My dog is an 11 year old male Rottweiler. He has hip dysplasia at his right back leg ever since he was 5 months. Now he suffers a lot more, even cannot walk sometimes. He refuses to climb stairs, he is having hard times standing up and staying up. I started to give him human painkiller, Etol-fort as medicine once a day but it doesn't help him. What should I do?
Responses (4)
Most of the time our vet would say to use children meds, but check with the vet. Also, nobody likes to say this, but 11 years is about average for a dog, so you might want to start looking into terminal options. We had to do this for our dalmation we had for 11 years.
You can give a dog one buffered baby asprin. Asprin can upset their stomach but they make dog asprins that you can buy over the counter. The dog asprins are given by weight...about one asprin for every 15 pounds your dog weights. They won't upset their stomachs.
Aspirin may cause birth defects, so it should not be given to pregnant animals.1
Aspirin also interacts with several other drugs, particularly cortisones, digoxin, some antibiotics, Phenobarbital, and Furosemide(Lasix®).2
Check with your veterinarian about what is going on with your pet and what would be the best drug for the problem.
Newer and better drugs are now available for dogs and cats.
Canine NSAID drugs such as Rimadyl, Deramaxx®, and Previcox may be good alternatives to aspirin for canine arthritis.
Glucosamine/chondroitin supplements, such as Cosequin, are another aid for arthritic pets and may be used alone or with NSAIDs or other therapies.
As always, please see your veterinarian to have your pet evaluated for pain, overall health (and bloodwork to check liver and kidneys, if indicated) prior to using these medications.
If you suspect that your pet has gotten into a poison or overdosed, call your veterinarian or national hotlines, such as ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. or Pet Poison Helpline.