Triple pelvic osteotomy is also a much more complex and riskier surgery, that is appropriate for severe cases of dysplasia (remember I'm talking about people, but dogs are mammmals and the general types of risks and magnitude of surgery for the hip will be similar).

The surgery used depends on what is wrong with the hip joint, how much arthritis there is, and age of the dog. And of course money can have a bearing on it also. Surgeons are expensive, none of these should be done at your neighborhood vet, and most pet insurances don't cover genetic diseases. Not sure if comparing human surgeries to dogs is totally viable for this, different ways of walking so different stresses to the joints. LOL- I don't look at human hip bones- couldn't tell you much about them.

TPOs work great on young dogs with no to minimal arthritic changes.

THR are for older dogs, with more damage to the bones and or subluxation of the joint.

Another surgery, DARrothplasty is done occasionally. Ummm, usually young dogs but I don't remember the reasoning for it over another surgery offhand.

This site has even more info on the surgeriesUCDavis hip dysplasia info .

Anna Carson

Just a couple cautions on supplements I forgot to mention - glucosamine can cause problems if diabetic, and chondroitin acts as a blood thinner so if the dog is on any other blood thinner type medication including aspirin, I would not use it.

What do you think is the cost for total hip replacement (THR)? The vet told me she thought the specialist charged $1,500 - $2,000. Anna, I looked at the links you provided (thank you <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) and one of them indicated $4,000-$4,500. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
I'm not adverse to paying. And I definitely want the best treatment possible for my dog, but I don't want to over-pay, at least not by a lot. Thank you all for your help. It IS much appreciated. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

from my understanding 4000 would be inline.I have a customer who just paid 2800 for a TPO. Before you do anything get a second opinion from a specialist.Did you check out Ed's article on how to read and position the dog for x-rays. I felt like an expert when I went to the vet and we looked at the X-rays together. Don't kid yourself that 4000 will cover the whole thing. Your dog will probaly need therapy usually water,thats $45 a visit and medications.

It all depends on where you go for the THR. If you go to a university the cost is around 1500-1700. If you go to a specialist then it's around 3000. I think $4000 is a bit much. My dog had four hips surgeries. The first THR was done at OSU and they screwed her up <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> She ended up with a pseudomonas bone infection and needed a revision. I then started working for an orthopedic company and they sent me to a wonderful vet in Chicago. He did a revision on her but from her and put her on Ciprofloxin (very $$$$$ antibiotic) for three months. We thought it had done the job but it didn't. She had to go back in for third surgery. This time she ended up with an FHO. They ended up taking bone from her shoulder to help repair damage. It took her three months to start walking on that leg again but she recovered with a very very slight hitch. Then the left hip needed to be done and he replaced that one as well. She was so dysplasic in that hip that he had to use bone from the old femeral head to help fill in where so much bone had worn away. He had to recontruct the hip before he could use an artifical component. She recovered quickly after this surgery without complications. You don't even want to know how much I spent on this dog. Can we say new car <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> But I would pay twice as much just to have her with me again. She ended up with a ruptured spinal disc and was euthanized. Best dog I'll ever own.

I think THR do dogs a great service just make sure your happy with the orthopedic surgeon first. I would recommend anyone go to the vet I went to in Chicago. His name is Dr. Tom Turner and he is extremely skilled.

Good luck with your dog. I hope all goes well.

hi, i have a 10 month old german shepard female and just found out that her hips are loose. this was a huge suprise to me b/c i felt i did everything in my power to prevent this. i followed ed's advice on how to prevent this in a pup almost to the letter(i feed nutro large growth puppy instead of an all natural). she is very light being only 48 pounds at the moment as well. she has NEVER been heavy. but learning that she has loose hips..the severity i dont know yet, i wanted some advice on how to deal with this. anything special i should do, ie. giving suppluments and such. as well as just general advice on how i should go about her daily activities. every thing about her seems fine, she's always walking around(she never could stay in one place for too long). i dont want to see my dog in pain.

thanks alot

Welcome to the board, han. Sorry to hear about your puppy. Did your vet tell you how bad it is, because if I'm not mistaken, loose hips in a puppy don't necessarily mean a dog will develop hip dysplasia. Someone with more experience can probably tell you better.

I just found out a few weeks ago that my dog has bad hips (at least that's what the vet said). I'm awaiting confirmation of that. I also took very good care of her, kept her at a good weight, fed her an all natural diet, and watched her exercise, and this still happened. Unfortunately, it does happen sometimes no matter what you do to prevent it.

If I were you, I would put your puppy on supplements. Both of my dogs have been on joint supplements for a long time, even before I knew there was a problem. The product I use is a combination of Glucosamine, Chondroiton & MSM. It seems to reduce both the pain and the limping.

Good luck!

hey Melissa thanks for your advice, can u give me names of the products u are using and where i could get them. about your dog, ive heard of quite a few incidents where the vet would say that the persons dog had displaysia but exrays sent to the ofa would come up negative so keep hope. even for me, i dont want to come to any assumptions untill i can get exrays sent to ofa. thanks again, and i hope you get good news about your results.