My sister's GSD (McGuyver) had the procedure done on both hips (seperate operations of course) about 10 years ago. He was in a great deal of pain before the operation. It was all he could do to walk outside to go potty. It took about 2 - 3 weeks for him to recover - although he was walking with help on day 2!

Once he recovered from surgery he was a completely different dog - playing, romping, and just generally happier. He did have trouble with the two hips (arthritis) in later life but meds and a good quality dog food took care of that. He passed away last year at the ripe age of 13.

Although it was an expensive surgery - my sister never regretted it. It definitely made his quality of life so much better. And McGuyver was a 110 lb love bug.