"Popping" joints...

[Rip's Girl]

In the last week or so, I've noticed that Dakota's (the puppy) legs have been making a "pop" sound every time he walks, much like the sound of someone cracking their knuckles. With each step he takes, I hear the 'pop' sound.

He goes to the vet tomorrow, but I just wanted to get some ideas of what it might be. Has anyone else had this problem?

[Dax]

How old is Dakota? It could be a mis-match in growth.

[Rip's Girl]

He's going to be 4 months old tomorrow. I heard about someone else's dog doing the same thing and she said it was because he was growing too fast, but the dog was an English Mastiff, I figured that these problems were only in the huge guys..

[Dax]

Dakota is a border collie cross? Mid-sized dog? I've met a lot of large breed dogs (around 2yrs of age) like Mastiffs (but that case was really extreme requiring pain management as well). With them, the muscles of the back legs and hips were not growing fast enough to hold the hips in place. They walk with severe limping, have trouble getting up, etc and in severe case the dog's back end looked deformed. The one that comes to mind is an adult and the owner still hopes the condition will be grown out of.

I've had puppies like my shepard that went thru some weird phases as they filled in. Good plan to have the vet check as he can make modificationsto diet and supplements.

[Rip's Girl]

Yes, he's a Border Collie, he's about 25-30lbs right now, I'm guessing he'll be around 50-60lbs as an adult dog.. He's little on the larger side for a Border.

He doesn't appear to be limping, doesn't have any trouble getting up, and he certainly doesn't look deformed. I've felt his hind legs and he has quite thick, well-formed muscles, if that indicates anything..

I've got him on adult formula dog food and I'm thinking that the vet will recommend a glucosamine supp if he is in fact growing too fast... I guess we'll just see, once he gets checked out.