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Debate · Review · 2 min read

A Border Collie Ran Flyball Again 10 Months After a Hip Replacement. Cats and Toy Breeds Are Next in Line

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New university findings highlight potential implications for dogs, animal health, and veterinary practice.

September 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTCVeterinary33Veterinary33 Editorial Desk

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A Border Collie Ran Flyball Again 10 Months After a Hip Replacement. Cats and Toy Breeds Are Next in Line

There is published literature on outcomes in both dogs and cats.

The smallest patients have long been offered a salvage procedure and told it was good enough.

Cementless implants in micro sizes change that conversation, and the reason why is worth understanding precisely.

A video showed up unannounced in Dr.

A border collie named The Tick, running the fourth leg of a flyball relay, sprinting 51 feet down a course, clearing hurdles, grabbing a tennis ball and coming back over the hurdles again.

Knazovicky, a small animal orthopedic surgeon at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, had replaced that dog's hip less than a year earlier.

His own description of what these cases look like afterward is understated.

The dogs are weight bearing the next day, still sore from the procedure itself, and later on it becomes clear the surgery “really takes the pain away.” Surgeons rarely see this.

Most patients come back for a three month recheck and then vanish into the rest of their lives, which is what success looks like and also why it goes unwitnessed.

The news attached to that video is that NC State is preparing to offer the same procedure to patients who have mostly been excluded from it.

This distinction matters, and it is easy to get wrong in a headline.

The report adds to ongoing university-led research relevant to veterinary medicine, animal health, and clinical decision-making.

Source university website: NC State College of Veterinary Medicine

https://cvm.ncsu.edu/news/a-border-collie-ran-flyball-again-10-months-after-a-hip-replacement-cats-and-toy-breeds-are-next-in-line/

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Dr. Elena Marlowe
Veterinary33 Editorial CuratorSmall Animal and Feline MedicineEditorially reviewed

The report describes advancements in hip replacement procedures for a wider variety of feline and canine patients. This development shares a specific focus on surgical techniques for orthopaedic conditions in cats and dogs. Related coverage appears in SMALL ANIMAL ORTHOPAEDICS. THE FORELIMB by Miguel Solano, Alan Danielski, Felipe de Vicente, and Stephen Kalff.

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SMALL ANIMAL ORTHOPAEDICS. THE FORELIMB

By Miguel Solano, Alan Danielski, Felipe de Vicente, and Stephen Kalff

Surgical techniques for orthopaedic conditions in cats and dogscatsdogsunderstanding

Explore the book for additional coverage of the related themes discussed in this article.

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