Bull terrier cant open his mouth wide open

Recently my 9 year old staffordshire bull terrier seems to have trouble
opening his mouth wide open. When he yawns its not as full as it was
say a week ago.

He also no longer picks up his toy, more then likely because it is
quite big and has to open his jaw wide open to do so. Can anyone give
me some advise on what maybe causing this?

Thanks.

I would have the vet check him over.
It could be anything from a sore throat to a possible Tumour.
Call the vets, thats your best
Good luck!

There are a bunch of possible reasons for this symptom ranging from a jaw subluxation, to trigeminal nerve damage to a myositis (inflammation of the muscles - in this case the muscles of the head.) plus a bunch more.

Have a look at the musculature of the face to see if there is any uneveness when comparing L & R sides and look for muscle atrophy - it is possible that this is a chronic condition that has been developing over a period of time with the clinical symptoms only now becoming apparent.(age related?)

Think back, compare and give the vet as accurate a history as you can! Many myopathies can be treated to the point where the animal can cope but you really need an accurate diagnosis before any prognosis can be given.

Good luck.

myositis

Hi,

This is my first post. I did a search for Myositis and came up with your post. How did things turn out for you and your boxer.

On Sunday morning I noticed that my 7 yr old male cocker was not chewing his food, but was lapping up the broth that I add for his seameal supplement. I thought it was out of the ordinary but didn't give it a second thought.

My husband and I then went out to do fall leaves cleanup etc when a while later I noticed it looked like he picked something up as he was looking at me with his mouth opened. I checked and there was nothing. After leaves cleanup we went back into the house and my female was barking for a bisquit. ( yes she is very spoiled). When I gave my male one, he just mouthed it but couldn't chew it. To make a long story shorter, he could not drink water either, he would be at the bowl lapping but the level did not go down.

Monday a.m. off to the vets. He did a full blood test and gave him a cortizone injection and a 10 day supply of prednizone. He is now able to chew pretty well, although not normal. Today I noticed that the third eyelid is exposed. I called the vet again and he said that might change the diagnosis and to let him know whats going on with any changes with him.

So we are not sure that it is myositis, but that is what he is being treated for. Does anyone have any experiences with this, if so I would greatly appreciate you sharing your experiences. Thank you very much..Tatum