Would you adopt a (teenage) dog with hip dysplasia?

[DebbieBustamove]

I am in touch with a rescue about a year old dog who has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia that currently does not require treatment or medication. It does mean he is limited to moderate exercise and low impact activities which is fine with me.

But I've never had a dog with this issue before. Is there a set path for this diagnosis or does it depend on aging or breed? Does it always end up with a hip replacement? I've been told it won't be covered by insurance so I have a lot of unknowns to consider. Just wondering if anyone can give me their experience. Thank you!

My dog only ever had one hip replaced. I had him before I had our first child and he spent most of his life with small children so we never went on 3 hour hikes, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the moaning.

I rescued a 5-month-old retriever with potential HD (and she's had a broken hip at some point). The rescue were very honest that they just didn't know but their vet thought she was ok.

At 9 months she's up and down the stairs, on and off beds, and runs like a bullet.

@primallass that's interesting to know. One of my questions to the rescue was whether stairs might exacerbate the problem as we have steep stairs in our house. I think I'm going to have to forget this lovely dog as there are too many unknowns and I am not wealthy enough for the possible future! :(

I was offered a teenage dog with elbow dysplasia. One had already been operated on. But he is on several sorts of medication, can't go for long walks or play with other dogs. So I said no, feeling very mean but knowing it was the right decision.

@spanielsarepainless It's so hard, isn't it? A previous poster mentioned that one of the problems with restrictive exercise in a young dog is that you have to find other outlets for all that energy which must be quite hard to do in a gun dog. It's not like you can explain to them why they can't go charging about fields for hours, sadly.

Setters are bouncy and spirited and they live to run ahead of you, loop in big circles and thrash about in bushes. Mine at ten would run all day if given the chance. I think a young setter with chronic hip pain would not be living a rewarding life.