My dog is having a hip replacement tomorrow?

My 5 year old golden retriever is having a hip replacement tomorrow morning. This happened to him because the vet said he was "shallow hipped." Does this mean this could also happen to his other hip?Also will he be safe during his surgery tomorrow?COULD THIS HAPPEN TO HIS OTHER HIP AFTER HIS HIP REPLACEMENT?

The age is unusual. It is too young for this to be congenital (born with) yet not old enough for it to be arthritic (due to old age). It is very rare that a general hospital has the ability to perform a hip replacement unless it is highly specialized, such as a university. If you are scheduled to have surgery at such a hospital, in which they will perforom diagnostics prior to surgery, you may yet to find your diagnosis. If not, although I am not aware of your dogs symptoms(limping, lameness?) I feel tempted to tell you to get a second opinion.

Usually, dogs with shallow hips are prone to develop, or already have hip dysplasia. (That means the ball slips our of the hip socket and can be painful.) In some dogs, it is severe enough to cause limping or a clicking sound when they move. It also allows unusual wear on the joint & arthritic change. Was your dog diagnosed with problems? Is your dog having trouble getting up & down or is he stiff after not moving, or does he have trouble doing stairs, getting in the car, etc? if he isn't limping I am unsure why he is undergoing a very expensive surgery. There are injectable products (such as Adequan) that help repair cartilage & lubricate the joint and there are supplements such as Cosequin which also help, to a lesser extent. There are medications for joint pain such as Rimadyl.Dogs can have just one bad hip or they can have two bad hips. Often, once the surgery is done, so much weight is switched to the other hip, if it is not correct in formation, it too can get worse from the extra stress while the dog recouperates from surgery. The only proper way to diagnose how bad the hips are, is by x-ray. If that was done (esp if it were sent off to OFA -the Orthopedic Foundation of America) then you, or the dog's owner should know whether it is just one bad hip or two. OFA "grades" the hips & they are far more experienced than any regular vet. Surgery cannot be done on both hips at the same time. No surgery (with anesthesia) is without risk.