I have a Newfoundland, not exactly a hunting dog but she was really birdy when young and I thought about putting her to a little work. She developed severe dysplasia and any hunting has gone out the window. Even I could see her hip was messed up on the X-ray before the vet came into the room.

We waited until she was 24 months and had the worst hip replaced (THR). She now carries that leg underneath her almost like you would expect a 3 legged dog. She only uses the other leg for balance. She is a wonderful dog and will try to go all day if I was to ask it, but she would be so miserable that night and the next day. I would suggest you no longer have a field dog, but if waterfowl is your desire your dog would probably be just fine after the THR. Ours will swim very well now. She did not have the power and confidence to swim much before the surgery.

Check out the Vet schools and see what prices they have to offer. They are MUCH cheaper than private practice. We had ours done at the University of Missouri in Columbia. It was a hassle to drive there from Omaha, but it was worth it. I don' t remember what it cost us in 2001 (I think around $1600), but if we used the guarantee and returned the dog to the breader (after living with her for 1.5yrs) we might get the same problem again, or a psycho dog when this one was already so good.....

I don' t blame the breeder because we had dogs from her that were just fine. Our next Newfie will come from OFA stock and I will pay the extra price. When I get my hunting dog (not sure what yet), I also plan to pay more for the extra certifications in their history. It was hell to go through and I don' t plan to do it again if I can help it.

Sorry about the looong post.