My 2 yr old Golden Retriever (75 lbs) was running at the dog park this
weekend and dislocated her hip.

Her care to date:
She was immediately taken to the emergency vet. There she was sedated and
her leg was popped back into place. The vet attempted twice to apply a
Ehmer(?) sling to immobilize her leg. Both attempts failed. They blamed
the problems on her size and thick coat. I took her home and was told to
keep her on strick kennel rest for 3 to 4 weeks and to see my regular vet in
2-3 days. The next afternoon when I got home from work she was very excited
to see me and stood up in her kennel and hopped around a bit. She started
to whine, sat down and wouldn't come out of her kennel. Wednesday morning
when I took her to see me regular vet. More xray's were taken and we
confirmed that she had dislocated her hip again. Because the hip didn't
stay in place, I'm being told that it's time to consider surgery.

I'm being given the following two options for treatment:
1. I can't remember the exact name, but basically they cut off the head of
the femor. Then the scar tisue forms a false joint. Surgery is not
recommended for dogs weighing more than 30 pounds. May not have a normal
gate afterward... permanent limp. ($1200)
2. Total hip replacement. Usually recommended for dogs with severe
arthritis. Side effects can be severe. ($3500)

The vet says that the dog has slight hip dyspasia. Although she's never
shown any clinical signs. She had not problems running up and down stairs,
getting up, etc. She is slighly overweight.

I'm torn, since my dog doesn't fit into either category nicely. I'm also
wondering if it wouldn't be worth while attempting the closed reduction
again. They can shave her hind end if they have to, in order to keep the
sling in place. Has anyone had experience with this type of situation? Has
anyone had the femor surgery on a larger dog? Was it successful?

Any suggestions would be welcome.