My black lab is 12 and has arthritis and nerve damage in his back legs. Ive had him on med for arthritis and recently added a pain killer due to the problem progressing. Sadly i e had to take him off both because he had a bad reaction to the pain killer and the arthritis med doesnt really work anymore so i may not continue with that.
His walking is really bad. Leans his right side on anything near him to keep weight off it and has quit going up stairs.
CBD oil was suggested as a last ditch suggestion to see if it would help.
From what little ive heard that it helps with pain but would not actually help with the arthritis and nerve issue.
Need people who ha e administered to their dogs to chime in.
Thanks
Im heart broken about having to put my dog to sleep but he is in so much pain
Sounds like it might be worth a try. CBD seems to show some promise as an anti-inflammatory. How's his weight?
I just reached out to my ex wife who is a vet tech for her opinion.
Medically, I would think a good round of steroids might kick the arthritis down to start. Oral steroids are less effective on arthritis than injections, but it might be worth a try. There is an OTC human NSAID (ibuprofen maybe?) that also works for dogs.
Will report back.
Ok. I was wrong... no OTC pain meds for dogs.
Springtime Inc does a product that she uses for older dogs that works wonderfully. I think it's called Longevity. My pittie is 13 and shows zero signs of aging. Not sure if its the supplement or if she's just naturally doing fine, but it worked very well for our (now deceased) 15 year old Frenchie. She showed remarkable improvement in one week. She couldn't jump in the car before, but she could after.
https://www.springtimeinc.com/product/longevity/Natural-Dog-Supplements
They have other supplements for joint help but I haven't tried them.
I use CBD oil myself, and it's worked wonders for my aches and pains. My mother has also had very good results using CBD products.
That said, I was giving my (now deceased) elderly dog CBD oil towards the end of his days. It may have helped a bit, but it's hard to know---- Dogs can't tell you if they are in pain very well--- and they can't tell you if something is slightly better either.
It's worth a try--- as it won't hurt your pooch, but it may not help much either.
I've never had any luck with glucosamine (which is popular) , but some claim it works for their animals.
As Curtis said----steroids will help....a lot, but it's a temporary solution. After a bit of time, the steroids wear off, and the dog will lose mobility again. Also, many of the "end of life" steroids are pretty powerful, and will hurt the kidneys and liver if taken too long. These are usually administered as the dog is on the way out. I know that was the case with my guy.
Keep him as comfy as possible and enjoy the time you have left with him.
Tried the glucosamine with no real change. He was on galiprant and did seem to improve but only for a short period of time.
The vet did mention injections but said it was a temp fix so i didnt try.
Im going to run out tonight and pick up some cbd oil. At this point its totally worth a shot. I joined a fb group for animal use of cbd oil and some had positive results.
Thanks guys!
Ive had great luck with knox gelatin helping with dogs arthritis
I encounter this scenario almost daily.
Helping elderly dogs maintain their quality of life is my favorite thing to do as a veterinarian.
First, as Curtis noted, there are no OTC pain medications for dogs. Ibuprofen is extremely toxic in dogs.
Second, I practice something called multimodal pain control. I may have a dog on as many as four different drugs.
Because they have different modes of action, they block pain in different ways. My guess is, it's possible for your dog to still be comfortable. I would recommend using a specialist, if that's an option.
In Veterinary Medicine, orthopedic pain is dealt with by the surgeon. This doesn't mean your dog needs to be a surgical candidate, I quite doubt that he would be. We just want him to be comfortable. That should be possible.
Link to my favorite website for information for pet owners
In reply to ThatsNoUsername :
How do you give it to them?
