Look at these hips - Page 6

If you ask the puppy to live with it or die, I bet he would rather not die!  I'm so sorry Chrissy, you have had so many issues with your boy!  Take your time with surgery, save up and find a reasonable vet if you choose to go the surgery route.  You may want to make a few contacts in CA, there are  many vets who do hip surgery out here, $5000 per hip is VERY expensive for hip surgery. You need to keep him very lean and find a way to build up a lot of muscle in the rear (swimming him would be VERY beneficial for him right now).  He should be eating adult food and taking a hip supplement (glucosamine, vitamin C, MSM...).  Keep him comfortable, no more walks, try to keep him from jumping.   Although those hips are not the breeders fault, if I had bred your puppy, I would be giving you a refund. 

Chrissy
Try this supplement, it has all of the "goodies" in it for joint health.
Schiff Joint Care Supplement (sold at most Pharmacies, Walmart, grocery stores etc)

Their newest product has 1500mg of Glucosamine & 1500mg MSM, as well as 3.3mg of Hylauronic Acid. You would want to double him up for a good month on the dosage (manufacture recommends 3 tabs per day for a human), we currently give our older dog 4 tabs a day, 2AM 2PM to help him along.
There are very few supplements that don't contain other things like Vitamin D, Vitamin C etc..it's hard to find just plain old joint supplements.
This is a relatively good buy, we paid $22.49 for a bottle with 150 tablets, but was also a "buy one get one", so we loaded up on them

Good luck with your pup, you have had a heck of a tough road with him already and have not had the best experience in communicating with your breeder/broker of choice. It will be very interesting to see how this settles out. The most prudent and ethical thing to do would be for the breeder/broker to refund your total purchase price, as well as shipping costs, (the puppy arrived with a horrid overbite that you were not made aware of prior to purchase if I remember correctly from another board). An act of ethics like this might go a long way for this breeder/broker...and it certainly would be of great help to you and your pup.
You've already invested a LOT in this pup. He's lucky he has you for an owner.

Maybe try fundraising online or see if any charities will help you? 

I had a GSD with the same looking xrays. Had both femoral heads removed. Some pain meds after OP and that was it. The OP were 6 month apart. She never took anymore pain meds. She lived with 3 other GSD's and just loved life. Sure she didn't move so pretty. She ran like a goofball, but she was the happiest girl I ever had!!! I wouldn't be so fast at putting her down. Tasha lived to 12. If you do go this route, make sure to keep them as LEAN as possible. Swimming and a light exercise program will do wonders. Good Luck and I hope all goes well for you two. Take Care   Pete 

Thanks guys for the support, I really need it right now. Olga Ashley, I will make some calls to CA vets and see how much an FHO is. Don't suppose you'd know any you'd recommend? Was also considering calling CSU's vet school and seeing if they could do it. Such a bummer AZ has no vet school. Workingdog I will look into picking up that supplement ASAP.

I'm glad you are considering the surgery for your boy. I would do it too.

I will say it again...you might be surprised (or shocked) at how much alternative therapies can help, and if not longterm, at least in the meantime until you can weigh all your options and make an educated decision on what to do. Plus, it will help you feel like you're doing something while weighing those options. For me, that helps- I hate feeling like I'm not doing anything if the thing I want to do is too expensive!

I understand saying the dog needs to be put down, but that's a lot easier to say about an internet puppy you've never met except for a set of xrays. It's a lot harder when it's YOUR 8month old.

As to the people concerned about who bred the dog...seriously? That's the biggest thing jumping out at you here? Not a shitty situation for man and beast, but who to blame? Why not wait until the breeder tells her to F-off before buying the rope?  

LOL, Jenni. Hang em high!!

I agree that alternative treatments are worth a try too. Someone I know saw good results in her GSD with UAP using stem cell therapy. The dog I mentioned did well with nothing more than forced rest and Ascriptin. If I'd have posted his xrays here, most would have suggested that he should have been put down too and I did consider that myself. One little boy was glad I didn't.

I understand saying the dog needs to be put down, but that's a lot easier to say about an internet puppy you've never met except for a set of xrays. It's a lot harder when it's YOUR 8month old.

Agreed totally.   Easy to look at this pup as a money-pit, and advise about PTS etc. from behind a keyboard.  But when it is an 8-month old that one took out from the shipping crate as a baby, and then raised during these several months, it is not as straightforward.  Rough situation for the owner and that is for sure.

When my 5-month old puppy was shipped to me (as a "cargo" of course), I grew emotional when I checked the status of her shipment via the airline website.....that she was delivered to the airport, that she was in-flight, that she had arrived at the destination etc......almost like a part of me had arrived at the destination....could not wait to get the customs clearance etc. done and have her handed over into my care.   Now as a nearly 7-month old, she is well and truly and deeply intertwined into my soul (she literally reads my moods !) and having her PTS for whatever reason, would not be a trifling matter of course.

Chrissy,
I wish you and your pup the best.  The puppy is lucky to have you to care for it.  Please keep us updated on the pup's condition and what the breeder has proposed to do to ease your pup's suffering.  It would be nice to see the pedigree at some point as many here are looking for future dogs and perhaps they could be helped to avoid a similar situation. 

Jim