Hello everyone, I have not been on this site for a while now. Probably due to what I have been through with my youngest GSD. Just as a little background, Blossom, was rescued from a shelter where her "breeder" had brought her in. She was only 10 weeks old. I was JUST going to foster her but soon fell in love, she was/is the best dog I've ever had. Awesome temperament. Never woke me up in the middle of the night to go potty and is always content with where I leave her, be it outside or in a crate. NEVER complaints about anything. Anyhow, on July 25th of this year, I took Blossom, 10 month old at the time, in for hip x-rays. For many months I suspected there was something not normal with her. She never jumped, never stood on her back two legs. Run for a short period of time and then would sit. She walked funny. So even though she never complained, I made the decision that it was time to stop wondering. Some time around noon I got the bad news, Blossom had severe hip dysplasia. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Dr. George, one of the best Orthopedic Specialist on the east coast, explained to me that in a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the worst, Blossom's left hip was a 5 and her right hip was a 4. I immediately left work and went to pick her up and to talk to Dr. George about possible surgery and options. While there, Dr. George explained to me that she already had arthritis on her right hip and due to this, one, out of the three surgical options that Blossom could have was out of the question, a TPO (Triple Pelvic Osteotomy). That left me with two options, either a THR (Total Hip Replacement) which ranges around $3,500 per hip, or an FHO (Femoral Head Osteotomy). Even though Dr. George left it up to me and did not want to tell me what to do, he left me with the impression that due to Blossom's age, he would go for the FHO. Many surgeons will not perform or recommend an FHO on dogs over 50 pounds as the results are not as good as if it were a small dog. But Dr. George has performed many FHOs on GSDs and other dogs over 50 pounds with a lot of success. After a lot of thinking and asking around I decided to do the bilateral FHO. Today, two months and a half later, I can tell you that I made the best the decision ever. Blossom is running like nothing, still a little clumsy but happy as ever. She is supposed to improve little by little. Dr. George told me it will take her up to 6 months to completely heal, but that I will have a painless dog for the rest of her life! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />