In properly selected dogs, juvenile pubic symphysiodesis improves joint congruity, decreases hip laxity, and can reverse or prevent progression of degenerative joint disease in the hips. To be effective, surgery must be done at a young age and in hips that are only mildly to moderately lax. Juvenile pubic symphysiodesis is best viewed more as a preemptive procedure than as a strictly therapeutic one. Dogs considered to be at risk for hip dysplasia should be screened with Ortolani testing at 12 weeks of age, with further imaging and perhaps surgery to follow for those who have a positive Ortolani sign.