Dog lameness getting worse

[DawgLady]

Thanks for taking the time to chime in, @MissusS and @cilla1! I have a couple questions, which I will ask my vet at the next appointment, but thought you might also have some insight…

1. Why is Librela controversial? According to my vet, it’s extremely safe. I can’t figure out what the drawbacks are. At this point, nothing else is working for my dog, so it’s Librela or euthanasia…so the choice is easy. Still, I’d like to understand what the fuss is about.

2. We are now 3.5 weeks after the first injection. She looks amazing. She’s supposed to get another shot on Monday, but I’m wondering if maybe it’s better to wait if she doesn’t need it yet. Any input on that?

[MissusS]

I think in the most layman’s terms it is turning off some pain receptors for the dog, which could be controversial I suppose. It can impact kidney function as well. My dog also is experiencing skin irritation (one small hot spot after the first injection, a larger one on the other side after the second injection) - she is prone to allergies and skin irritations so I will be asking my vet at this coming up appointment. I’ve just been using bag balm on the hot spots and that seems to help.
So - like any drug I’ve encountered - it has side effects that may not be desirable. But - to your point it’s Librela or euthanasia for us too so the choice is easy unless the side effects get worse to a detrimental level OR it stops being so effective for her.

I did not notice any real decline in her demeanour or mobility after the first shot (some wonky steps, especially after laying for a long time but nothing long lasting). Like I mentioned, we are now approx 3 weeks post second shot and she’s got some wobbles - more so than after the first one but I also chalk that up at least in part to the changing seasons. My knees and hips HURT the last few days so I bet she’s got some of the same going on. I think a few days either way wouldn’t hurt between shots but I wouldn’t prolong it to something like 6 weeks because I think it’s one of those compounding effect drugs (that’s probably the wrong way to say it) where you have to consistently take it for the drug to work best.

My vet did say that for some dogs it takes 2 shots for the full impact to be noticed but, like you, it was miraculous how much better she got after the first shot.

Edit to add: Since I know many of the dogs who are patients of my vet (pretty much everyone at the barn uses them, plus the vet themselves has 5 large dogs) I can say that quite a few of them are using librela for their older dogs and we have ALL experienced remarkable results.

[cilla1]

I think monoclonal antibodies hasn’t been widely tested yet, they became a thing during Covid but, at least here, before Covid there were only a few trials (on humans). Then, as @MissusS said, Librela somehow cuts the pain and that could be an issue because the dog doesn’t preserve himself anymore .

My vet told me there is a sort of cumulative effect and that I can delay a bit the shot if I want (we are at the fifth shot, half dose for the moment) but for the moment I’m doing it every 30 days because I don’t want him to suffer again . Just for curiosity how much does it cost in US? Here I’m paying 150 Euros (about 160 USD) for two shots (for two full doses, so four for my dog) and I would pay 20 extra Euros to the vet for every shot but I’ve been allowed to do by myself

[MissusS]

I am paying just shy of $100CAD - on my invoice it shows this for the dosage:

My dog is just under 30kg so I believe this is one 15 ml dosage which is for dogs 20-30kg.

My vet is not a big-city vet so I know the prices on things with him are MUCH lower than many other places. He also doesn’t charge me for lots of things as we are “frequent flyers” at the clinic LOL

[DawgLady]

I am also a frequent flyer member :).

It costs me $99/shot here (in the southeast US).

[prudence]

Just hoping from an update about how the dogs are doing on Librela. Our dog with probable cauda equina syndrome received a shot of Librela today and it seems to have helped. Thank you.

[cilla1]

My Max had his eight shot of Librela last week (always half dose), so far so good. He gets a little stiff around day 25, and it takes 4/5 days from the shot to have the full effect, so he has 20 good days a month only on Librela and Gabapentin (and a natural joint supplement). The other 10 days I am allowed to give him some Meloxicam if I feel the need but lately I just shortened his daily walk on those 10 days because he gets tired sooner