Well I found out my German shepherd of 1.5 yrs has Hip Dysplasia. Vet was no help at all. This is the second opinion though. So now what? What do I do? What can I do?
I barely know what it is yet alone how to help him.
His is not in any pain and acts totally normal, just walks kinda firm or stiff legged but runs and jumps just fine..

How bad is the dysplasia? If it's not too bad and you keep the dog at a proper weight and are careful regarding things such as jumps that put stress on the joints, your dog should be able to participate in many activities. Just get your vet's ok first. Some people have found that accupuncture treatments helped their dogs that had this condition.

If your vet isn't holistic you might want to find one that is and get some ideas of things you can do to keep the condition from worsening.

We just went through similar findings on a dog a little bit older and with arthritic changes in place.

See if you can (1) get to an orthopedic veterinary specialist (you will probably need a referral) and (2) see if there is a canine physical therapist in your area.

We have just gone through the same thing and it is not the end of the world for the dog. There are a lot of options both surgical and non surgical to help them.

For us, at my dog's age and level of dysplasia, the only surgical option was total hip replacement and the vet felt that it would be best to just keep her lean and fit as the odds were good she may *never* actually need the surgery as she is showing no signs of suffering. He considered it a salvage procedure of the last resort - only if meds and physical therapy cannot keep her *happy*

Part of that is religiously doing some excercises and stretches at home using a plan set up by a physical therapy vet. We are making some major adjustments - e.g., NO JUMPING, different KINDS of excercise etc. stuff that does not pound or twist the joints. And some decisions - a dog has to be allowed to be a dog and what is the point if they can't do fun *dog* things?

I am not one to overspend money at a vet, but the PT person is very reasonable and is working with me so I can take ownership of my own dog's care.

if there are no symptoms, don't start worrying yet. plenty of dogs who xray with hip dysplasia lead normal lives and don't ever develop a disability.

as already mentioned, keep the dog lean. one HD expert i've talked to says you should keep them looking like a starving african orphan, lots of ribs showing. it's healthier for them anyway.

keep the exercise moderate, especially at this young age.

you can supplement the diet with a green-lipped mussel product called "glyco-flex" that is available through some vets, and also MSM powder, which is available at feed stores. this is a high quality joint supplement.

keep the dog on a regular exercise program, as strong muscles are the best way to combat poor joints. but the second your dog shows signs of tiring, you must stop.

swimming is excellent. there are dog swimming rehab facilities in some cities. try one of these if you don't have access to a lake or pool.

It depends on how severe your dogs' problem is. Mine did not OFA at 2 (one bad hip),but with lots of the right kind of excercize (EMPHASIS ON SWIMMING), & keeping him SKINNY my dog showed no signs of pain, stiffening or slowing down until he was a little over 10, at wich time I had his hip replaced. You need to speak with an orthopedic specialist, as there are procedures (depending on the severity, etc) other than hip replacement that can be done on a dog as young as yours. Incidently, even at my dogs' age he recovered quickly with no complications - vet said partially due to him being really fit. If you live in the Los Angeles area, PM me a nd I will give you the number to a great ortho guy.

I'm going through the same situation myself. I'm still waiting for the official OFA report, but I will definately do a retake If it warrents it. From what I've read here and from info many here have given me, is don't worry about it. It can't help change things and OFTEN, dogs show no signs of HD even if it's quite serious. It just depends on the dog. At this point in time, I haven't changed any of his training routine because he's an extreamly athletic dog, and has no symptoms.
Hang in there!

I thank you guys for all your help and advice. He shows absolutly no signs of any pain, he is so hyper you would never know anything, but the vet said he has it. I will just keep working with him until he shows signs. Is this genetic or do all dogs down the road get this. Will it be safe to bread him down the road, or is it my fault for buying him from a back yard breeder.

Why would you want to breed him and potentially pass the problem on to another generation. That would be the height of irresponsibility. Get him neutered and enjoy him as a pet and whatever activities he's able to do.

I forgot to say that, yes, it is genetic.

 Quote:

I thank you guys for all your help and advice. He shows absolutly no signs of any pain, he is so hyper you would never know anything, but the vet said he has it. I will just keep working with him until he shows signs. Is this genetic or do all dogs down the road get this. Will it be safe to bread him down the road, or is it my fault for buying him from a back yard breeder.

My take is I am continuing to work with my dog hard, BUT I do realize certain activities cause more potential damage to the hips and am restricting THOSE activities to slow down the degenerative process which occurs from bone jarring activities.

Yes it is genetic!!! Doesn't breeding a dog you got from a backyard breeder make you a backyard breeder? Please don't breed him - it is hard enough to avoid the disease in dogs where proper selection has been done to AVOID bad hips, but the inheritance is not simple and sometimes two dogs with great hips, and who have produced good hips before, produce bad hips with each other.