I’ve come once again to the well of knowledge that is the SDMB for to quench my thirst. Our dog Buddy has hurt his leg with a fairly good scape on the right fore leg. Additionally, he has a history of a problem with a tendon that runs over the knee cap of the rear leg. It seem he has inflamed both today and is hobbling enough to break a much harder heart than mine.
We know the cause of the rear leg and only costly surgery of time to out-grow it are our options. The fore leg is a superficial injury but painful all the same.
My question: do dog owners here have any experience with their own dogs in the short term use of aspirin or of NSAIDS that I have been reading about? I know long term use of some meds cause stomach and liver problems but that does not seem to be the case here.
Any tips on household OTC or prescribed human meds that are safe and effective in smaller and less frequent doses for a 50 lb. dog of approx. 2 years? Any relief for our pup will be greatly appreciated.
Nic
NSAIDs, including aspirin, are a very problematic class of drugs for dogs; vets treating problems like Buddy’s generally prescribe NSAIDs that have been developed especially for dogs. Even these have problems, but usually only after long-term treatment. AFAIK, no NSAIDS are safe for dogs in human dosages. My dog was given Deramaxx for a problem with his “knees,” but eventually he had to have surgery.
My vet noticed a few months ago that my then one year old dog had very painful front knees (due to how his legs and feet are positioned). He’s pretty much guaranteed to develop arthritis eventually. According to the vet the only possible “cure” is major surgery to the joints to clear out the scar tissue, and it won’t be permanent.
In order to stave off all of this as long as possible, he put him on Dasuquin in order to lubricate the joints. Surprisingly enough, Duncan actually likes the taste, and even though we didn’t think that he had been giving any signs of pain before, he visibly improved right away. He’s gone from merely tugging really hard, to being able to almost pull me over when he’s tugging really hard.
I don’t know if it’s appropriate for your dog’s situation with their rear leg, but it might be worth asking the vet.
Thank you all. Buddy is doing better and we have a vet visit coming up and I will bring our concerns and your ideas up to her at that time.
Mods, please feel free to close this thread
No. Ibuprophen is outright toxic, and the other NSAIDS are problematic and require monitoring. There really isn’t anything over the counter that you can use without a vet first looking at your dog.
A heating pad (Not Icy Hot or any of the other rub-on salves), cage rest, keeping his weight under control. Keep the scrape clean. Those are pretty much the only things you can do at home.
Stressing weight control. In DJD it does wonders to help decrease the pain, wear, and tear. And seconding the comments about the meds.
As a PSA: Do not give your dog human pain medications. If you want to give the dog pain medications, consult the vet. If the first drug that the doc recommends is too expensive, ask him/her if there is a generic or if there is another drug available, but do not go and use OTC or other human drugs.
Very true Karl, but our dog IS prescribed human meds by our vet. He takes tramadol for pain and Previcox for the dysplasia.
PS- only the tramadol is human dope- and don’t think I didn’t think about it the last time I had a migraine…
Lovely tramadol reminds me of my surgery rotation. The dogs must’ve loved me, I didn’t want to open their jaws, and they liked treats, so three times a day I gave them meatballs with dope. 
But as you said, it was given to your dog under a vet’s supervision (and it is not uncommon to give). Not obtained OTC or used from the leftovers of human meds.
Psst…IME, Tramadol does squat for headaches and menstrual cramps. I take it at night for pain unrelated to those two conditions.