[howste]

I don't have any experience in this for dogs, but my daughter was born with hip displasia which went undetected until she was two years old (major surgery required ). Is it valid to compare human symptoms with canine?

Anyway, if you have another dog to compare with, I would compare the range of motion for the legs. If the hips are both normal, they should be pretty close to another dog's. While dislocation may allow more motion for the leg bone, the tendons would be tighter and restrict motion in some directions.

In my daughter's case, the ball of the femur was outside the socket on both sides, so as she walked she created a "false socket" on the side of the pelvis. She walked with kind of a waddle where she would lean toward the leg she was stepping on to help hold the joint in place. I assume a dog would have some variation on this if one or both joints were dislocated.