I have a 2 yr old bitch that recently pulled a mild rating on hip eval from OFA and unfortuneatly I won't have the opportunity to breed her as she has so many nice qualities. She has completed a CD in obedience and we are currently working towards CDX and W.C./J.H Titles. To this point she has never been lame and would I like to get some input in proceeding with her working career.

Besides the obvious keeping her in a good working weight and giving her the regular supplements and good exercise to keep her fit. Any advice and or experience from the people on this forum who are reguraly active in field and or obedience would be appreciated.

I got two dogs through CDX with hip and elbow dysplasia. I take my time training dogs and by the time they both got to utility they were 5 and 6 so jumping did become more of an issue at that point and sadly neither got their UD. One was active in the field and got through his JH and WC and was pretty much ready for master but had to be retired before he could earn any advanced legs.
Having said that, my girl with FCP and moderate HD did better and lasted much longer than my boy with ED who actually passed his clearances, so I would go by how the dog feels, not what the X-rays show. They'll let you know if you're doing too much

My boy has elbow dysplasia (FCP). He is going for his CD this weekend and then onto CDX. I'm also doing some hunt test training with him. I'm very careful about his condition and err on the side of caution of keeping training sessions short with limited jumping (5 jumps/day is max).

I think you just have to watch the dog and be willing to retire him at any point in his career if it becomes painful for him to work.

I have a two year old boy with ED (bilateral) He has earned a WC & JH and is now in training for SH. He is also in training for his CD and most likely I'll do some Rally with him for fun. I will not pursue a CDX or UD because I was advised by his board certified Orthopedist and Radiologist not to jump him because he is such a big boy and the impact of landing on those unstable elbows could cause more damage. I am also very careful not to let him do too much rough play....not zoomies or butt tuck running in circles (these things seem to make him come up lame)I keep him in great shape and give him the best food and suppliments available and hope that he has a long and happy life. He loves to work....just no jumping! He is such a fun dog to be with no matter what we are doing.....most of all he's my best bud!

I've got a similar issue - my big boy has arthritis in a hock sustained from an injury doing field work - he's a hard charger and somehow blew some ligaments in the hock. Anyway, he favors it, so now he limps occasionally on an elbow. Even though he was trained through Open and was working on Utility, I'm not going to jump him. Labs are big dogs, and the pounding would be too much. We're going to play at Rally, get his CD, and do some tracking. We also load up on quality food, supplements, and an occasionaly anti-inflammatory on bad days and he's doing super!

Thank-You all for the sound advice on this issue!!