# Sebastian has a popping noise when walking



## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I am sorry for your fears and I hope it turns out to be nothing. 
The vet will be able to give you some answers - I am glad you are taking him to be x-rayed. 

My previous Golden also had hip dysplasia, so I know what you have been through. My boy did need surgery at age 8.5 years old, he was diagnosed at almost 6 years old. 
After surgery, he only had another 15 months before cancer claimed his life. So unfair! 

Good luck, keeping my fingers crossed that your baby will be just fine.


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## twillobee (Dec 30, 2013)

cgriffin said:


> I am sorry for your fears and I hope it turns out to be nothing.
> The vet will be able to give you some answers - I am glad you are taking him to be x-rayed.
> 
> My previous Golden also had hip dysplasia, so I know what you have been through. My boy did need surgery at age 8.5 years old, he was diagnosed at almost 6 years old.
> ...


 
Your previous golden sounds like my beautiful Max. Between hip dysplasia, seizures and severe allergies...cancer took him in a matter of weeks after he was diagnosed.

I'm probably paranoid watching for signs that may not be there. Every since I started with the "fake certificate", I haven't trusted anything about the breeder. Definitely not the clear screening his parents had (nothing else was real). Too bad the breeder I got Buttercup from was no longer breeding. 

If he does, we'll deal with it like I had before. He's such a gem, just like Max and we'll deal with it. Since Max didn't show symptoms this early, I'm really hoping he just hurt himself.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

The breeder gave you a fake health certificate? That's crazy! outside of the lemon law, it seems she must have falsified some vet's signing off, maybe track that person down too- so they know they're being used- 
popping sounds or clicking sounds could be ACL damage, but you'd have to do an MRI to know if he has soft tissue issues. 
back on the fake health cert and your worry that the clearances were also fake
- did you look up the parents' clearances on ofa's site ? Are they VPI ending?


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

It could be a number of things. Ella has a popping/clicking sometimes. Vet checked her out. In Ella's case the noise is harmless. Vet said a dog's joints can make noises like a humans. Compared it to like when someone squats down and their knee cracks. 

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## twillobee (Dec 30, 2013)

Prism Goldens said:


> The breeder gave you a fake health certificate? That's crazy! outside of the lemon law, it seems she must have falsified some vet's signing off, maybe track that person down too- so they know they're being used-
> popping sounds or clicking sounds could be ACL damage, but you'd have to do an MRI to know if he has soft tissue issues.
> back on the fake health cert and your worry that the clearances were also fake
> - did you look up the parents' clearances on ofa's site ? Are they VPI ending?


 
No, I did not verify his paperwork. Didn't think I had to at the time. I went to a "breeder" out of town". Had beautiful pictures of the parents and all their info and the guy was so quick to give me the info I needed and the assurances I asked for. Unfortunately, the "health certificate" was fake. Knew that when I found out he was infested with worms at 7 weeks old (how can you get a health clearance when you never even treated him for the basic worms). When I tried to contact the person, he would just yell that I was trying to rip him off since the puppy couldn't have been sick. I did the police report, contacted Animal Services and did the report with FL Lemon Law. The only thing I got from the Lemon Law people was pretty much buyer beware and it's a civil matter. There is nothing they can do besides report it. They said unfortunately this is common in FL. I can sue but what's the point... pretty much worthless because you can't get money from a turnip. 

They ended up being backyard breeder (nothing wrong with that if that's what you tell people) who filled out the forms because they didn't expect most people to know the difference and because I asked for one. He sells them as coming from registered parents and makes quick cash. Parents looked healthy and friendly. Even backyard breeders have to supply the basic health certification in FL.

Sebastian was sooo cute and I spent 7 weeks following photos of him and thought with the friendly parents, what could go wrong. I'm not going to throw him back because the person who sold him to me lied. Yes, my mistake in not verifying the health certificate (who would have thought people would fake that) and I was embarrassed that I had gotten taken and paid a lot of money for him. I paid to clear up his health issues and now I'm watching for the other genetic issues. 

********************************
Thank you for mentioning ACL tear. His appointment is next week. We remember a day when he was playing with Rabbit and one of they screamed. Got each in the house and checked for blood and nothing. Never found out which was screaming. Neither appeared to be hurt. Didn't think anything more of it, but maybe he was the one screaming because he really did hurt himself.


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## twillobee (Dec 30, 2013)

ktkins7 said:


> It could be a number of things. Ella has a popping/clicking sometimes. Vet checked her out. In Ella's case the noise is harmless. Vet said a dog's joints can make noises like a humans. Compared it to like when someone squats down and their knee cracks.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


The human clicking noise is funny because that's why I thought the noise was from me  I've had multiple knew surgeries and I click. 

His is a popping noise, that gets louder when he walks fast. I watched his gait and noticed he is favoring his left hip and will stand at an angle after long walks to keep weight off the right rear. When we walk too far and fast, he comes in limping. He rests awhile and back at it ready to go out again.


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

It might also be a meniscus problem with or without CCL related problem. Since the meniscus is cartilage, it will not show on Xrays. Like said above, a MRI would be the most definitive tool but an ultrasound might also help (and is way less expensive and more common).

Does he ever tend to hold the leg up a bit or to toe-touch when he stands after having laid down for a while ?

I hope your appointment next week reveals nothing dire or something easy to treat.


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

twillobee said:


> The human clicking noise is funny because that's why I thought the noise was from me  I've had multiple knew surgeries and I click.
> 
> His is a popping noise, that gets louder when he walks fast. I watched his gait and noticed he is favoring his left hip and will stand at an angle after long walks to keep weight off the right rear. When we walk too far and fast, he comes in limping. He rests awhile and back at it ready to go out again.


In that case I agree that a vet visit is in order. Especially with the limping and other symptoms. Hopefully it's something minor. My neighbors flat coated retriever tore her ACL 6 weeks ago and she is still really favoring the keg and toe touching. She's 6 years old. Don't know if they did surgery but I think they did. 

Best of luck! 

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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Prism Goldens said:


> - did you look up the parents' clearances on ofa's site ? Are they VPI ending?


VPI is if the specialist checked/entered microchips when doing the exam.... so would the concern here be if somebody took a different dog in for an exam knowing it would pass as opposed to the breeding dog? I don't always know having a VPI guarantees that the right dog was examined? 

Like normally for the eye cerfs - the tech or assistant scans for chips right in front of specialist before he does the exam. But when I took Bertie in to have his heart clearance done, the tech did the chip scan when they took me back and I was filling out paperwork. I'd brought Jacks with just because. The cardiologist came in afterwards and it honestly went through my brain as I told her which dog to check.... that I could have swapped dogs on her and she'd never know.  

@OP - have the hips checked now or later. I don't believe the popping sounds are a "for sure" sign of hips as opposed to anything else, but I think my Jacks had bone-bump sounds at the same age as your pup. If he's not limping, you could probably push the hip check off for a few months, give him time to grow. But you do need to be careful about activities (no forced running or Frisbee jumping and keep an eye on him when he's playing with other dogs) - get him swimming, get him on joint supplements (glycoflex, for example).


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## twillobee (Dec 30, 2013)

Thalie said:


> It might also be a meniscus problem with or without CCL related problem. Since the meniscus is cartilage, it will not show on Xrays. Like said above, a MRI would be the most definitive tool but an ultrasound might also help (and is way less expensive and more common).
> 
> Does he ever tend to hold the leg up a bit or to toe-touch when he stands after having laid down for a while ? *** no, just limps ***
> 
> I hope your appointment next week reveals nothing dire or something easy to treat.


 So maybe I should push for an ultrasound at least vs xray. I'm taking him to my vet that use to help me with Max. I have two vets, one for minor basic stuff and the other with the more advanced equipment.

When he's popping, I noticed that his back leg doesn't have fluid motion. Kinda more like slow motion, where he is putting more work into getting the motion. After doing too much, he starts with the tilted walk then starts limping.

The other day I did notice when he got up from his nap on my wood floors, he was stiff on the one side. Had the limp. Just figured at the time, his leg may still be asleep.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Ultrasound would do you no good, MRI is something different.

I would have the x-rays done first - since your normal vet can do those. For an MRI, you have to go to a specialist and that might take a referral from your vet and then making an appointment. 
Yes, clicking can also come from the meniscus being torn or partially torn, and ACL tear comes into play as well, as well as hips. So, you need a thorough exam, x-rays and take it from there. 

By the way you are describing him and when he has been down for a bit, I would not wait. 
Good luck!


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## twillobee (Dec 30, 2013)

Thought I would give the follow up. Sebastian was the one who got hurt when we heard the yelp. He pulled muscle holding the leg bone into the hip socket. Luckily, she doesn't think that he tore the ligament. Unfortunately, we also got bad news. The popping noise is severe hip dysplasia. The ball is barely in and when he moves, it's hitting the top. The left side only has 25% facing. The "barely in" could be aggravated by the strain when he got hurt. She said it looks like it may have even got popped out and went back in. The right side has 50% facing. If he hadn't have gotten hurt, we may not have noticed it for awhile.

Since he is showing symptoms so much earlier than Max did, his isn't a question that he may need surgery - he will and probably both hips. My vet is setting me up with a specialist because she doesn't think he would even do it this young. They like to wait until he's a little bit older and more developed.

She advised that with the new research, the very youngest I should get him fixed would be 2yrs to keep the muscle built up to support the hip. They would prefer if I could, not to fix him at all.

We are going to have a long road and the more upset I became about having to go through this again, I thought about Sebastian being a lucky guy because I've been through this before. I know what to expect and can deal with it. We are able to work his activities around protecting his hip and building the muscles. So, not good news for him only being 7 months old. He's such a wild active guy. Hate to see the road he'll have to go down.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Yay for not having torn the ACl, but oh man, I am so sorry about the bad hips. 
I can understand why they want to wait a little bit before surgery, given his age. Once you see the actual specialist, he/she will be able to tell you exactly what is ahead of you and when. 
There is a procedure they do on pups at that age for bad hips - but it is not one I would do. 
Please keep us posted, again, so sorry, especially since you have been through HD with Max. And I do agree with the vets about the late neutering or not neutering.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

I am so sorry. I have nothing helpful to add but I'm very sad to see that Sebastian and you have to go through this. Maybe now they can actually do something about the breeder?


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## twillobee (Dec 30, 2013)

Now that I got the news and I watch him, you can see it. I knew his gait was off and I also see he is putting most of his weight on his right side (the tilted walk sometimes). I asked her also if that's why he's so whiney and she said it could be, however he's also at the whiney age.

I think I'm more worried about going through this with him then when I did Max because Max didn't show symptoms until he got older. We found his out by accident when he fell off the bed. He never let it bother him and would just slow down himself when it started to bother him. He didn't have the loud clicking or popping noise and the ball on his was not formed right and involved only was one leg.

Sebastian is already having issues. The noises come when he tries to run or we walk fast. He loves our walks in the pasture and pond visits. I just started allowing him free run in the pasture and now I don't know if I should be doing that anymore. I know she wants me to exercise his back end to build the muscle, but I'm worried about causing more damage. He likes to play rough with his best bud Rabbit too.

Anyone else have the hip dysplasia start causing problems this young that can give me pointers on to properly keep my active boy from causing more damage? Said swimming was good, but he needs to quit the diving in the pond (had mud in his ears that caused yeast infection). At his young puppy age, he doesn't know to slow down until it really starts to hurt. 

In regard to the so called breeder. I tried to call him yesterday and the number is no longer in service. I just sent the xrays and copy of the report to the state. Crappy that FL is suppose to have one of the toughest laws on breeders and to be told, nothing they can do except report it (big deal - how does that do anything). Oh, I can sue, just what's the chances he'll be able to pay. I want to make sure they are not selling anymore dogs period. Not fair to the dogs or the new owners.

I adore my little boy and would never give him back to those people. Frustrating because I'm still paying off Max's cancer treatment from Dec and to know I've got a major surgery that needs to be taken care of (along with poor little guy's pain and recovery).


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I don't think you can really do much more damage, but exercise, swimming, walking, and building muscle is important and will get him ready to recover better from surgery. The more muscle tone he has the better. 

You are conscientious and in tune with your dog, that really helps finding out at his age when you have a little time to make choices on the best treatment. With you in his corner he will do great.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I am sorry for your little guys diagnosis. I do not have any experience with hip dysplasia, but I know of a young golden with severe hip dysplasia that underwent gold bead accupuncture. The dogs owners are thrilled with how well this worked out for them, and it has been approx 3 years and she is still doing well.

This is the clinic they went to, it is located in Ontario Canada, but it will give you an idea about what is involved.

Gold Acupuncture

Hopefully more experienced members will have some insight into whether this is useful or not.


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

I am sorry Sebastian diagnosis brought bad news. While I have a senior with bad hips and elbows (diagnosed late and incidentally to other health concerns) I have no dealt with symptomatic HP in youngsters. Surgery, while daunting, might be the best thing in the future for his long term soundness. Take your time, get as many expert opinions as you can. 

IMO but I am not a ortho specialist, the best thing to do is low impact exercise to strengthen the muscles that keep his hips in place. Swimming, perhaps underwater treadmill if you have access, some work on Pawpods or balance gear (.FitPAWS® Balance Tools | FitPAWS® Canine Conditioning Equipment).

I know you will do what is best for Sebastian. He is a lucky boy to have you.


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