| Years ago I had a male Malamute with HD. At age 4 he weiged 110 lbs, and was a rangy build. I took him to UGA Veterinary college for an opinion, and aside from recommending him for total hip replacement surgery, they suggested I get his weight down to 90 lbs, no exercise off the leash, no running, no jumping. But he was to get daily walks to keep the muscles that support the hip strong. And the arthritis that had formed on the bad joint would probably give him more day to day problems than the HD, and the arthritis would only get worse. We did all of the above, (not the surgery) and Thunder lived a happy, if sedentary life to the age of 13 1/2. I did finally have him euthanized as a result of the hip deteriorating rather quickly. |