Advil for arthritis?

Dr. Marie replied:

There are no over the counter anti-inflammatories that are really safe to use in dogs. The products that you get from a vet are much safer and much more effective.

Before we had good, safe anti-inflammatories we would sometimes prescribe aspirin for arthritis. But dogs can get a number of side effects on aspirin including:

• Vomiting


• Stomach ulcers


• Kidney damage


• Bleeding problems

While some dogs do fine on aspirin, some dogs can have serious side effects that can even be life threatening.

Advil is not recommended for dogs as it is very hard on their kidneys.

Some dogs can take tylenol but it doesn't tend to work very well. Tylenol can be hard on a dog's liver as well.

Dogs can have glucosamine for arthritis. You can buy this without a prescription. But, no one regulates how much glucosamine is actually in a bottle of glucosamine. This means that some of the less expensive types of glucosamine are really not very effective.

In my experience Glucosamine is not as effective as non-steroidal drugs like Metacam, Rimadyl, Deramaxx, or Previcox.

I always recommend a vet visit for dogs with suspected arthritis. Sometimes what we think is arthritis pain is actually something else!

Dr. Marie.

---This question was asked in our Ask A Vet For Free section.---


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