Rimadyl - Long term use?

[stardogs]

It would be odd for a young dog to be put on rimadyl long term for something that could be fixed, like a luxating patella, ime. Has your vet mentioned any other treatment options?

All the people I know with dogs that have patella issues have said their vets recommend surgery sooner rather than later to avoid arthritic changes - if she's already in pain then it sounds like you might want to explore all of your options before just taking the rimadyl. Perhaps even a second opinion?

[MericoX]

The vet didn't mention anything about else, the only thing was that it was very mild and only slipped "some". I honestly really didn't think to ask, because she didn't bring it up, and to try the Rimadyl and see if that worked. Kiba's 7.5, so no young thing, but quite a few years ahead I want to keep her as sound as possible.

Thank you everyone for your help!

[stardogs]

A little slip shouldn't be causing pain though, so I wonder what else might be going on. I have a friend who has a couple of dogs with structural issues that they compensate for, but rather than using drugs, she's been able to treat with supplements and regular chiropractic care to help put things back in the right place - might be worth looking into for Kiba, too.

[SizzleDog]

My vet (and several other vets I know) use Duralactin instead of Rimadyl if they can. It's good stuff - actually has been through clinical studies, no Rx needed, fairly inexpensive.

http://www.duralactin.com/

[MericoX]

Originally Posted by stardogs

A little slip shouldn't be causing pain though, so I wonder what else might be going on. I have a friend who has a couple of dogs with structural issues that they compensate for, but rather than using drugs, she's been able to treat with supplements and regular chiropractic care to help put things back in the right place - might be worth looking into for Kiba, too.

Yeah and this has only come up within the last few months. The only big thing that changed was we haven't done any agility since June and she's finally thinned down to a healthy weight.

[stardogs]

If you just started up with agility again I'd worry about a pulled muscle or other overuse injury. At minimum she needs to be pulled from agility until this is resolved - even though she's not painful when on meds, further strenuous activity could leave lasting damage.

If I were in your shoes I'd be getting a second opinion.

[MericoX]

Originally Posted by stardogs

If you just started up with agility again I'd worry about a pulled muscle or other overuse injury. At minimum she needs to be pulled from agility until this is resolved - even though she's not painful when on meds, further strenuous activity could leave lasting damage.

If I were in your shoes I'd be getting a second opinion.

We haven't done agility since June.

[stardogs]

Oh - I thought it sounded like you might've just started back at it recently after a hiatus.

[Taqroy]

Originally Posted by Saeleofu

Oh I meant to mention earlier, Gavroche can't do Rimadyl. He gets diarrhea and just looks out of it when he takes it.

Interesting. Murphy looks tweaked out when he takes it and he gets scary aggressive. I've only had him on it twice (once was not on purpose) and both times he got in a fight. My vet says that he is the only dog she's ever heard of that gets aggressive on it though so I guess he's the 1%.

[Barb04]

When I had to give it to one of my dogs, the vet had me give her the herbal pill "Milk Thistle" to help prevent damage to her organs. He was the one vet we had that believed in holistic medicine along with traditional.