# cracking joints



## holly&peanut (Feb 18, 2006)

hi everyone just wanted an opinion on this, everytime peanut gets up from lying or sitting down his joints make a cracking noise, its quite loud that i can hear it! 
Is this normal or is their something wrong with him, hes only just over 5months now surely he shouldn't have bad joints already! - should i ask the vet about it?


----------



## Ms_P (Apr 25, 2004)

Actually yea it can start that young.
Get him checked by your vet. 
Lelaska was born on Nov. 5th and we are keeping an eye on 1 of her knees already.
I have my vet check her when ever we go in because Koke had to have both of her knees operated on.


----------



## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

yeah it can start that young...ifit was just occasionally id say it was normal (just like sometimes human joints crack) but everytime he gets up is too frequent. 
you can also add some glucosamine to his diet, that will help strengthen and sooth the joints (build up cartilidge) but id definatly have your vet check him out...unfortunatly bad breeding has atributed to quite a few joint problems in the chis ontop to the luxating patella...


----------



## holly&peanut (Feb 18, 2006)

i'll def get him checked out now! it doesn't seem to be bothering him but better to be safe than sorry. thanks guys.


----------



## Bubblymintyaero (Jan 18, 2006)

Some dogs have really mild luxating patellas from an early age... I know mine has had them since she was younger than Peanut. 
Try not to worry too much, as generally at such a young age, it's not too much to worry about - some dogs have that for their entire lives, with no dramatic effects at all 

Do you ever find that as he runs along, he does so on three legs, as though trying to 'shake' the fourth one? That can be a similar sign of LP, but that's one that normally only occurs if the problem DEVELOPS rather than being there from puppyhood. (Astrid's never had the three-leg thing going on because she's acclimatised from very early puppyhood). 

Definitely get him checked out, and talk to the vet about calcium, cider vinegar, MSM and (as some said earlier) glucosamine supplements. Homeopathy can also be helpful (Rhus Tox / Calc Fluor / Harpagophytum / Hecla Larv). 
Do be very aware though that any homeopathic / mineral / herbal supplements can be dangerous in such a small and young puppy, so ALWAYS ask the vet about them. 
(We've had a few animals in our veterinary centre that have got seriously ill through people administering supplements of their own accord, and it's really not worth the risk).

This problem can also be tackled via the food, but this is more difficult as Peanut is still so young... Royal Canin do a Junior Digest and Osteo diet though. Hill's Prescription J/D Diet might be suitable when he gets a bit older (they do it in canned form too, if the dried food is too big for him). As long as he's on a good wet and / or dry food that gives him all his essential nutrients, though, his diet won't really be a problem.


----------



## Linariel (Feb 21, 2006)

A Hill's diet is uncecessary and will probably make the problem worse. They have horrible low quality ingredients.

There's no reason not to feed a truly high quality food and supplement with glucosamine.


----------



## trixiesmom (Jan 31, 2006)

Get him checked by the vet. I ignored the occassional cracking and the running on 3 legs, until I dropped her. Then I found out Trixie
has really bad knees and hips.


----------



## Bubblymintyaero (Jan 18, 2006)

Linariel said:


> A Hill's diet is uncecessary and will probably make the problem worse. They have horrible low quality ingredients.


Hmmm, perhaps they have low quality ingredients in your opinion, however, the number of owners I've recommended them to where they've had good results, rather leads me to believe in them. I've also had success personally in the past. 
Just wanted to give a rundown of all the possible options that are there for Peanut.



> There's no reason not to feed a truly high quality food and supplement with glucosamine.


That's true (as I said in the previous post re: food, as long as it's full of necessary nutrients, there's no reason to change it), but - as I'm sure you'll agree - it's ALWAYS best to check with a vet who has examined the pup, before giving supplements. 
Most dogs are fine with supplements, but the few I've seen in our practice that have either been overdosed by well-meaning owners, or who for some reason have had a system unable to manage the supplement mean that I would always advise someone to confirm with the vet that it's okay to give the supplements. If you're going for a consultation anyway (which is definitely a must, I think) then it doesn't hurt to ask about administering supplements. 

Also, btw, if homeopathy interests you at all, there is a homeopathic vet in Derbyshire (can't think of their name at the moment!), but I've heard of people who have had good results from that too, but at the end of the day, it's probably just one of those little issues that will either be down to 'growing pains' and will disappear soon-ish, or will be with him for life, but won't have any ill-effects other than a bit of clicking. There's little point spending vast sums of money investigating something which will probably be largely unproblematic and painless for Peanut


----------



## holly&peanut (Feb 18, 2006)

thanks everyone, just wanted to let you all know that this cracking doesn't seem to bother peanut at all (i think it bothers me more) and he s never done the running on three legs thing.


----------



## Bubblymintyaero (Jan 18, 2006)

If he's never done the running on 3 legs thing, it may be a sign that it's always been there since very early puppyhood, and has never been quite so loud before...

With him growing so fast at the moment that can easily make the clicking more frequent and louder.

Let us know how you get on at the vet's  :wave:


----------



## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

i do want to mention though i belive youve mentioned possibly using peanut for breeding in the past?
this would definatly exclude him from the gene pool, it is NOT something you want to pass on to future generations. even if it is extreemly low grade and been there from birth.

it was just something that crossed my mind when i saw an earlier post mentioning breeding...
hope no offence is taken.


----------



## holly&peanut (Feb 18, 2006)

it was my boyfriend who was more interested in breeding!! men! :roll: 
i'm gonna book him in for a week on monday to be neutered if they can fit him in, and i'll get them to check him over while im there too.


----------



## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

exceletn, and now if your boyfrined says anything about breeding you can say "sry we shouldnt breed him because of his joints not being great" 

(hey some men need reasons lol)

itll probbaly just turn up as lowgrade luxation or even a little early arthritis, talk to your vet about glucosamine and sumpliment his diet with glucosamine and it shoudl stay lowgrade...

im sure he'll be fine


----------

