# Dog Question



## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

My senior husky seems to be having a problem with his hip. We are pretty sure he has arthritis. We give him a supplement to help with this. Last evening he started acting really bad. He seems to be in a lot of pain when moving the hip at all. Getting in and out of the doggie door is a problem. I gave him an aspirin to help with the pain. He does get those neck pinches where he's in horrible pain for about 48 hours. I treat this with a couple of aspirin and it goes away. I spoke to the vet about it and he said I was doing the right thing. Do you think the hip is like the neck in that I need to handle the pain and it will ease up? Any info is appreciated. I'm going to give him another aspirin and keep an eye on him. I have a feeling when my mom wakes up she'll want to take him to the vet. I don't mind taking him in but I hate to if there's nothing that the vet can do.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

My dog is on Tramadol, Gabapentin, T-relief arnica 12 and T-relief arthritis. She gets prednisone when she is bad. Plus she gets fish oil and Dasuquin. Her arthritis is very bad. Sounds like you need to go to the next level of pain management.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

That Tramadol sounds like some hefty stuff.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

This is a flareup. He's never been this bad with hip pain before. 

What is the dosage on the T-Relief?


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I have two senior dogs, the female began with hip arthritis about two years ago. It is imperative for her to have anti-inflammatories every day to avoid the type of painful flare-ups your dogs is having. We tried to avoid daily medication for a while, but now I see that it is hugely beneficial to her. She still gets stiffness, but the flare-ups are greatly minimized.

Our dog is on Carprofen (generic Rimadyl) twice daily. We tried Tramadol and it didn't work for her. She is also on daily Cosequin and Fish Oil supplements. 

I highly recommend speaking to your dr. about this option - our dog is so much more comfortable now! Beware that the Carprofen causes an increased appetite for the first week or so (very obvious in our gal!) and also that they can start feeling rambunctious the first few weeks due to the decreased pain!

We purchase Carprofen through Valley Vet online, that is the least expensive option we have found.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

P.S. we also splurged on an orthopedic foam dog bed for our gal and it seems to make it much easier for her! Costco has the absolute best value. We tried a plain foam bed, but the pets all greatly prefer this style with the "pillow-top" over the foam!


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

I spoke to the farm vet and they gave me a prescription of generic Rimadyl which will be here tomorrow. If this is just a once in a great while flare up, I don't want to do a daily but if this is going to be a regular thing then I will go see the dog vet about it. Is there routine testing associated with going on Rimadyl?

Rex does get supplements for his hips.

I'm wondering if the T-relief arthritus would be an option for him as he is usually not bad. An 11.5 year old husky is prone to arthritis, so I do need to do something long term.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

the forum is block my link for the dog bed, if you go to Costco.com and search Kirkland Dog Bed, you will find the pillowtop orthopedic bed.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

My dog has blood testing to check liver levels before being put on Carprofen full time.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

I guess if I bought the memory foam dog bed someone would end up using it. I have a hard time getting Rex to sleep on anything I put down (blankets, sleeping bags). I think it's a temperature thing. He's a husky stuck in Florida. He was a stray we took in. No, I wouldn't intentionally get a husky in Florida. I'll have to look into the bed.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You would want to do both T-relief supplements. One pill up to 3 times per day. The tramadol is not a big deal. My dog didn't respond to rimadyl. You also have to be very careful with other drugs/supplements with rimadyl. Definitely no nsaids.

It can take a lot to figure out the right combination of drugs. I take Jasmine to an integrative vet specialist. That is why I have the combination of regular drugs and herbal supplements. It has taken a huge effort on my part and emailing the vet on a regular basis to keep the right combination. But Jasmine is much worse than your dog sounds.

Jasmine also gets goat milk daily. Not sure that it helps with pain but it sure helps her stomach.


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## CrazyDogLady (Aug 9, 2014)

I have a 15 year old dachshund on Rimadyl, he's been on it a couple of years. It really helps, and he has annual blood work to check his liver.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

I prefer to stay away from the chemicals as much as possible. I have no choice with the Rimadyl right now though. He can't even make it up steps. I wonder if the T-reliefs would work to stop another one from happening.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You can try it. My Jasmine would have to be put down if I took her off the regular meds. She needs the full combination to be out of pain and move. But it all comes down to working with the vet and figuring out the right combination of everything.


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## Chopsgoats (Aug 20, 2013)

Tramadol works great but is tough on the kidneys, we started 6 months ago with laser therapy at our vet and within weeks were able to take her off medication. It has really been a miracle for us


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

The meds should be here in another few hours. I really hope FedEx is early today. Most times I could care less but today, I need them to move their butts.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Fingers crossed that the Rimadyl brings your pal some relief! Like I said, be ready for him to be begging and drooling for food the first week or two - the hunger in my dog was unreal for a usually not food-motivated dog! I indulged her as much as possible but without putting any weight on her as extra pounds are the worst enemy of arthritic joints.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Finally got here and I gave him a dose. He fought me but I got them down him. Then trotted off upset with me. Let's hope he's more himself shortly.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

I use canned dog food to avoid the fight. I taught her to eat a spoonful of can food off a spoon and now slip the pill in it! I slip the spoon in her mouth and kinda drag it out along her canine tooth on the way out so the whole "chunk" of food goes in at once and she swallows it!


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

It seems to have worked. He's feeling and acting better. I usually wrap things in lunch meat or cheese but this time he really just didn't want to eat anything. Fingers crossed and we'll see how he is tomorrow. If he needs to stay on this, I'll take him to the vet on Tuesday. That should give him enough time to be able to get into the car without hurting him or me.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

The vet has put him on the meds. I did buy him an orthopedic bed. Of course, he refuses to use it. lol The other dogs think it's pretty comfortable and we shoo them out of it.


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