My buddy Gus is a Shepardoodle, a cross between an F1 Poodle and an F2 German Shepard. Neither of his parents had any health issues and so I was surprised to find that after just a few short minutes of running and playing outside he would come back limping on his back-left leg. Even for 3-4 days afterward he would continue to have this limp until finally it became comfortable for him to walk normally again.
After doing some research we learned that it was pretty common to have hip and joint problems for a larger dog (he's 80+ lbs), so I quickly set off to find help for my best friend. I began by allowing him to play less outside which wasn't a fun time for either of us, then moved on to various supplements which did help.
One day while hanging out in my office I noticed he would lay funny, as if to releive pressure from his left hip and then struggle and continue with a slight limp after getting up. Now he sleeps with me in the bed or in a specific dog-bed we have in th bedroom, so I know he's comfortable over night. As a trial I took one of the Lion & Ruff™ Luxury Ultra Comfort Beds after work one day to see how and if it'd help him to have a dedicated spot to lounge.
He constantly used the thing from the time I brought it in the door. "Okay, good, he likes it!" I thought to myself. Secondly over the course of a couple of days of laying around in it during the day instead of on the couch or the floor I noticed the limp had almost totally gone away.
My the end of a three week period his limp was completely gone, and I actually purchased a second one for him to sleep in during the night. So now we have two at home, one in the living area and one in our bedroom. Gus seems more rejuvenated and even after playing hard for 20-30 minutes at a time he's totally fine with no limp at all.
The bed from Lion & Ruff has seriously made a difference in his comfort levels.
