we found out yesterday that our dog has moderate arthritis in her front leg. The Vet wants to use Rimadyl (NASID) for pain relief. Looking on the net the stories of Rimadyl are scary from kidney failure to liver failure. Is there anyone who is treating their dogs arthritis with other treatments besides Rimadyl? Thanks
Dr. Bagley at CLayton ANimal Hosp. told me about injections last time we went. I am looking into it. I can't remember the name of it but if you want to call and speak with Dr. Bagley about it, it would probably be worth it. 553-4601. Tell him Lisa-Marie's mommy told you about the shots. It's going to cost about $140 for the first month, $70 for the 2nd month, then $70 every other month from then on for her size.
He is actually my vet. He did mention the shots if the medication did not work or as the arthritis gets worse. The name of the medication that he wants us to use is meloxicam not Rimadyl that I thought he said.
An all natural alternative is "Tumeric" which is sold in capsules. It is the spice that makes curry powder. A friend of mine gives it to her german shepherds and it helps. It's also healthy for humans, it is a big anti inflammatory and lowers cholesterol as well.
My mother has used tumeric in her elderly 10+ years goldens and she's had great results. She also makes sure they keep their weight in check.
We use Nupro powder for our dogs. It is Glucosamine & MSM. It works great & you can find it online for much cheaper than in the stores.
I used the pill version on my 16 year old lab b4 she died. It worked wonderfully. You would have thought she was a puppy they way she acted & it made her feel. She did not die b/c of the rimadyl- it was cancer.
Our cocker spaniel had some arthritis in her back and when it acted up, the vet at Clayton Animal Hospital (Dr. Bagley or Dr. Beam-can't remember which one) gave us the pill form of Rimadyl. It always knocked the inflamation out within a couple of days and we didn't have to keep her on it. It made a huge difference in how she felt and acted and she was running and chasing her ball again after a couple of days. She lived to be 14 and when she went, it was due to cancer and not related to the relatively small and infrequent doses of the medication. I would suggest at least giving it a try. Good luck, I know it's so hard to see our pets hurting.
Good point. I have used Rimadyl on my dogs for short periods of times and it worked well. It is not something that I would want to give them on a daily basis, but good for short term relief. We use the Nupro as an every day preventative maintenance and our doctor also says that it will work to help reduce the inflamation and prevent future detieroration.
