Bliskan my 20 month old GSD has hip displasia in his left side. What are our options and what work can we do. Besides one last trip to the vet.

One *last* trip to the vet sounds rather ominous.

HD can severly limit or hardly at all limit your dog's working ability. You need to discuss with the vet and preferably an orthopedic specialist your options.

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Bliskan my 20 month old GSD has hip displasia in his left side. What are our options and what work can we do. Besides one last trip to the vet.

Nancy is 100% right. How much is it affecting him?

There is a lot you can do to limit the effect it has on him. Do you know about diet, weight management, range-of-motion, Omega 3 EFAs (salmon oil)?

What does the vet say?

This page is a pretty good overview.
http://www.spinone.com/hipdysplasia.htm

my hubby's pet/housedog/showline male had prelims done at 10 mo and it showed a very shallow left hip socket. it did not fit around the head of the femur at all. the femur was in the right position but was seated against a saucer rather than a cup......best way i can describe it. anyway, he is now going on 8 yrs of age and still active. i've heard of and have known a number of other dogs that have lived to a ripe old age despite having HD. one big thing is to keep the dog in very good condition. the ISU doctors told us that muscle tone could make up for a good share of what was lacking in the bone structure. trust me, after being thru DM with one dog and spondylosis with another, there truly are much worse things than a bad hip. i wish you luck with the dog and please, don't be too hasty to put the dog down.

Vet says just in starting stages with some abnormal bone growth started and arthritus. wants to limit activity. I don't realy notice drive going down in ob but maybe some in bitework. He has been kept thin his whole life and we have had several comments about this ( he is a sable also). He has been on missing link and glucosamine and we are still prepping for raw.I don't want to get rid of him as he is my boy but I also want a dog that can and will work. He doesn't show pain just favors the side when in normal state now that I know he has a problem I see everything even if it's not there.

The breeder of my pup recommends Recovery SA, found on this site: http://www.medi-vet.com/detail.aspx~ID~2526
I've been giving it to my pup since I got him. Breeder says it's much better than just a glucosamine/chondroitin remedy.

My female's is severe dysplasia with cupping and deformed joint heads - both hips - worse on the right. Only thing I can tell is that she does bunny hop when she runs, else you really could not tell and it does not seem to bother her.

I gave up on limiting activity so I limit TYPE of activity (jumping, scrambling over rocks, etc)

I give acti-flex 4000 and have been very pleased with results.

http://www.coxvetlab.com/products/acti-flex4000.htm

Also Glycoflex III is known good by a lot of people. I used it for about 6 months and felt it was very good - could tell a difference when using it. The Acti-flex is much more affordable and I think is a very good product.

Many swear by salmon oil. I do give a salmon based food and don't give additional oil but am considering adding that as well.

I still think a trip to a rehab vet would be worth your money. They can show you some excercises to help strenghten the back legs and maitain range of motion - you would be surprised what walking in chest high water and walking up hill will do for the leg muscles for a dog that is used to running and running and running. Also with one leg bad they can show you some things to work on that leg diferrentially.

nancy hit the nail on the head in her comment about limiting the type of activity. the dog needs to remain active in order to stay flexible and in good shape, but certain types of activities will put stress on that hip. if the dog isn't able to do sport and you don't feel like you can keep him as a pet, perhaps you can find a pet home for him.

Thank you to all who gave sugestions and have concerns. Will keep you posted on our progressions