My dog is Limping - Can I give her pain meds?

[borzoimom]

Hey everyone,

I recently adopted a rescue from a local rescue group. The new dog is about 1-2 and my dog, Hero is about 8.

They are doing great together and love to romp and wrestle. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed Hero was a little stiff and limping slightly on her right front leg.

I recently switched her to senior dog food at the recommendation of my vet for the added glucosamine, etc.

Anyways, I checked her leg and paw all over...and have continued to check it out. No signs of lesions, abrasions, cuts, etc. And she doesn't seem to be sensitive to the touch at all. The stiffness/limping seems to be mostly happening when she's been lying down for a while and gets up to walk around. Sometimes she appears to be perfectly fine.

My question is, what is the recommendation for pain medicine? I've looked online and it seems like there are contradictions as to whether it's OK to give ibuprofen. My dog weighs 55lbs.

I called my vet and they said they only recommend Rimadyl for pets for pain. A girl I work with, however, said her vet told her it was OK to give ibuprofen.

I am thinking I will just keep an eye on her and make sure it doesn't get worse...which it hasn't to this point. Also, restrict her activity for a while to let her heal.

Let me know what y'all have been told by your vets.

Thanks!

Okay- for 55 pounds you can give up to 3/4 of a regular 325 mg aspirin twice a day- at least 8 hours apart.
IBUPROFEN CAN KILL HER- I am shocked the vet told you that! One 200 mg tablet can be lethel.. Maybe you need a new vet..
Also- you can get glousimine tablets at petsmart. I give glycoflex 3 at the stage we are at, but we started with those tablets a few years back. It usually takes 24 hours to see improvement, but it works. You also can tell if you take them off of the glycosimine. It would be fine to add it to her food that already has it, as what she doesnt need, she will pass. But do not exceed the dose on the bottle of the tablets.

[Vela]

Just for clarification, her vet didn't tell her to give the dog ibuprofen, someone she works with said HER vet told her that. =)

[borzoimom]

Just for clarification, her vet didn't tell her to give the dog ibuprofen, someone she works with said HER vet told her that. =)

whew... thank you... ( lowering the blood pressure...)

[applesmom]

I'm really shocked that knowledgable pet owners would actually recommend exact dosages of over the counter medications for an 8 year old dog without knowing anything of her health history. Opinions based on personal experience are one thing. But even those opinions should always be followed by "Don't give her anything without checking with your vet first!

Even a licensed vet with years of veterinary school under their belts won't prescibe medication for a dog they've never seen!

[borzoimom]

The vet already said rimadryl. Which is a very strong pain killer. That has much more side effects than aspirin as you know...

[mr.chiwawa]

I wouldnt give her any. I would try more of a holistic approach. Like a heating pad but on low heat. Also if you massage her leg when she first stands up might help. It could be just a knik in the muscle as well. Thats what happened to my little one.

[applesmom]

"I called my vet and they said they only recommend Rimadyl for pets for pain.

She didn't say the vet had actually recommended Rimadyl for Hero or that Hero had been seen and evaluated to determine the true cause of the limping.

Everyone that has had a little more experience in animal care than the average pet owner has a responsibility to be very careful about offering any sort of medical advice.

We're all here because of our love of animals. The last thing any of us would want to do would be to inadvertantly cause harm to someone's pet by giving advice that would be better coming from their vet...

[Vela]

Well I quit giving my dog any meds, including Rimadyl. The glucosamine and SynFlex has worked wonders. She is still stiff but not three-legged lame. Those are safe supplements to use so I would recommend those. I have given Ascriptin before as well, buffered aspirin, but it didn't work well enough to make it worth the risks.

[mr.chiwawa]

Very much so but a little heat and massage wont kill a dog!! It would be like if you had a cramp and put a little heat on it or massaged your leg until it went away You got your point across so no need to puh it further

I'm really shocked that knowledgable pet owners would actually recommend exact dosages of over the counter medications for an 8 year old dog without knowing anything of her health history. Opinions based on personal experience are one thing. But even those opinions should always be followed by "Don't give her anything without checking with your vet first!

[dragondawg]

I'm really shocked that knowledgable pet owners would actually recommend exact dosages of over the counter medications for an 8 year old dog without knowing anything of her health history. Opinions based on personal experience are one thing. But even those opinions should always be followed by "Don't give her anything without checking with your vet first!

Even a licensed vet with years of veterinary school under their belts won't prescibe medication for a dog they've never seen!

How many examples do you want of online Vets who freely give the dosage for aspirin?

Smith and Foster

Smith and Foster placed several references to stomach irritation in their article. That is a widely known side effect of aspirin in dogs. And no you wouldn't want to give aspirin to a dog with a previous history of an ulcer. Presumably the original poster would shy away from such a suggestion if their dog had previous ulcer problems. Common sense.

A lot of medicating your own dog is a combination of doing your own due dilligence along with common sense. Part of that due dilligence might be to contact your Vet. In fact my assumption is that the original poster will confirm with their Vet anything they read if they have never tried it with their dog before. The other major part is for the dog owner to educate themselves.

So, applesmon where do you want to go with this? Should the standard reply to any medical problem post be hugs and kisses, or something about prayers?

For example is the suggestion of massaging any different? After all there might be an undiagnosed fracture or joint problem that could be made worse. But then again massaging isn't in the same class as a OTC drug so it gets a free pass? What else should be given a free pass- unproven holistic treatments? Should any reply to a health problem be totally neutral with no information in it?

[applesmom]

How many examples do you want of online Vets who freely give the dosage for aspirin?

Smith and Foster

Smith and Foster placed several references to stomach irritation in their article. That is a widely known side effect of aspirin in dogs. And no you wouldn't want to give aspirin to a dog with a previous history of an ulcer. Presumably the original poster would shy away from such a suggestion if their dog had previous ulcer problems. Common sense.

A lot of medicating your own dog is a combination of doing your own due dilligence along with common sense. Part of that due dilligence might be to contact your Vet. In fact my assumption is that the original poster will confirm with their Vet anything they read if they have never tried it with their dog before. The other major part is for the dog owner to educate themselves."

So, applesmon where do you want to go with this? Should the standard reply to any medical problem post be hugs and kisses, or something about prayers?

For example is the suggestion of massaging any different? After all there might be an undiagnosed fracture or joint problem that could be made worse. But then again massaging isn't in the same class as a OTC drug so it gets a free pass? What else should be given a free pass- unproven holistic treatments? Should any reply to a health problem be totally neutral with no information in it?

Perhaps you should re-read the quote you just posted since Smith and Foster also suggest confirming anything one reads with their own vet.

"A lot of medicating your own dog is a combination of doing your own due dilligence along with common sense. Part of that due dilligence might be to contact your Vet.

In fact my assumption is that the original poster will confirm with their Vet anything they read if they have never tried it with their dog before.
The other major part is for the dog owner to educate themselves."

[dragondawg]

Perhaps you should re-read the quote you just posted since Smith and Foster also suggest confirming anything one reads with their own vet.

"A lot of medicating your own dog is a combination of doing your own due dilligence along with common sense. Part of that due dilligence might be to contact your Vet.

In fact my assumption is that the original poster will confirm with their Vet anything they read if they have never tried it with their dog before.
The other major part is for the dog owner to educate themselves."

Then what's the problem? We both made the same assumption. I like Turquoise.

[mike001]

I'm against giving pets anything on the advice of a pet owner's advice. What may be good for one, could be fatal for another. Rimadyl is a very potent pain killer, but lots of dogs throw up bile and have to discontinue it. It is hard on the liver, as are most meds. I would take the dog in for x-rays, she might have a hairline fracture or another fixable problem...at least you would have peace of mind.

[Jakesmom]

My 10 year old Golden has arthritis and disk disease, so I have been through the range of pain relief options for him. When he first started having problems, I put him on Synflex (google it, you'll find website, and can order. Its a liquid, I put on his food and he has no trouble chowing down). After about 10 days he was like a new dog. As things got worse, we added metacam (same class as rimadyl), then acupuncture.

Since your dog is just starting to have problems, I'd try the glucosamine. Synflex is an excellent preparation, is well absorbed, and tastes ok apparently. Give it a week or two, I'll bet you see improvement if arthritis is his problem.

Jake's mom