Pain Medication for Arthritis? (Dogs)

Oh yeah - Deramaxx is so expensive!! Rimadyl is only about $38 for 30/100 mg, but another alternative for pain is Novox - the generic version of Rimadyl. It's about $32 for 30/100mg pills.

Personally, I'd rather skip the heavy-duty painkillers and go more natural...

You can give your dog aspirin - a standard 320 mg. aspirin once every 12 hours, based on recommended vet dose of 5 mg/per pound of body weight. My dog is 60 lbs and we give him 1 aspirin.

It doesn't even have to be buffered aspirin - that's just to minimize stomach upset. You can use regular aspirin if you give it with food. I put a regular aspirin in a teaspoon of warm water and "melt" it and then mix it in with his food or as a treat put it in about 1/8 a cup of milk. He loves it of course:)

Just watch for stomach upset with the aspirin - buffered or regular. I've never had a problem with that.

The aspirin advice was given to me years ago by the best vet we used to have in Houghton County (John Pepper) and I've always used that with any dog I've had with arthitis. It seems to help, is cost efficient and keeps them away from potentially harmful narcotics that they seem to love handing out.

Another thing that is now being used (and can be used with the aspirin) in place of the glucosomine is fish out caplets. You don't have to go out and buy the ones for dogs, but regular human ones work. Nordic Naturals recommends one capsule of its 1500 mg soft gel fish oil for large dogs weighing 20 pounds or more. So - a pill or two depending on the mg. you buy. I use this along with the aspirin. Fish oil is beneficial in many ways for dogs:)

Good luck with your doggie. Hope he feels better!

We've used Remidil (? spelling) on my dogs and it works great! Not that expensive either. For short bouts of pain we've used regular (coated) 81mg human asparin (recommended by both our vet and breeder). Asparin also works great! I wouldn't pay big bucks for "dog" glucosimine/condriton either. Human stuff is way cheaper and works just the same!

Jennifer,

Check into www.springtimeinc.com. They offer all natural supplements for dogs, people and horses. Their products and ingredients are very high quality, and completely safe and natural.....and affordable to boot. They have a Joint Health formula available in powder (for wet food programs) and chewables. It contains MSM (a dietary sulfur known for it's anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties) in addition to glucosamine and chondroitin. They have buy 2 get 1 free deals all the time, and I believe it's even on sale right now, too. The best part is, it isn't a drug. No risky side effects to the major organs,etc. A 3 month supply would run your approx $20. Give it a try, there is really nothing to lose. I am not affiliated with the company in any way; just a happy comsumer.

I am a professional dog trainer and groomer who is a dog nutrition junky in my "spare" time. I have been feeding my dogs holistically (raw, all natural diet) for over 6 years. I rent space for my business from a vet clinic, and see dogs on pain management like what you describe that don't achieve the dramatic results I've witnessed and heard about with natural products. I had 2 Rottweilers that started experiencing joint pain in their old age (they were switched to more natural care methods later in life). I used the above listed product on them and after a couple of weeks saw my puppies emerge again. No more stiffness getting up, playing with toys again, enjoying longer walks, etc.

I'm not sure what you are feeding your dog now, but you may want to look into a more natural food as well. Salmon oil is an excellent addion to any feeding program, too, as it benefits skin and coat (less shedding), heart, joints (anti-inflammatory and lubricating qualities), and immune system.

Keeping dogs with joint problems lean is important, too. So getting the extra weight off will help.

Good luck with your search!

As stated, people asprin can be used on dogs, preferably the non-coated kind and dosing the same as you would for kids by weight. Double check dose w/ your vet but I think one-two tablets twice a day should help.
We've used Rimedyl also when things got bad short term. Your dog is older so you're looking at quality of life, not quantity, so don't worry about the potential side effects of long use of Rimedyl.
Thanks for taking such good care of your friend!

I had a 70 lb Neapolitan Mastiff with bursitis, which is another joint problem. She was diagnosed at an early age, so like you we put her on cosequin (a glucosamine/chondritin pill). Our vet also prescribed Rimadyl for her and it worked WONDERS for her pain! It was a bit pricey, but I don't think it's as much as the Deramaxx, which I've never heard of. In my opinion, the price of the Rimadyl was definitely worth the quality of life it gave my dog. The Cosequin and Rimadyl ran us about $100/month total. It's been a few years since my dog passed away, but I seem to remember the Rimadyl being about $65/month and the Cosequin about $35/month. Try 1-800-Pet-Meds for whatever medication you wind up using. You can generally get a pretty good deal if you buy in bulk.

I also have a dog with arthritis and I feel so bad for him. All he wants to do is play ball, play with the kids, but his body doesn't let him. We have used Rimadyl and it is awesome. He responds very well to this. Also, if you do plan to give him human meds, be sure to run it past your vet. I know that ibprofin is highly toxic to dogs, but unsure about other pain meds.

Hi Jennifer, we just lost our little girl at age 16 last year, and she had similar problems with the arthritis. Hers was in the hips & back, making it difficult to get up or lay down, and impossible to go up/down stairs, or get on the couch.

We originally started giving her Ascriptin (Maalox coated aspirin) but even with the coating, she developed a bleeding ulcer, something my vet says is a common side-effect with long-term use of aspirin.

We did try giving the glucosamine, but as she came into our lives already in the moderate stages of arthritis, it was not enough.

Working with our vet, we decided that a pain-control approach would be best for her. The vet recommended Ultram (tramadol), which is a human pain pill, & therefore available at any pharmacy. The generic version was very affordable ($10/month) and there was not a gastric system side effect like many anti-inflammatories can cause. We started giving her one every other day, & it was quite a while before we needed to change that to one a day.

You mentioned that you tried Deramaxx - the problem with that drug is that sometimes the dogs dont respond even when the dose is pushed. I experienced that with my puppy when she tore her shoulder muscle (ouch!) & we changed to Etogesic (generic name?), an anti-inflammatory we were able to give up to 2x a day.

Work with your vet, & find a good combination for your dog. It sounds like he needs something immediately for the pain - that is causing the snappish behavior, & is his way of saying he hurts too much & doesnt know how to cope. Once the pain is under control, adding an anti-inflammatory will help keep the progression of the arthritis in check, and thereby potentially reducing the amount of both drugs that he will need.

Work with your vet to find the right dosage & frequency to help him be comfortable. At only 10 years of age, he still has the potential to be with you for a number of years yet. Make sure they are happy ones for him & for you!

If you are able to find a good combination of anti-inflammatory & pain, as we did, you will likely not receive additional benefit from the glucosamine. My vet recommended quitting that, as there was no proof that it was beneficial in the advanced stages of arthritis, & it is not cheap.

Additionally, if you are able to, see if you can find a holistic healer that can show you massage & stretching techniques to help your pooch. Being in pain can cause them to carry themselves differently to 'protect' the hurting areas, & cause muscle & skeletal mis-alignments. Once your dog has been treated, this can usually be continued at home with short sessions.

I have 5 dogs, & breed Rhodesian Ridgebacks, so I am dedicated to learning all I can about their health, in order to be an advisor to my puppy owners. I hope the above information is helpful. I am located in Milwaukee, WI, so my vet would not be available for you to take your dog to, but if you have any questions to anything I stated, please feel free to contact me directly. ____@____.com

T. =-)

I work with a company that has a great pet line and they have a product called Pet Health OPC formula with glucosamine. OPC-3 is made up of the 3 strongest antioxidants and OPC-3 has shown to do wonders with arthritis in humans as well as dogs, and the formula also has glucosamine for the joint and cartilage support. If you are interested in more information, please email me at ____@____.com or you can go to www.marketamerica.com/home4allie and search Pet Health OPC formula and there is lots of information about the product. Good Luck with your dog.

This is now 2012, but my dog isdoing the same thing. My vet says itis hip dysplasia. The cartiledge is worn down btween thejointand the bone. Deramaxx isthe onlything i found to help him. It hurts to love animals so much

Hi Jennifer,

We have a similar product for $10.15. It is a month's supply for adults. Has 90 tablets in. It works even better than the ones over the counter. Each dose delivers 1,500 mg of research-recommended glucosamine HCI to help keep joint cartilage "well-oiled".

I have many friends and family that have shown significant improvement using this product.

In addition it conatins bromelain, ginger, and green tea.

For more information call my office @ ###-###-####

Or visit our website: http:yourchoice.smartlivingnews.com

Click on the director, click on healthy animals, click on health issue.

J.

I've just been told by the vet that my dog has arthritis and will need pain management for the rest of his life. Then they sold me 20 Deramaxx pills for $80. This works out to just under $1500 a year. Does anyone else think this is NUTS? $1500 would pay both my car insurance and my house insurance for a year. It would feed me AND the dog for six months. It would cover two mortgage payments. IT WOULD COVER THE COST OF THE OPERATIONS AN OLD DOG INVARIABLY NEEDS IN HIS OR HER LAST YEAR OR TWO OF LIFE.

Deramaxx is a NSAID - think "aspirin" - not some exotic cancer drug developed at a cost of $ half a billion. And Deramaxx is not going to FIX anything. My dog is going to die of old age. Do I have "sucker" written on my back? Or did someone calculate that the owner of a pet in pain might be vulnerable to the tune $4 a day for a couple of years?

People think of pets as members of the family and want the best possible care for them. What if the best possible care a family can provide is the economical option? Shouldn't we be told up front without having to drag it out of the vet and then be made to feel like a heel for asking? Really, how many of us have $1500 worth in our budgets for dog aspirin?

My pharmacist tells me a dog can have 10 to 25 mg of aspirin (preferably buffered aspirin) for every kilogram of dog every 8 to 12 hours to control pain, OR 25 mg of aspirin for every kilogram of dog every 8 hours to control inflammation. That's 1 to 2 aspirin for a 75 pound dog. That sounds like an awful lot. Maybe try 1/2 an aspirin and see if the dog seems more comfortable. It isn't ideal, BUT IT'S BETTER THAN NOTHING.