Last night one of the vet techs from the clinic that I use came over to do a laser treatment on my dog. She mentioned that while they haven’t had any clients report an adverse event the vets are far more cautious prescribing it.
Anecdotally, my dog was on it for six months and I didn’t see any change one way or another.
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My understanding from my regular vet and orthopedic PT vet is that Librela can cause serious issues in dogs that have neurological issues. My IVDD dog would never be prescribed it by my vet because it would be too risky. It also shouldn’t ever be the first step of treatment. On a sore arthritic dog there should be diagnostics, lower levels of medication, higher level or medication and if that’s not working maybe Librela. For the older dog who is slowing down and this was the first thing prescribed that should be on the vet 100%, I hope your friend can realize that and let go of any guilt they have.
We tried it on my hip dysplasia dog and it really helped BUT she developed a bunch of urinary issues slowly over time. First incontinence, then a few UTI’s, overdrinking and right when one UTI was being treated Librela released their new side effects which included everything she had and my vet called me immediately. We took her off Librela, she hasn’t had another UTI and we’re slowly weaning off the Proin to see if her incontinence is gone. Now we’ve had to switch up her pain meds because it was an adjustment for her since her pain was being helped so that’s to be taken into account too.
I don’t think it should be ostracized because of some bad side effects but vets need to be very educated on when to use it and how to explain the risk versus reward discussions with owners. If it was a last resort and bought my dog a few months of less pain and longer life it would be worth it.
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Agreed. My dog was put on it when NSAIDs were causing GI upset and gabapentin wasn’t working well anymore. Librela was kind of our last ditch attempt to keep her going. I think the first couple of injections may have helped, but even increasing the dose didn’t have an effect at the end and it was clear that it was time to let her go.
I would definitely use it again in a dog that was running out of options. Not sure that I would rush to it for a younger dog, though.
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I wonder if Buma had an adverse reaction to the Librela. She started the monthly shots this time last year and by the fall had issues with her right hind leg. She lost muscle tone and her gait was slightly shorter on the right. She would swing her leg out and forward instead of coming under herself The vet and I both could not figure out what was wrong with her hind quarter. He summed it up to being Degenerative Myelopathy. By November of 2024 she could not put weight on the leg. I made the decision to put her down. (she started it for soreness in her shoulders, not her hind end)
She was on as much pain meds as possible, we did x-rays to see if there was a break, (just in case).
The article states that atazia and paresis are linked to Librela use.
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Aside from the bad side effects, I think Librela is also so often pushed as a miracle drug when that is not the case for all.
We have a nearly 10yo Mountain Cur with chronic bilateral ACL issues and general hip arthritis. She is super hard on her body and even more hard-headed lol. Years ago we had her on Caprofen, then ended up switching to Galliprant plus Amantadine and Gabapentin. This was in addition to a high-quality joint supplement. While she had good days and bad days, for the amount of meds she was taking (and that we were paying out the nose for), it seemed like it all would have helped her more. At the recommendation of our vet, we replaced her Galliprant and Amantadine with Librela, using Gabapentin on really bad days as well (and still have her on joint supplement).
Granted she was on a LOT of daily meds, but we’ve seen almost no difference since switching her to Librela about a year ago, compared to what she was on. The only thing that seems to hurt less is our wallet. That’s not to say it DOESN’T help her-- she can still run and play, but not as much as she wants and not for long-- and she pays for it afterward. Is this just where she’s at for pain management? Probably, and we watch her closely for when it’s time. She still enjoys a lot of things in life and has more good than bad times (see photo that shows her general joy in life). I just think a lot of owners have an expectation of it turning back time and giving their older dogs their life back because that’s how it’s somewhat been depicted. It might help (even a lot), but mileage is probably going to vary.
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We have an elderly greyhound on Librela and it’s been very helpful for him. I did read the many warnings out there before we started it and our vet was very straightforward about the pros and cons.
In our dog’s case, he’s quite elderly for a greyhound (13+) and has kidney issues so all of the NSAIDs are contraindicated.
We’ll likely let him go if/when this stops being helpful. It’s currently the difference between him being able to walk independently and not being able to stand up or move without help.
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I put my 15 year-old coonhound on Librela last year. I hesitated a few months after I read the warnings.he had two frozen shoulders, which was miserable for him. The Librela made a huge difference in quality of life for the last 4 months of his life. He took me on lots of long slow walks around the neighborhood. It was a gamble that I could have lost, but I’m glad I took the chance in his case. I would not make that decision for a younger dog with minimal arthritis.
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My vet said they only recommend Líbrela for dogs that have severe arthritis, that have a confirmed documented history of arthritis. He said he found that if there is any sort of neuro issues at all the drug actually makes them way worse.
I asked him why the small animal medicine is so different from large animal, how with horses it’s so easy to inject this or that and he said it’s different medicine (and gave me the impression he wasn’t a fan of that way)
