Rimadyl and other dog arthritis options?

[SarahandSam]

My 11 (maybe 12-ish?)-year-old dachshund has been on a joint supplement for years now… we got her when she was about 6 and were told she had hip and back issues. A lot of them seemed related to her weight–she was waaaaay obese at the time, and once we got the weight off of her, got her exercising and put her on a joint supplement, she was acting young and spry. We even did some easy agility classes together a couple years ago.

About a year ago, though, she really started to seem sore again. We quit agility, I took her to the vet, the vet couldn’t find anything specifically wrong with her. Since then she’s just been slowed down quite a bit–not her normal self. She’s also losing her hearing and has had a few bladder control accidents. She still likes to go for walks, she just only wants to go a little ways and then she’s done.

Clearly just her ordinary joint supplement (she’s on the SmartPak senior plus a half dose of the Wholistic Pet joint now) isn’t enough… I’m guessing maybe she’s having arthritis issues. What have you guys tried for aging and arthritic dogs? I was going to talk to the vet about maybe trying Rimadyl or something like that, but wanted to know about any other options or suggestions to bring up as well.

[SkipHiLad4me]

If you can afford it, I would suggest giving the Adequan shots a try. They can bring a great deal of relief to some dogs and there are realy are no bad side effects from them. The Rimadyl can be tough on the liver and kidneys, as can other NSAID type drugs. When my old girl was having problems with her hips, I wanted to use Rimadyl and general pain meds as a last resort so I asked my vet for Adequan. It DID help her but I can’t fully report on the results since we lost her suddenly to undiagnosed cancer shortly after finishing her round of shots. I believe that some of the discomfort she was experiencing was due to the tumor in her abdomen and not from her arthritis. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the Adequan again though if one of my other dogs was starting to have more problems than a basic joint supplement can help.

[Canaqua]

I second the Adequan suggestion. It has helped our 14 year old ACD mix. I can tell when she’s approaching being due for another injection, because she is grumpier and has less energy and then perks up the day after she has it. Otherwise, we use buffered aspirin on a bad day and Previcox (also expensive) on a really bad day (usually when she overdid it the day before).

It’s much cheaper if you do the injections yourself and, despite how it is labelled, you CAN do it sub-q if you are not comfortable giving IM shots. It’s also cheaper if you can get your vet to write a script so you can order it online. The horse version (same exact drug) is slightly cheaper than the canine version. Still expensive, though.

I’m hesitant to try Rimadyl, because of the potential liver issues. A vet did prescribe if for my young BC mix, after she had her dangly rear dew claws removed. I gave her Denamarin at the same time, which I happened to have in the house to do a previous mushroom eating incident. Denamarin is a liver protectant. I did read somewhere (wish I could find it) that studies have shown that Denamarin can make Rimadyl safer.

[LulaBell]

Our 15 year old Golden Retriever is on Previcox, and it has made a world of difference for her. Christmas 2010, we were thinking that she maybe had a few months left. She started the Previcox that spring and has SO much more energy, more spunk. She still has bad hips and it takes her a long time to stand up, but she still loves to go for short walks and play a bit with the Previcox.

I think our vet suggested it after how hard it was for her to get up (what 15 year old Golden doesn’t have hip issues?) to see if it would make her more comfortable. It’s worked wonders for us!

[HappyTalk]

I have used Rimadyl for years in several of my dogs. I have had no problems. I get blood testing every 6 months just to be safe. I have also tried Adequan, but have had less than stellar results. Talk to your vet and follow their recommendations. :yes:

[2tempe]

If you are looking at just joint supplements, you might want to give Glyco-Flex III a try; I believe SmartPak carries it. I have a 6 yr old chow mix who came to me at 7 months old w/ hip dysplasia; he has been on Glyco-Flex for over 5 years and is doing unbelievably well; I’m sure that moving from the damp and cold Great Lakes area to florida has helped, as has his regular swimming much of the year. G-F gets excellent customer reviews, and the III is specifically for “geriatric” dogs.

The Adequan is an interesting idea also; I believe it helped my old horse for quite a while but the arthritis did catch up w/ him… Rimadyl is really a pain killer, so I would say that IF the dog is in pain or discomfort, then give it a try; There is also a similar drug, DeraMaxx, which some people prefer.

If you’re not sure the dog is in any discomfort, you might want to try a baby asprin for several days and see if there is improvement before committing to an expensive prescription drug. Not sure of the dosing on a Doxxie, but the vet could tell you.

[Guin]

I did the whole Adequan series on my 11-yr old golden ret x last summer, and it did nothing. It was like injecting him with water.

He is now on a combination of rimadyl and tramadol, which helps significantly.

He is also on restricted exercise - half hour or less off leash a day most of the week, maybe 40-45 on one weekend day. We’re starting to think that even that is too much. Restricting the exercise seems to help the most. This summer he couldn’t go on ANY walks for 6 weeks because of a paw injury, and after three weeks of forced inactivity he was able to jump onto our bed again - first time in a year.

Previously we tried Deramaxx, but it upset his stomach. He has seriously degraded hips from dysplasia/arthritis.

Good luck with your dog. Arthritis is a bitch. :no:

[Guin]

@Canaqua;6101035

I’m hesitant to try Rimadyl, because of the potential liver issues.

If your dog is 14 (wow!), I’m surprised you’re worried about that. The liver issues take quite a while to develop. Shadow is 12 and I’m more interested in pain management than eventual liver damage at his age. He’ll have the liver test again in 5 months, but what do we do if there’s some minor reduction of liver function? Take him off the painkillers and leave him so crippled that he can’t stand up or get up a step? :no: It’s an impossible choice.

[BetterOffRed]

I had a friend who’s corgi was on adequan for the last 4 years of her 18 year old life. It really helped her.

[Canaqua]

[QUOTE=Guin;6102387]
If your dog is 14 (wow!), I’m surprised you’re worried about that. The liver issues take quite a while to develop. Shadow is 12 and I’m more interested in pain management than eventual liver damage at his age. He’ll have the liver test again in 5 months, but what do we do if there’s some minor reduction of liver function? Take him off the painkillers and leave him so crippled that he can’t stand up or get up a step? :no: It’s an impossible choice.[/QUOTE]

Yeah. Dale isn’t quite there yet, though. She’s certainly got plenty of arthritis, but she can still do everything she needs and wants to do (get up and down, go for a walk, squat to pee and unsquat, climb stairs, get in and out of the car), …just more slowly and less of it. She’s OK so far on the Adequan and aspirin with the occasional Previcox, so I don’t feel a need to do the rimadyl at this point.

[Nauset]

As long as you get a baseline of liver & kidney function and values are normal and you recheck them every so often, NSAIDS are safe to use. There ARE alternatives to NSAIDS if your dog has liver disease, such as tramadol (an opiod).

I’ve seen adequan work wonders in some dogs, and not make much of a difference as all in others.

Talk to YOUR vet and see what they think you should do.

[SquishTheBunny]

Rimadyl, Previcox,Dermaxx and Metacam are 4 excellent NSAIDs. Pick one and see how it goes. Each dog will respond a little differently to each,but generally they all give great results.

You can also give adequan at the same time. Doesnt work in dogs as well as horses,but some dogs do see results with it.

I would also keep going with a good joint suppliment. I like cosequin, but theres lots out there.

The combination of those three should keep your pup happy - however, dont feel bad about getting a second opinion too. Daxie’s often have back pain that goes undetected by general practitioners.

[SarahandSam]

Thanks for all the ideas, everyone… I just wanted more of a sense of what was out there and experiences with them all to be better prepared to talk to the vet. I do have Metacam right now, which I give her when I know she’s likely to be a bit sore or seems especially off, but I didn’t want to get to the point of giving that every day… good to know some of the pros and cons of the other options. (:

[godiva13]

I also have a dog that is almost 13 years old and has had HD since i got him from rescue at 6 months old. i have kept him lean and we walk every day for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
I have him on a grain free diet and he is on a joint supp.
I used to give him 1/2 rimidyl when he did too much and was sore. About 1 1/12 years ago i started him on the Rimidyl daily per the vet to keep him comfortable. aBout 1 year ago i also started him on Tramadol. He still does the morning walk but we do it slower and i let him tell me when he is done. He is getting stiffer and more sore this winter and im sure the day will come when he cant do the walks.
i know for a fact that if he was not kept lean and exercised daily he would not be here today. He has had his blood work done and it is good . I do not worry too much about the side effects because at his age i would rather have him comfortable on pain meds .If the alternative is to have him here longer but in horrible pain i would opt for a little less time with less pain,

[wendy]

If the dog is experiencing low quality of life due to pain that could easily be managed, manage the pain! Quality of life is far more important than length of life. Worry about remote possibility of liver damage from a painkiller shouldn’t be taken to the extreme such that the dog is in pain that could easily be relieved.
How many of us humans can’t make it through the day without some kind of NSAID? we willingly accept the remote possibility of severe side effects in favor of improving our current quality of life.

Exercise is one of the best things you can do for arthritis, so restricting the activity of an older dog is not a good plan. The best exercise for the arthritic is swimming in warm water, but walking is fine too.

You should be concerned about proper diagnosis- arthritis isn’t the only possible source of pain in the older dog by any means. If the dog has some other cause of the pain that isn’t athritis, then spending money on adequan would be silly; and if the cause of the pain is something else that is treatable, well, you might be missing an easy cure, or possibly doing the entirely wrong thing.

I just-re-read the original OP, and what jumps out doesn’t suggest “arthritis” to me. Arthritis the dog is going to have trouble getting started, but will “work out of” the pain, and after resting from the exercise will once again have trouble “getting started”. If it’s something that gets worse as the dog exercises, or gets better if you rest the dog for a few days, it’s probably not arthritis, it’s probably a tendon/ligament/muscle problem. Arthritis tends to get worse with rest.

[blueboo]

You can also try an asprin a day in her feed.

[vacation1]

My 12ish collie mix is on Deramaxx. It’s a little pricey initially as you have to get blood work done twice (once before starting, and then once after a few weeks? to make sure it’s not doing damage to the liver), but I think it really has helped my dog. There was no dramatic “And now she’s like a puppy!” reaction (I’m always jealous when I hear those stories) but when she got a stomach issue and had to go off it for a few days, you could tell she was hurting - she didn’t want to move. So it does help her.

[lolalola]

I’m scheduled to take my 14.5 year old GSD mix to the vet on Tuesday to be euthanized, although I am going to ask the vet for an evaluation in case she thinks anything else can be done. The past couple of weeks her back legs have just kept failing, resulting in falls. She’s been on Meloxicam for some time, along with joint supps. I didn’t want to use the Rimadyl due to the liver and gastric issues - it’s probably too late at this point. Has anyone seen an old dog come back when they’ve reached the failing back legs stage?

[SquishTheBunny]

Lolalola…so sorry. No, not usually - especially with larger breed dogs when they get weak, they usually dont bounce back very well. Especially if she is already on metacam.

There are custom braces, but usually those are short term fixes for something like a cruciate tear. My old GSD was euthanized because of the same thing - she could barely walk anymore and her quality of life was just not good. We were always thankful for a long happy, healthy life but she wasnt happy sitting in her bed all day.

[vacation1]

[QUOTE=lolalola;6106675]
I’m scheduled to take my 14.5 year old GSD mix to the vet on Tuesday to be euthanized, although I am going to ask the vet for an evaluation in case she thinks anything else can be done. The past couple of weeks her back legs have just kept failing, resulting in falls. She’s been on Meloxicam for some time, along with joint supps. I didn’t want to use the Rimadyl due to the liver and gastric issues - it’s probably too late at this point. Has anyone seen an old dog come back when they’ve reached the failing back legs stage?[/QUOTE]

I’m so sorry. My dog, who is older and has arthritis primarily in her hips, had an episode last spring where she couldn’t get up and stay up. We think she must have splayed when going up or down stairs, and traumatized the area. She could stand, but only shakily, and she’d quickly waver and fall, couldn’t walk more than a few steps. It was heartbreaking. She’d been on Deramaxx already, along with joint supplements. The vet increased her Deramaxx dosage, and we rested her for a few weeks, along with Tramadol for pain. It was a long, slow, careful couple of months; she only went outside to pee/etc. at first. We gradually increased it so we’d walk as far as the nextdoor neighbor, then the next, etc. She recovered very well, with the caveat that as an older dog with arthritis, she’s got less endurance and will trip or lose her footing sometimes. We use baby gates for stairs now, and I accompany her up/down any neccessary steps, because she will splay sometimes.

I hope the above helps. Personally, I would need 2 vet visits for this - one to evaluate the situation and one, if neccessary, for euthanization. It’s just too much pressure to go in hoping and have to deal with grief/decision-making if the vet says it’s not feasible. My heart goes out to you.