Our 9 month old chesapeake bay retriever was just diagnosed with HP. The local vet referred us to the board certified surgeons at DVSC in Southlake. I am looking for first hand experience here.
The vet was telling me that the femoral head ostectomy (FHO) has provided good results. Replacement surgery may be better, but more expensive. Our dog is 90lbs and the FHO operation worries me with all that weight bearing down on muscle.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Diagnosed by who? The dog is still growing so am not sure a diagnosis can be given.

Our local vet. I’m not a vet, but the hip was noticeably out of socket when compared to the other.

Good question. This setter got diagnosed a couple of years ago. He's still hunting well with medication. They work a lot harder and longer than retrievers.

The only recomendation I would give is to cut your losses and get a new pup. Healthy dogs are expensive. A pup already having problems at 9 months will cost way more than what they’re worth. Sometimes it’s better to start over.

DVSC is a good group. FHO surgery is an option and they do well but will eventually break down. My chocolate lab was hit by car before I got her at 4 years and I hunted her til her elbow on sane side started causing pain. FHO will result in some muscle changes as the dog adjusts to the new physics of the joint.

Hip replacement also an option. Definitely more expensive and probably have to wait til growth plates close.

There are some other surgical options for young dogs with bad hips. Honestly, that’s about all I remember about them. Lol. I remember the lectures in school.

If you have the films, I’d like to see them.

9 months...90lbs...already diagnosed with Hip dysplasia...
Seems very early for a working dog to be 90 lbs as well as being diagnosed with Hip dysplasia.
Most folks don't even get their dogs hips x-rayed until 24 months.

Heard good things about DVSC, but might not hurt to get a(nother) second opinion.

Its going to take a ortho surgeon, to even figure out if your pup is a candidate for total hip replacement. One of the dogs I fostered had to have FHO, as she was not a good candidate THR. Dr William Liska is who we used. He his known for doing hip replacements, so when he said there was a very high chance the device would fail. It was a no brainer, on the way to go with her.
Some dogs do great on meds alone. Her femoral head was out of socket, and not intact.

If you are considering THR, get two opinions from surgeons in different practices.
The 2 opinion can use the first ones xrays. It will cost you between $120-$150 for the second opinion.
Doing this saved the rescue about $4000.
If $5000-$8000 is not in your budget, I wouldn't bother considering THR.

I would get two opinions - one from DVSC and one from A&M - you'll have to get referred to A&M from your vet also.

I appreciate the responses. We have an appointment 10/30 at DVSC. We will see how it goes.

To clarify on the weight comment, he was just starting to train outside of common obedience. Both of his parents were on the large side of the parameters with his father being 110lbs. From what I’ve been told HD can be diagnosed at anytime since it’s mostly hereditary.

It is hereditary. The breeder should make it good for you.
A reputable breeder will have a hip guarantee to 2years old

Robby

Hopefully they can come up with plan for him.

Since it is hereditary.. the 2 year guarantees, which are pretty standard, don't really make sense to me. If the dog had the disease from day one but it shows up at 2 year and 6 months it doesn't fall under the guarantee.

I wish progeny testing and late age hip dysplasia tests were more common. But then again I don't think the breeding community would be happy with the results if all dogs were checked that often.

The earliest a dog can officially be OFA'd for hips, is two years old. Prelims, or Pennhip can be done a lot earlier.
I don't think a breeder (I'm not one) should have to guarantee hips for 5-10 years, because the owner failed to do the testing in a timely manner.

As much as we pay, for some bloodlines.
Basic health testing is a small cost, to protect your investment.

Even if a dogs can't have OFAs done till 24 months they can be diagnosed with HD at an earlier age. Most hip guarantees are only good upto 26 months.

Back when I had a lab, my vet said he could look at X-ray and tell when the pup was a few months old.

2x
I agree with you.
My response was to Mattys post.

Well what I thought was a possible injury, has been diagnosed as mild to moderate HD in my 8 1/2 month old pup. Ortho vet did the xrays. I'm meeting with him on Monday, to go over them and see what the options are for her. I'm also having her referred to A&M, for a second opinion. Dogs in her pedigree have OFA health clearances, and the breeder will stand behind their guarantee.
Just want a second opinion, before I make any decisions on her.

I have a 4 year old lab that was diagnosed with HD at 2 years old.

One thing to consider before jumping into surgery is the expected longevity of the replacement. I talked with several surgical vets and the consensus was to keep an eye on the dog. If you start to see loss of muscle mass and greater symptoms then that is the the time to consider surgery.

We have gone 2 seasons since the diagnosis and there are no visible symptoms, no loss of muscle mass or decrease in performance. After next season we will retake the xrays to see the progression of the disease. But I feel better about surgery once the dog is 5-6 years old so you don't have to rely on the replacement as long as if you performed the surgery at 2 years old.

I have also talked with several breeders who have had dogs diagnosed with HD at a young age but the dogs were able to hunt with no problems until they were over 10 years old.

I know A&M is a top school but I would rather have surgeons who do the operation daily work on my dog rather than a student who maybe doing his first couple of surgeries. Even with a seasoned attending watching over I would choose experience over the residency setting.

A&M is just for a second opinion.
I'm not jumping into any surgery at her age, while she is still growing. She's not showing any pain, just some sway to he hips when walking.
I've already spoken over the phone to Dr Liska. If he wasn't on break till the first of the year, he is who she would be seeing.
Her breeder will take her back, if I decide to go that route.

No way I could send her back, but the wife would have put up an even bigger fight. We have 2 now.

I'm not saying she's going back. I just have that option.

Just went through this same thing with a high dollar lab I bought back in May. He grew extremely fast, I always fed all my labs Purina Sport. In fact, he grew so fast he looked like a grey hound, I couldn't keep any weight on him. Noticed he would crow hop real bad, didn't like to jump up onto elevated objects, had trouble running long distances. Took him to the vet immediately when he was about 5 months. Vet did X-Rays and told me it look like HD, but said she couldn't confirm until the growth plates and bones hardened and I brought him in for a follow up X-Ray. She advised me to pull him off of high protein Purina and just put on regular puppy chow, no training, and no work for 2 months.

I did that, he is better. Growth slowed down, and now he's starting to fill out more. He looks much better, can run long distances without looking like he is in pain, (still doesn't like to jump). Problem is he is WAY behind on his training now. But I'm glad he's healthy... I was sure worried.

Same thing though, my wife said she didn't care if he had it or not we weren't returning the dog. He could just be a house dog and I could get another.

Hoping Topwater, and I have the same results as you.
I've seen dogs go a lot of years, without it causing a problem.
I've also seen it go the other way.
Mine is not lame, or have problems jumping.
Vet mention, TPO as a possible option.
I see me taking a chance on that surgery, when she's not in pain.