One question, and lots of views, and opinions. That's the nature of a forum isn't it?
We all have different experiences, and we all like to feel we are 'right'.
Again, like another recent topic on here, nobody is saying ALL stiffness is sinister or to worry about, and hopefully nobody is saying that you should disregard ALL stiffness as being normal. Some people think that it is par for the course and others feel that it isn't, in their experience.
It is up to us to make a value-judgement about our own dogs and the workload they are doing/are capable of, and if you are at all concerned then seek veterinary advice.
My brother in law is a very keen runner who represents England, he runs 3 times a day and does 100 + miles a week, as you can imagine he is physically very fit yet the day after running the London marathon he can't even climb the stairs because of stiffness, within a couple of days he's back to lightly running.
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Vikki, Ruby, Henry & Hector xxx
Having connected the dots of the 'have you got a gripe post' and various conversations on FB, at the risk of being shot at, I'm going to jump in here as someone who has been studying for a qualification in canine massage for the past year or so.
In answer to the OP’s question, yes, it is normal for a dog that has been worked beyond its fitness level to be ‘stiff’ after resting, but that’s not to say that ‘stiffness after work’ is normal. Similarly, it is also normal for a dog that has an underlying muscular-skeletal problem to be stiff after working beyond what is physically healthy for it, but again, this does not make stiffness normal. In both cases, stiffness is an indication that muscles/joints have been over-worked and suffered damage beyond normal levels. In this respect, in a healthy dog, stiffness does not indicate that a dog is unfit, but rather that its body has worked beyond its normal fitness level.
Micro-damage of muscles and bones is a normal part of the ‘fittening process’ but this doesn’t show outwardly as stiffness or other symptoms. Micro-damage is necessary for muscles and bones to become stronger and so that the body can gradually become capable of increasingly demanding work. The fittening process actually occurs not when the dog (horse, person) is working but when it is resting, after working, when the body repairs the micro-damage by replacing the damaged tissue and also increasing the number of muscle fibres, etc. This level of damage does not cause stiffness on rising after rest. This level of tissue damage is normal and does not pose a long-term risk to health, in fact it makes the body stronger.
Stiffness on the other hand is a indication that muscles/joints have suffered damage beyond that of the fittening process, and while in a healthy dog, over the course of a few days the body may well repair and recover with no outward signs of damage done, stiffness should not be accepted as something that is normal. It is a sign that the dog has been over-worked, beyond its individual fitness or health parameters, and that either a healthy dog’s general fitness needs to be increased in order for it to complete that level of work on a regular basis without showing stiffness, or it needs not to be worked that hard. The example of the marathon runner who can't walk up the stairs the next day is clearly a case of over-work in an extremely fit individual, but marathons are run on a very occasional basis and so any damage that is done is unlikely to have a lasting impact on health. If a particular level or kind of work is done regularly and stiffness is experienced on a regular basis, this is a cause for concern because that level of tissue damage will give rise to or exacerbate/accelerate health problems in the long-term, as well as increasing the risk of injury in the short-term.
Well seems I have missed something The ' have you got a grouch ' post ? I am asuming it has been MOD. as it is not there but I am also connecting the dots so I think I shall just clarify something.
At the start of this post Di and I were of differing views ( which is fine , all part of the forum discussion). It got a little heated and Di posted (I am guessing in frustration that Feebarn and I did not agree with her view), a not such a nice comment which I dont care to repeat, which I read in her post and I responded to as part of the repartee, my response was also moderated ( which was appropriate )
Here's the thing , her post had the comment removed , I can only guess by the mods because it does not say that she edited that post although for some reason it was not noted that it had been Moderated . Di to her credit mentions that she had been moderated .
Di and I dont have any grouches although we do have different views at times , on other occasions we agree and her advice at times has also been helpful.
I work dogs almost every day through the winter and they are worked four times a day in training through the summer and it depends on the day. A wet day on a grouse moor and I struggle to get to the kennel to see if they are stiff to be honest and some of the last few wet days in the lakes picking up they have all took a while to get the wheels going the next day.
Probably get in trouble for saying it but a piece of Pemmican at lunch time, a dry off and warm cages in the truck on the way home and a slightly later start the next day and they are fine.
I am not sure the travel with ours helps as comfortable as we make it but over 1000 miles a week in a truck on top of work is tiring.
Three days off then Scotland for four days.
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The ' have you got a grouch ' post ? I am asuming it has been MOD. as it is not there but I am also connecting the dots so I think I shall just clarify something.
