I am looking for anyone thoughts on my dog, he is a 1yr old male GSD, the vet diagnosed hip dysplasia and arthritis on Wednesday, awaiting his hip score result, also took a TLI test as he is not growing properly, any views.

marie, hd is a wierd thing and no telling how it will affect your dog. at age 2 my girl had beautiful hip xrays.......and still did at age 8, but unfortunately she had spondylosis of the spine and i lost her in dec. nothing i could do to help her. my hubby's male showed a very shallow hip socket at 1 year (and some arthritis) he is now 5 1/2 and gets around great. you'd never know - yet at some point he may have trouble and we are aware of this. one thing about a hip: it can be fixed. if its a dog you really care about, at least you have some options. with spondylosis and degenerative mylopathy their fate is pretty much sealed. i'm not saying hd isn't a problem, but there are a lot of dogs that have it and still live active lives. infact there are a lot of titled dogs with hd. in later years they may suffer some stiffness and if needed, there is several types of surgery available. good luck with it. i know how heartbreaking it can be. i would just add that excercise and keeping the muscle tone good goes a long way in helping your dog live with this. you might also want to check into some supplements to help with inflamation. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks Patricia for your reply,sorry about my previous replys still trying to get the hang of posting replies <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Thanks for your thoughts,it's encouraging to hear that he can still run about! I will look into adding supplements to his diet...... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I thought I'd chime in with my story.

My 6 year old female GSD has had TWO total hip replacements (right and left). The first was done in September of 2002 and and the second was done in May of last year. By last September she was out running around with my other GSD at top speed, jumping, cutting and doing everything she used to do as a young dog. Not surprisingly her speed really picked up after having both surgeries. And she doesn't limp anymore or sit around licking her paws endlessly. She is 100%! The surgeries were performed by Dr. Jeff Peck of Veterinary Specialists in Maitland, Florida (Orlando suburb). Our experience with this facility and this surgeon have been nothing but positive. And now we joke with people that while there is the $6 million man, we have the $6 thousand dollar dog!

It was well worth all of it. It was either surgery or put her to sleep. Money isn't everything and we want her to be a part of our family as long as she is healthy and happy. Good luck to you.

Hi Marie:

Sorry to hear about your pup. The good news is that the problem can be fixed with the proper surgery. We are lucky enough to live near Washington State University, School of Vet. Med. There are three surgical options and you need to talk about them with your vet. If the dog is a large breed (over 85 lbs), hip replacement is best.

The wierd thing is that you never know how things will turn out with hips. Some dogs can have terrible hips and never show it until they get to around 7 years. Other dogs can have not so horrible hips and seem to be in a lot of pain. If your pup already has really bad hips by this age, a hip replacment would seem well advised. You may be able to find a teaching vet. school near you and they can often do the surgery for less $ as a teaching aid for thier students. Personally, I would recommend WSU School of Vet sciences (Pullman, WA) or Colorado State Univ School of Vet Sciences. Both are great. If you are in the Western U.S. these are a couple of great places.

I would get the dog some pain relief to begin with and reduce exercise to four, 15 to 20 minute walks per day. Just getting the stress off of the hips can help the inflamation, but it will take a while.

I know you must be saddened by this discovery, but many other dogs have had very wonderful lives with surgical intervention. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts, he really is a great dog in every sense, he will be well taken care of as he is a big part of the family, he is great with my other GSD who is 5yrs old.