Hello, I have a 8.1/2 month old bullmastiff......he is in great shape and is active and enjoys his walks and socialising and playing with his friends when he meets them....he has been walked within the 5 minute a month rule and has never been upstairs or allowed to jump up or down from anywhere and we have kept his bouncing down down a minimum due to his breed and the damage that can be caused to joints etc as they get older from over exercise....but we have noticed recently a slight clicking noise when he walks.....not all the time but periodically.....any ideas what that can be ? And should I be worried ?

Thanks in advance.....

Is it possible it is his claws you are hearing? On certain hard surfaces I notice the noise of one of my dogs' claws. Have you trimmed them lately?

Hiya, funny you should say that......I thought the same so had them clipped......seems odd but I have lay on the floor and he has come and walked over me.....as he often does .....and it sounds as though it's from his hips.....that's what worries me ...

> a slight clicking noise when he walks.....not all the time but periodically.....

I'm not going to be much help, because I can't remember if we realy found out where it came from, shoulders or hips! Yes one of ours had a clicking noise shortly after he came to us (10 months), drove me mad for as soon as I tuned in to it, it would then stop. Not easy trying to walk a BH with your head down by it's back, trying to work out where the sound is coming from! Spoke to their chiropractor and was told that it wasn't uncommon and he would probably grow out of it, and he did. No it wasn't his nails and he has no problems with his hip or shoulders.

My Mums dachsie had a clicky knee till she had matured and her tendons and muscles had tightened up and she has had no problem since.

Hopefully it is an immaturity problem that will resolve with time.

This might sound a bit strange, but my ankle cracks all the time and when I mentioned it to a Dr friend she said it is a build up of gas in the fluid and it sort of 'pops' now and again.  Once it pops it doesn't do it again for a while, but I can't make it do it either if you know what I mean.  One of our horses used to have clicking noise from front fetlock and vet said pretty much the same.  So I wonder if this could be what you are hearing?

That's what makes knuckles pop, supposedly.  I get it in almost all of my joints (and I can do it on purpose :-P).

I've heard Soli clicking a lot - never caused her any problems in itself, with her I think it's more a side effect of her arthritis.   But I've heard the odd pop from most of the dogs at some point and only 3 of them have arthritis - about an hour ago paige stretched her back and neck and made a heck of a pop from her neck (which is fine)!

One of my dogs is clicky, and hes 9 now. Both the chiro and the vet said its a build up of gasses and nothing to worry about. Funnily enough, my knees are clicky too and I was told the same thing by my doctor. Dogs taking after their owners and all that...shame I haven't got their waist lines!