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?

[Linda and Murphy]

Murphy's favorite thing to do is jump high for a frisbee or ball. He likes retrieving but catching is his all time favorite thing. Though we haven't had a problem, thanks for making me aware of this.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Vertical jumping is a big no-no for any young dog, but especially large breeds and/or those that are susceptible to joint problems. Frisbee type jumping is especially discouraged.
Sally, there are of course exceptions to everything, but if you read any of the veterinary websites on luxating patella, statistically it is very unusual for it to occur in large breed dogs. I'm guessing that there aren't many dogs jumping on trampolines, either, lol.

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

I definitely agree with you! We were told that also, that it is MUCH more common in small dogs. He was just making the point that they were seeing it more and more in large breeds due to the vertical jumping and frisbee vertical jumping (great term) was a bad thing to do with big dogs. I, being an uneducated pet owner at that time, had no idea! (I fed her purina proplan too so what does that tell you :( ) I thought it was great fun to jump on our trampoline with our dog. She loved it too and the neighborhood kids had a blast with her. We were afraid this would happen on the other side so we were careful how we threw her frisbee and kept it low to the ground. In fact, the orthopedic surgeon was so concerned this would happen on her right leg that, because we were getting ready to move to Florida, he gave us the name of a collegue here just in case. Never did happen thank goodness. She was a wonderful dog and she passed away at age 7 from lymphoma. I still miss her and feel guilty about feeding her proplan! Had I only known then what I know now....

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Is a Glucosamine/chondroitin mix a good idea for prevention? Hunter cracks and pops occasionally - my husband ALWAYS notices it - he had a GR with hip dysplasia and is somewhat paranoid - I am thinking this might help ease his mind and help Hunter!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The clinical research casts doubts on the effectiveness of G/C, even for humans, but it can't hurt and might help. A lot of the commercial dog foods contain it, but not really enough to do much good. Dogswell jerky treats has a "Happy Hips" formula that dogs love, and I do give those to Jack as a treat, but if you read the package, you'd have to feed practically the whole bag every day to get a therapeutic dose of G/C.
But the treats, combined with whatever is in Hunter's food, might help your DH feel better about it, and help a little.

[Natasha]

Hi Karen,

Next time I'm at the doctor I'm going to ask for this study... My doctor told me that numerous studies have been done on this topic and the only study that has shown a connection between Glucosamine and joint health was actually a study that included both humans AND dogs (the dogs are less likely to be swayed by placebos and, therefore, since they did see some improvement, there was more evidence to support at least some alleviation of symptoms). It was a long study and included an ample sample of humans and dogs. The dogs showed the most improvement but only under the following conditions:

a) The only thing that worked was Glucosamine + chondroitin. No other combination (or Gluc on its own) showed any statistical impact;

b) The combo showed the most improvement among healthy dogs who were taking it before an injury. They healed much more quickly than dogs who were not taking the combo before or after the injury. They also healed more quickly and had less residual problems than dogs who were not taking the combo before but were given the combo after

c) While the dogs did get some relief (as demonstrated by their level of activity and lack of symptoms, like limping) if they took the combo after having demonstrated joint pain as a result of aging, it appeared as if dogs that had been taking at least a half dose of the combo from a young age had less of an impact from pain due to aging after they started to show age pain than the dogs who were given the combo after showing pain.

And then my doctor said that I could take the combo myself given that they have found that I already have arthritis in my feet despite the fact that I don't feel it yet. However, I should consider taking a half dose for now since I'm young and I shouldn't expect it to do anything more than an inflammation reducer if I wait until after I start feeling pain.

Hope this helps!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It does help! We've discussed this in The Food Group, and we've been told that there is no evidence that the G/C helps humans, yet many people do swear it helps them. I'm going to copy this info and save it for future reference. Natasha, can you provide us with a reference for the study, i.e., where & when it was done & any other info?

[Natasha]

Yes, the next time I go to the doctor I'll get the info. I'm curious, too. My doctor is a skeptical guy so he has stringent criteria when reading studies and only recommends those that have some substance to their methodology so I'd like to read it myself.

[BG and Gavin]

Okay I went to the vet today. He worked Gavin over very thoroughly. He said his hips are very well seated and he could not budge them. He had me feel the tendons in the front legs which traveled over the bone, he said that motion creates a snapping sound sometimes and that was quite likely what I was hearing as they travelled quite freely. He said his weight 62lbs is "perfect," he is "as healthy as a horse," that he is getting the right amount of food and exercise and that I should start feeding him adult food at 10 months. Oh yeah, and that I need to relax!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yay! I hope this great report helped reassure you!

[karen Smith]

I have a 5 year old doodle who suffers from the same. He has been diagnosed with having hip dyspasia and had suffered several different incidents because of his need to jump. As long as you can slightly restrict Gavin's jumping and running up and down stairs he should be fine. My vet prescribed him dasuquin (similar to the human version of glucosomin). It has done wonders for him. You are doing all the right stuff. just keep watching him. Good luck.