp over the back deck stairs. Any thoughts?
Thanks!!
Yesterday she sat at the bottom of the deck stairs for 30 minutes and didn't come up until we put the leash on and coax her with her favorite treats. I had a similar issue this morning after she took her normal morning poop and pee. She does not appear to be limping, but responds as if there is some tenderness around her hips.
I am aware that English Mastiffs are prone to hip problems, but this came on so suddenly. We have removed several brown ticks off of her in the last two weeks and I have not seen any deer ticks on her. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow, but wondered if anyone had any thoughts about this.
Also, should there be a permanent hip problem can anyone recommend a solution for helping her get up and down stairs? We thought about getting our handy man to install a plywood ramp over the back deck stairs. Any thoughts?
Thanks!!