We have a 7 y/o shelter Lab. About a year ago she had about a week of being NQR- sort of a travelling low level lameness. We have a wonderful vet, he did a blood workup and physical exam and said he thought she maybe had tweaked something in her back and gave us a script for Rimadyl. We never gave it to her; just kept her quiet for a couple days and she was back in action. Fast forward a year, we moved recently and she’s getting more exercise, visitors and stairs than usual. She seemed a little stiff and NQR again, so I found the Rimadyl and gave her one (which is 1/2 a pill). After giving the meds, I looked it up online and saw TONS of articles about how this medication has much higher than usual toxicity rate in Labs specifically, of course terrible stories about how dogs have died, etc. I have a call in to talk with the vet, but should I be really concerned here? I know all meds have the chance of side effects, but the information that singled out Labs really gave me pause.
Holy crap! We had our 14 year old lab on Rimadyl for nearly a year before she developed severe neurological symptoms (no use of hind end) and had to be put down. I think her dosage had just been upped but can’t remember with 100% certainty.
I had never heard this and the vet never mentioned it. We were never given any sort of explanation for the sudden onset of our dog’s symptoms. May be unrelated, but Googling “lab + rimadyl + neurological” turned up numerous results.
Google any medication and you will come up with horror stories.
All meds have their use and restrictions.
Labs are overrepresented as a breed (lots of labs) and also with orthopedic disease (which Rimadyl treats). Theres no reason a healthy lab can’t have it. Can switch to a different NSAID (Deramaxx, Metacam, etc.) if it makes you feel better, but they all have similar side effects.
If you’re going to give a NSAID more than occasionally to an older dog, it’s probably not a bad idea to get baseline bloodwork before using it.
[QUOTE=animaldoc;7764721]
If you’re going to give a NSAID more than occasionally to an older dog, it’s probably not a bad idea to get baseline bloodwork before using it.[/QUOTE]
Yes. Baseline bloodwork and then bloodwork every 3 months or so. Rimadyl can be really rough on the liver.
It’s what is called an idiosyncratic reaction, meaning there is no way to predict which animal the drug will effect in that way. Agree with animal doc, baseline Bloodwork is always a good thing before starting an older dog on rimadyl or any NSAID for that matter.
Our lab was on it for I think a year after partially tearing her ACL. She did great on it, it really helped her more than other pain meds we tried. We did get baseline blood work and checked every 3 months. She’s 14.5 now, so it hasn’t had any long term effects!
My shep/chow mix is on it at the moment, and has been for about 4 months. She is pushing 14. We give her one every other day. She is not showing lameness signs, just seems uncomfortable sometimes.
Depending on how your dog seems, you might want to try a spread out approach.
Our lab was prescribed Rimadyl for arthritis and general old age stiffness when she was 10. It made her terribly sick - vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy. The vet switched her to Previcox and she never had a problem with it. Ended up taking it for 6 years before we lost her to old age (we did check kidney and liver function every 6 months). I think some dogs tolerate it better than others, just like humans and certain meds.
Thanks guys. Of course what animaldoc posted is basically what our vet told me. We are going to use this medication for a few days to hopefully help her through the minor acute pain and add a regular joint supp. If she doesn’t recover or continues to go through these bouts, we are going to revisit and probably do something like previcox. Thank you for putting my mind at ease!
Any nsaid is potentially toxic to the liver and kidneys and intestines …just like our human drugs that we use for arthritis. Side effects are rare or these drugs wouldn’t be prescribed… best thing to do is know what to watch out for (vomiting or diarrhea and lethargy) otherwise at prescribed doses most dogs do very well. Short term use has very few side effects we are often more concerned with long term use of nsaids (and fwiw…autocorrect things nsaids = snails lol!)
Previcox and metacam are not “lighter” nsaids … it’s like comparing alive to Tylenol to Advil…some work better for some people. If you are going to switch up nsaids mark sure you have a good washout period!
Interesting. I didn’t know that labs were more prone to problems with Remadyl than other breeds! Several years ago, my lab mix was prescribed Remadyl by my very excellent vet. She was probably about 12 at the time (maybe younger), diabetic and had painful arthritis. She went into liver failure (or something to do with her liver that was emergency-type of a situation. It could have been more of a seizure). She recovered and we gave her Deramaxx for the remainder of her life - 14 plus. It worked well for her.
I’ve had two shepherds on Rimadyl. My female took it for 4 years, my male has now been on it for a year. The female was also on proin for urinary incontinence and I was freaked out by the “don’t ever give them both to a dog” stuff on the internet. I talked to my vet who said to stay off the internet. She took both for years, never had liver or kidney issues. Eventually lost her to hind end weakness which is apparently the bane of every GSD that doesn’t die before they hit old age.
Rimadyl threw my epileptic golden into cluster seizures. I switched to Adequan shots and had no problems…
We had a Cocker Spaniel with arthritis and were prescribed Rimadyl, but he couldn’t tolerate it (threw up).
Seems to me after I stopped giving it I saw that info about dogs getting sick on it and vet advised not to use it because too many dogs were having adverse reactions to it.
We then moved on to Glyco-Flex II chewables–they are pills made from blue lipped mussels. Doggy just snarfed them down as dogs love all manner of stinky things to eat. They worked well for him, but they weren’t cheap.
You may need to explore your options if money is a concern to find your most cost effective alternative.
Best of luck!
Rimadyl gave my old Husky mix great quality of life for her last three years. Without it she couldn’t get up comfortably or walk with any ease.
My vet and I discussed the medication at length before putting Brin on it, and bloodwork was also done prior to putting her on it.
She did very well on it. We did see some liver changes but because of her advanced age both the vet and I agreed that her quality of life was important.
She was 13 when put on it and 16 when she told me she was ready to go. I would definitely consider the medication again for my other dogs.
NO NO NO! Please don’t!
Your dog might do fine on it. Many do. If your dog isn’t one of them, do you want to find that out the hard way?
I lost my healthy 8 year old lab mix heart dog to a 4 day course of Rimadyl. At the first sign of an adverse reaction, I called the vet twice in the same day and later that day took the dog into the clinic. They completely blew me off and told me it was a little “upset tummy” and suggested I give her chicken and rice. Two days later when the symptoms got worse, they finally did blood work and discovered she was suffering acute renal and liver failure. I tried multiple rounds of dialysis to save her, but she died 4 weeks later. It was horrible. I can’t help but wonder that if the vet had actually paid attention to me after my first call, my dog might have survived. I’ll never give a dog an NSAID again.
When her littermate got a little creaky in his shoulder last year, he got 6 cold laser treatments and has been good as new ever since. It did take the full 6 treatments to see a lasting improvement. No meds needed whatsoever. He does get GlycoFlex III and 4 fish oil capsules on a daily basis.
Here are some first hand Rimadyl stories just like mine: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201698699844715/
The good thing about Previcox, is that it’s a specific COX2 inhibitor, unlike some other NSAIDs that are both COX1 and COX2 inhibitors. This usually means fewer side effects, and is safer to use long term than rimadyl (or bute, in horses). In humans, COX2 inhibitors did result in an increased risk of heart attack or stroke, so I might not use on a dog with heart problems. But discuss it with your vet.
My parents blame Rimadyl on the rapid decline and ultimate euthanasia of their beloved old lab. I have not personally done enough research to have an opinion.
