Creaky joints

[BG and Gavin]

When Gavin our 60 lb (and very tall) 7.5 month old GD gets up from lying down his legs sometimes creak (make a popping sounds – like when you crack your knuckles).  Is this anything to be concerned about?  I am getting sooo paranoid.  I have been exposed to too much information re:  hip/elbow dysplasia and now I am worried that I neutered too early (6.5mons) that I walk him too much (30-40 minutes two times daily) that my food is not good enough (Performatrin Large Breed Puppy) that he has been on puppy food too long and has grown too fast, that his front knees look a little “prominent” and 100 other things.  I am always checking his gait and watching for limping.  I did not ask about parents hip x-rays as I was less informed then than now. However this breeder has a good reputation in our community and has been breeding Goldens for over 12 years and now doodles for several years and I personally know at least 8 dogs from them, of various ages and no one has had any problems.  Plus my pal works in our local vet clinic and had nothing but positive feedback about them.  Gavin is a big, healthy, happy dog with the very best disposition possible.  I want to keep him that way.  Can somebody please talk me down?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can reassure you on a few of your concerns. He wasn't neutered too early- 6 months is traditional and has been the recommended age for desexing dogs forever. "Early" neutering is done before 8 weeks old.
You're not walking him too much. Running and jumping (especially vertical jumps) should be restricted in young large-breed puppies, but an hour or so of walking each day is good for him.
I will have to research the food as I am not familiar with it, but even crappy grocery store food doesn't have much to do with hip or elbow dyplasia.
Does that help?

[BG and Gavin]

Your input is always helpful Karen! Honestly all of this info about growth plates and large breeds and protien and fat and your dog should be at least 1.5 years before neutering and limited exercise til then too. Hard to diseminate all of it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When they say all those things about large breed dogs, they are usually talking about the really large breeds- Danes, Wolfhounds, St. Bernards, etc. Some of those dogs take a year and a half to reach their full adult size.
Your vet would tell you if Gavin was gaining too much weight or growing too fast. As long as you're feeding a decent commercial food, it's pretty hard to get an excess of protein or fat enough to cause dyplasia, unless you're feeding three or four times the recommended amount and even then you'd notice a problem with his weight. And living with an intact dog for a year and a half before neutering is just not realistic for most people, lol.
I don't think the sounds you're hearing are related to anything abnormal; mention it to the vet next time you see him or her, and relax.

[BG and Gavin]

It happens fairly often but not every time. I see the vet on Wed for a routine visit. I will try not to drive myself crazy til then.

[Natasha]

I did the same constant worrying, checking of gait, etc.

I did two things (for myself as much as Rouser):
-On a vet visit, I asked her to check him more thoroughly to make sure there weren't any early signs of joint trouble (there wasn't and still isn't and, yes, I always ask about it when we see the vet)

-We give Rouser a Glucosamine/chondroitin mix with his food. It's liquid. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to add it to your dog's diet. We do this specifically for preventative measures.

I'm sure he's great, but if you have a concern, talk to your vet the next time you see him/her.

[laurie lehr]

I am afraid of the same things , especially since one of Jaspers friends a labradoodle maybe 4yrs old turned wrong and tore an acl joint right in front of us at the dog park . I know that Jasper is exercised every day and its hard not to worry about .

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I know nothing.. just adding my comments. I too, would be freaked! But...................I have a knee that creaks. No, I am NOT related to Cinderella's ugly and mean sister.

Does anyone know which sisters knee creaked? Anastasis or Drusella, Doesn't matter. What I am getting at is, I have never had any problems with my Cinderella knee. It is just real loud. :) And my price still dances with me. Opps PRINCE

[F, Calla & Luca]

Price--was that a Freudian slip. If it was only my knees that creaked I'd be lucky! The Ny Philharmonic is thinking of hiring me to save on some musicians.

[Debbie and Thomas]

I also know nothing...just thinking here though. You mentioned that Gavin was very tall. I have heard that in children, especially males that when their bones grow, sometimes the cartilage and tendons etc in the joints don't grow as quickly. Maybe this has something to do with it. I have also heard (not sure if it is true though) that the cracking sound you hear when you have your neck cracked at the chiropractors or when you crack your knuckles etc. is actually air making the sound. Maybe that is what you hear and it could totally (i hope) disappear by the time he is a year old. Again...just thinking.

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Search for luxating patella and see if this sounds like what it may be. My Yorkie has it but only in one leg and does not seem to be affected by it with any pain or locking. You can actually reporduce the sound if you bend the leg when standing.
It may just be the common "cracking knee" that is not a sign of disease - usually from a change in pressure in the fluid in the joint. I'd Check with the vet. Luxating patella can be noticiable by 6 mos of age.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Luxating patella almost exclusively affects toy breeds. It would be exceedingly rare to find it in a large breed dog.

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

Hi Karen and Jack! My 75 lb. black lab, Magic was diagnosed with a luxating patella at 10 months. The orthopedic surgeon was able to demonstrate this to me with her patella. True, he said it was much more common in small dogs but he was seeing it more and more especially with the larger" frisbee jumping" dogs. He told us that the worst thing you can do with a big dog was to have them jump high in the air for a frisbee as it will straighten out their back legs and if they predispose to a luxating patella this action will facilitate it. Our dog never jumped high for frisbees but she LOVED jumping on our trampoline. She would suddenly go lame (seemingly without discomfort) then you could almost see it popping back into place and she would be fine. She had surgery for this and never had another problem. He said in big dogs it is common to see it in both legs. We never had that problem but when we threw her frisbee we kept it low to the ground. Of course there was no more trampoline jumping!!!