My old golden retriever (11+) has begun limping on one hind leg. The vet did full x-rays but can’t find the cause, he doesn’t believe it is her ligaments/joints and her hips look great. He guesses it may be a problem in her spine, even though the limping started suddenly after she did a “crazy run” around the yard several months ago. I’m taking her to an orthopedist next week for second opinion. Although her activity is curtailed, she still enjoys short walks.
She is currently taking carprofen (Rimadyl) but it doesn’t seem to help a lot. The vet also put her on gabapentin, which also doesn’t seem to help much. I can’t find any controlled studies that show a benefit of gabapentin, though it has been used for pain in humans. In the past she has been prescribed Tramadol, but several sources claim that dogs don’t metabolize this drug efficiently and a few clinical trials suggest it does not mitigate pain in dogs. I’m going to ask the orthopedist about putting her on a low dose of prednisone, which has helped her in the past.
Are there other pain relievers for dogs that work well?
I have only ever used the Rimadyl and the Tramadol. My dog that had a disc problem did run a course of steroids.
The limping does not sound like the following. I have included it for general awareness:
Have they ruled out a UTI? A lot of those behaviors can mimic a spinal issue. A couple of years ago I could have sworn her disc issue was acting up but the vet had just been to a conference that emphasized the need to rule out UTI. Sure enough, that was it.
Interesting! UTI never crossed my mind. I will ask them to test for that next week. Was the disc problem apparent on an x-ray, or did the need to do a different type of imaging? I’m a little worried because the practice I will visit has both a CT and MRI on site.
When I get home I’ll check what pain meds my older dog is on. They seem to help.
Did they check for an ACL tear? My previous dog was a lab and he tore his in a “crazy run.”
I have a yellow lab that woke up one day to severe limping on a front leg. I rushed him to a vet hospital, thinking he had a bone break. It turned out to be a mild herniated disc. Instead of surgery, the vet recommended a course of prednisone, which really did the trick. There have been a couple of mild recurrences, which I have treated with a three day course of prednisone. You do need to monitor their liver when on it though. Now, he is very arthritic in his hind legs, and I give him CBD oil every night. What a difference that makes! It’s wonderful.
How do they test for ACL tears? The vet said he manipulated her leg and didn’t think that was it.
She is probably too old for any kind of surgery so I’m hoping we can keep her comfortable on medication. A friend offered CBD oil but I haven’t heard of using it for dogs, sounds like it’s worth a try.
My dog’s disc problem was evident from a regular old fashioned x ray. We had to stop playing frisbee and catch with her because she is the type to make big jumps and dramatic rolls as she would catch the toy.
Our sweet Thumper had arthritis and took one baby aspirin per day for many years. Thankfully, that’s all he seemed to need to take the edge off of his pain.
We gave a baby aspirin every other day to our lab, for the last 2.5 years of her life. It was cheap, and effective. It was suggested by our vet, as she told us there were other more expensive options if this didn’t help.
Thank you for the aspirin endorsements, I will definitely ask about that too.
I have given my dogs hemp chews and it helps them relax
Novox is what I give my older dog. It’s a pain med and anti-inflammatory.
My dog is doing great on CBD oil. We buy it at the pet store. I would not hesitate to try it