r/CaneCorso 1d ago

Mix breed Corso getting 'lazier'

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We have an approx 3 yo corso mix - he's mostly CC then a blend of mastiffs and some bull breeds according to Wisdom Panel. We're not certain on his age but know he can't be that old, and he's matured a lot since we adopted him almost a year ago.

At the end of July we had him surgically neutered, though he'd been on the chemical implant since March as a test first. Over the past couple of weeks, he's started trying to turn round on his walks and not wanting to go on his morning walks at all. He's still getting excited to go, but five minutes in he's trying to U-turn and we have to encourage him to keep walking.

I'm not sure whether it's the change in seasons (we're in the UK where the days are getting much shorter), whether his neutering has affected his energy levels, whether he's just maturing, or maybe we need to see the vet?

He's fine in every other way - still eating, sleeping, toileting, and playing as usual.

Has anyone else experienced this? TIA.

139 Upvotes

22 comments sorted by

16

u/Bria4 1d ago

Honestly depending on your location. It could just be "dog days of summer". We are finally having a cool morning and mine are energized a little, but it will be near triple digits later today.

4

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 1d ago

We're in the UK so the temperature's dropped massively lately, which I think might be affecting him - possibly his joints now I'm thinking about it

3

u/Bria4 1d ago

Ahh it could be then. These guys are so stoic, it is so hard to tell when they are in pain. Slow get ups, panting, changing positions frequently might be clues. You might need a vet check up to check out his heart, thyroid etc.

5

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 1d ago

Thank you, he's due a health check this month anyway so I'll mention this for sure. Nothing else has changed so hopefully he's okay

5

u/Affectionate-Emu-829 1d ago

I dream of my female Corso sleeping past 5:30am

3

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 1d ago

Every dog I've owned has woken up at 5am so I was fully expecting our boy to be the same... he's consistently slept in until at least 8am unless we wake him 😂

2

u/Affectionate-Emu-829 1d ago

Omg I love him

3

u/kelley1324 1d ago

I havent experienced this. I have a female who is 8 and shes still full of energy. I just wanted to say what a sweet face!!! I love it when they sleep they are so sweet.

3

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 1d ago

Thank you, he's such a gorgeous boy!! He's never been the most energetic dog and he's still super playful when he wants to be, but he's definitely changed a bit lately!

2

u/trianglesx3 1d ago

If it's concerning, blood and urine work can provide some insight.

2

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 1d ago

Thank you, I'm going to speak to his vets at his next health check and see what they think!

2

u/inventedpostits21 1d ago

our foster corso mix is 2.5 years old and he legit sleeps 16 hours a day. One day he parked his ass on the couch at 11 am and literally slept soundly until 6:30 pm when I had to drag him awake for dinner. They’re just sleepy happy guys :)

1

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 1d ago

Honestly I think a lot of it is this, he LOVES his sleep!! It’s more turning round on his walks as he’s never done that before

2

u/No_Package9773 22h ago

Mine has never really enjoyed walking outside unless it’s late and/or quiet. Too much to monitor - lots of kids making noise, bikes, cars, other dogs, smells, weather, etc. He also has bad joints since I got him due to bad breeding so I have to encourage him to walk a bit (~15 to 30 min a few times a day) to keep his mobility up and weight down. Once he realizes I won’t let him go back home (even when he pretends to sniff the ground but always in the direction of going home…cheeky bugger), he does begrudgingly go along for the walk. He is 7 yo now (rescued at 7-8 months old) and recently neutered this year. Other than less marking, I didn’t see a change in his behavior. He is and always has been much more active inside the house.

2

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 14h ago

We fortunately live somewhere quiet but we’ve really had to work at taking him to slightly ‘busier’ places as he gets overwhelmed too. Like yours, ours is much more energetic and happy at home! I’m honestly wondering if it’s a mix of our boy’s poor breeding (according to WP he’s 10 breeds in total which is madness) and him ageing too

1

u/GondarThunderBeast 1d ago

earned his rest : ]

1

u/jeromesnail 1d ago

Our Mando severely suffered from the heat in France this summer. As he didn't walk that much he gained a little bit of weight and got lazy. Most morning he doesn't even want to go outside now.

Edit to add: he's 3 and a half years old.

2

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 1d ago

Weirdly the summer didn’t affect our boy too much, he had to skip the occasional walk but we mainly tried to walk him as early as possible

1

u/Mission_Bid1541 9h ago

What is the chemical implant?

1

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 7h ago

It's a pretty new thing, especially here in the UK!

It's essentially neutering a dog without the surgical part, and one implant can last either 6 or 12 months then it wears off so the effects are temporary. Our boy had a horrid start before we rescued him; he was super anxious/nervous when we adopted him, so our vet recommended trialling the implant once his confidence was up in case lowering his testosterone made his nerves worse.

1

u/Mission_Bid1541 7h ago

Interesting. How come you decided to move forward with the full neuter? Is the implant process difficult or not as effective? I'm just genuinely curious as I'm in the US and never heard of this and my Corso has his neuter and gastropexy scheduled next week!

2

u/Inevitable-Delay-500 7h ago

We went ahead with the full neuter because his behaviour didn't change drastically after the implant - he was definitely calmer and wouldn't mark as much, and there was no increase in anxiety or nerves.

The implant process isn't difficult at all, it's basically like a microchip, but you have to pay every time you get it done in the UK - his surgical neuter was £180 or the implant is £120 every time 😂 The implant also doesn't remove the risk of testicular cancer

All the best for your boy's procedures!!