As an update to an earlier post - thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.

Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that I have a 10 mo. Old chocolate lab who was diagnosed with Hip Displaysia. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst, her right hip is an 8 and the left is a 4. Although at this point she shows no signs of pain, etc. I have been told that she probably will have some problems at some point in her life. It all depends on the dog.

I have been told by the vet that my options range from a total hip replacement @ $3,000/hip to a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO) @$1,500/hip to doing nothing. If she becomes lame later in life I could have a femoral head/neck resection done(basically cutting the head of the femur off and the joint fills with scar tissue forming a false joint). It has also been recommended by others on this board to start her on a Glucosamine Chondroitin supplement, which I intend to do this week.

So far she doesn' t show any signs of pain or lameness. While I am training her to be a retrieving hunting dog, she is also a companion/family dog. She does not do any field trials and the majority of her work is water related - not much upland hunting.

I am considering the TPO on the worst hip, however, I don' t know anyone who can advise me on % effectiveness, etc. Does anyone know of a dog that has had this procedure done? Also, how effective is the Glucosamine Chondroitin and where do I find it? If the other hip is a 4 out of 10 would there be a need to do this hip at a later date?

I' m not sure if anyone has come across this before but any information at all is a great deal of help to me.

Thanks!