joints

Question
Hi,
I have an almost 2 yr. old male English springer spaniel.  He runs, jumps, perfectly fine.  I do hear a small very quiet "click" sometimes, when he is running very hard and fast, that appears to be from the front wrists.  It is similar to the sound my wrists make when I rotate them (and I do not have any problems arthristis, etc.).  Is this a concern?  I see absolutely no problems, but this very quiet, click.  We had him x-rayed at about 8 months when he was spayed.  I know it does take 2 yrs. to get the optimal hip results, but they did not see anything out of the ordinary.  His joints were ever so slightly flattened, but nothing that resembled HipDysplasia.  We have him on the glusocosomine JD Science Diet since that.  Any suggestions, ideas, are appreciated.  Thanks,

Heidi

Answer
First of all, Science Diet is pretty much garbage across the board. I couldn't find a real list of the ingredients of the JD food, but apparently the first ingredient is their usual chicken by-products, which shouldn't be in any dog food since by-products can be ANYTHING from innards to feathers, feet, and beaks. I suggest you put your dog on a good-quality food such as Eagle, Canidae, Wellness, Solid Gold, or Flint River Ranch.

Most foods that do supplement with glucosamine/chondroitin don't put in enough to make much of a difference anyway, so go out and buy a good glucosamine/chondroitin supplement such as Cosequin for him.

As to the clicking sound, are his nails kept cut short so that the sound you are hearing isn't his nails clicking together as he runs? If the sound is coming from his joints, your vet or preferably a veterinary chiropractor would be the best to ask about this. The only clicking I ever hear coming from my dogs has to do with their nails.