Quote Originally Posted by GSDOG
I am a Vet Tech and have been for over 7 years. I see this almost everyday, aspirin is fine to give, BUT you have to be careful, in that I mean, if she needs to have surgery or for whatever reason needs to be put on Prednisone(which is a steroid) you would have to wait for a wash out period before giving any NSAIDS(non-steriodal anti-inflammtories), and in some dogs it can cause GI upset..ie ulcers or just a yucky tummy. It would in the long run be more benifical for her to be on Rimadyl , or another kind like Deramaxx or Previcox, all NSAIDS. these would require her having bloodwork done on a regular basis to make sure there are no liver changes. SO there are things you need to consider and your best bet would be to have your vet do a through exam on her, bloodwork, maybe x-rays.
I just got done leaving my Clover Ann doggy off at the Vet. Seems that when puppies and barb wire encounter each other (old farm land/woods), the barb wire always wins. One of the things I told the Vet was no Rimadyl. Reports of irreversible liver damage with the first dose -rare but possible, doesn't seem worth it. On the other hand Duramaxx or Metacam seems to be safer NSAIDs. As you point out any prolonged use of the NSAIDs should have liver panels once every 4-6 weeks. There are some Vets who overlook this. Little Clover (70 lbs) will have Torbutrol the first night, and then Duramaxx.

A curioso I've run across in the literature is that Enteric Aspirin tablets given as a means to protect the stomach has the draw back that they are unable to dissolve in the dog's stomach, and several may collect in the stomach dependent on the amount of gastric motility present, along with Enteric tablet size. The net affect is therapeutic levels in the blood are never obtained. Also ran across a couple of articles that concluded the H2 acid blocker Cimetidine (Tagamet), or the proton pump blocker Omeprazole (Prilosec) will not prevent stomach ulcers with prolonged aspirin use, but will decrease the severity.

The elimination of Aspirin from a dog including its secondary metabolites is probably in the range of 72 hrs. Quite unclear, and probably the reason the Vets err on the side of caution of waiting a week. In keeping with the spirit of the thread I won't mention the therapeutic dosage for Aspirin is 25 mg/kg every 8 hrs. Encountered an article that suggested most dogs will have gastric irritation after 15 days of use. Also one report of a 12 yr old greyhound that had massive bleeding after 5 doses, and required multiple transfusions to stabilize. Ironic- as the greyhound is the universal blood donor of the dog world.