My dog is suffering from arthritis very bad today, due to the weather. Is there anything . .?
I саn dο tο relieve hіѕ pain before I take hіm tο thе vet οn Monday. Hе іѕ 18lbs.
Yes, I аm giving hіm a glucosamine/MSM tablets crushed іn hіѕ food everyday ѕіnсе June. I hаνе nοt noticed much οf a dіffеrеnсе bυt I keep giving іt tο hіm.
Keep your heater on for him,and get a heating pad/blanket for him to lay on.
You can give him dog aspirin relative to his size. They sell this at petsmart petco etc. Otherwise a 1/4 of a baby aspirin.
What are you currently doing to help with his arthritis?
Is he taking a good glucosamine/MSM supplement daily? Fish oil daily? At this age, I would think he would need a prescription NSAID as well.
Because he is 18 and is likely at that age to have other health issues, all you can do is to keep him warm and on soft surfaces. Do not give any OTC human meds without a vet’s OK.
ETA: I see you are getting a lot of advice to give aspirin. DON’T do it without a vet’s OK.
A bit of chamomile (but no tea), a *tiny* bit of marijuana (for a dog that size, literally just a pinch), and all the celery (a natural anti-inflammatory) he’ll eat. Also, keep him warm. If you have a heating pad, put it over his hips. In general, glucosamine chondroitin, green-lipped mussel extract, and fish oil all help arthritis… but they’ll take a few weeks to build up in his system enough to help, which obviously isn’t gonna help between now and Monday (but if you don’t already, I’d definitely suggest GC and fish oil, at least).
Otherwise, don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine, and you can get a Metacam (or something similar) prescription on Monday… he’ll be OK until then, if a bit uncomfortable.
EDIT: to the person above… those take time, and she said 18 POUNDS, not 18 years.
EDIT again: Please don’t give your dog any aspirin. It rips apart their stomach lining, and should only be used in emergencies (same emergencies you’d give a human a dose for). There are NSAID meds (such as Metacam) which are designed to not have the negative effect on stomach lining. Also, odd about the thumbs down considering I’m the only person who gave several practical treatments and accurate info. Ha!
Your vet can prescribe the proper dosage of aspirin if he should have it, and will have stronger pain medications if needed. He should be allowed to move about, if he’s in a crate on a heat pad he could overheat, burn, and stiffen up. If you use a heat pad, wrap a blanket around it and let him go to it, don’t put it under a dog crate. He could get quite a lot of relief from glucosamine, but he would need to be on it for up to 6 weeks before he has noticable relief, and then stay on it for life if it’s helping, it’s not a quick fix, but has helped many dogs and people. Distraction helps not only people, but dogs also, if he has a marrow bone or a kong toy you can shove canned dog food or peanut butter if it is safe around your family into the hole and he’ll spend hours with his teeth and tongue working it out of the hole, you may not find relief for him today, but you might be able to keep him busy so he doesn’t notice it as much. Your vet when he’s open will have medications to help ease his pain.
Ensure he has a soft bed in a warm draught-free place, don’t make him have to climb things unless necessary. It is generally thought that it is a bad idea to give a dog any Aspirin even though half a child’s dose would not harm him if he doesn’t already have internal bleeding and if it is like just once a day to help him get some sleep. Your vet will prescribe something more suitable, but should also do blood tests before starting him on something like Metacam which may worsen pre-exisiting kidney or liver problems
Arthritis is an inflammation in a joint. It gets worse over time, and may begin as simple morning stiffness and progress to lameness and swollen, painful joints. The good news is that while arthritis is incurable, treatment can make your dog feel a whole lot better.
Check these links for more info.
http://dogtime.com/arthritis.html
http://dogtime.com/arthritis-in-dogs-aaha.html
http://dogtime.com/dog-arthritis-phil-zeltzman.html