Hip Dysplasia - elderly dog, can she lead a comfortable life without surgery?

I'm hoping that someone will have had experience with the following and
can offer some advice.

My Border collie/husky mix is going to be 10 in a couple of weeks. She's
got hip dysplasia, which according to x-rays, is pretty bad. But, she is
fine. She runs around, takes long walks with me, jumps up on my bed etc.
I have her on a variety of medications for this problem.

My vet recommended that she have surgery. Either a Total Hip Replacement
or FHO surgery, which consists of cutting the head of the femur bone off
so that it doesn't move around in the hip socket anymore. Because of her
age and the fact that the surgeries are so major, I'm very reluctant to put
her through that. But, I'm afraid if I don't, she may become crippled in
the future. Her muscles in her legs are very strong because of the
exercise she gets.

I'm hoping that someone will have had experience with a dog who has/had
hip dysplasia and that they didn't treat it with surgery. I just want to get
an idea of what will happen if I don't have any surgeries performed.

Thanks!

sorry to hear about your dogs problem,if you are unsure could you ask your vet what cut off point there is for the surgery?could you maybe leave it a few months and see how she goes and then reassess her?hopefully somebody will have some experience but good luck

Thanks Kelly.

I brought her to a surgeon about 5 years ago and he said that he liked
to do the surgery before the dog turned 7. But my regular vet said that
it was okay to do the surgery now and that his dog had knee surgery
at around age 10.

I just don't want to put her through surgery at all. I'm scared that
something may go wrong. I'm worried that her recovery will be long
and painful. I don't want to put her through all of this.

hi leslie

my staffie Bruno was diagnosed with hip dysplacia at aged 2 - he is now 5 - to be honest if your dog shows no signs of pain etc then I wouldnt put her through the surgery. bruno gets metacam for the pain as and when he needs it, has glucosamine supplements to build up his joints and does hydrotherapy as a form of exercise. he has been fine and doesnt show much stiffness or pain. He is however a very muscular dog which the vet says really helps to keep the hip dypslacia from affecting him too much

Hi Dani. I have my dog on Synflex (arthritis med used for people and dogs),
Previcox (anti-inflammatory), glucosamine/chondroitin tablets, vitamin C,
vitamin E and Selenium. So I'm doing everything I can to combat this
problem.

She's a little stiff when she gets up from laying down but after she starts
walking around a little, she's fine. And when I come home from work,
my bedspread is all messed up, so I know she jumps on my bed, which is
great!

She's my baby and I don't want to put her through anything horrible
like these surgeries.

Would you ever consider having surgery for your dog's hips?

Why would your vet consider surgery at the age of 10 if the dog has no problem with her movement, I would not consider it, a little pain killer yes, but surgery no.

Jackie,

I totally agree with you. But I'm afraid that if I don't have the surgery,
eventually she will be crippled. But then I think, if she's doing fine now,
chances are she won't become crippled. She gets so much exercise,
so her muscles are strong which I'm sure helps a lot.

I've seen dogs that have become crippled from this. I was at my vet's
one day, and there was someone there who had to drag his dog up the
driveway on a blanket because the dog could no longer walk. It was a
beautiful white shepherd. My heart broke, and I got so scared that this
would happen to my dog.

I am so confused.

Sounds like you're doing the very best for her . If she's not having any problems I'd personally avoid surgery at this age.

Lucky Star, I'm leaning towards not having the surgery done. I don't know
if I could bring myself to do it. That's why I'm hoping that someone on here
went through the same thing and did not choose the surgery. I would love
to know how it worked out for the dog.

As the dog you talk of was a GSD it may well not have been HD that it was suffering from it may have been the same as my Rex