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winnietrey's avatar
winnietrey
Explorer
Jan 31, 2019

another question for Dr Doug

Hey Doc:

Thank you, for all the kind help, you have given, kind of trust you more than our home town vet.

Question is this, 14 plus year old lab, knees are shot, he is very stiff. It's got to hurt

I am wondering the pros and cons of buying an OTC dog Aspirin, vs the Rx stuff ( nsaid)

Your professional advise as always greatly appreciated, or anything you could add would be much appreciated
  • BCSnob wrote:
    Like other drugs, CBD oil effectiveness can vary with individuals. It did not work for one of our arthritic dogs.

    Very true but there is also a huge difference in CBD oil. If it was bargain priced CBD from Amazon that might have been the issue. Quality CBD is not cheap.
  • I used Carprofen for my Collie, it gave him more time and quality of life.
  • winnietrey wrote:
    Thanks Doc, 2 questions

    1) any difference between dog and people aspirin?
    2) rx daily dose for 75lbs 14 year old lab? if we go with people aspirin?


    It's my understanding that when giving aspirin to dogs it's important to use buffered aspirin. NOT enteric coated aspirin. Or at least that's what a vet told me years ago. Enteric coated aspirin is designed for a human's digestive tract and will often prevent aspirin from being absorbed properly by a dog. Bufferin use to be a widely available brand of buffered aspirin, but I haven't seen it in years. I think Walgreen's carries a store brand of buffered aspirin.

    With my vet's blessing I sometimes use aspirin for short term pain relief. For longer term pain relief I've always given my dogs something like carprofen or tramadol.
  • Like other drugs, CBD oil effectiveness can vary with individuals. It did not work for one of our arthritic dogs.
  • You might try the vet. Tramadol made a huge improvement with my old Standard Poodle. She lived to be almost seventeen and her arthritis made her so stiff she didn’t want to walk around the yard.

    3-5 Tramadols spaced out over the day and she was much more mobile.
  • Thanks Doc, 2 questions

    1) any difference between dog and people aspirin?
    2) rx daily dose for 75lbs 14 year old lab? if we go with people aspirin?
  • Aspirin can be used in dogs (not so much in cats) but the same side effects that people are warned about can happen. The prescription nsaids are more expensive, but I've found their efficacy is enough better to justify the cost (especially the generics) if you can afford them. They just work better than aspirin. Of course, Aspirin is better than doing nothing.

    Doug, DVM

    PS make sure it's aspirin, NOT acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
  • “kind of trust you more than our home town vet.”

    No offense to Dr. Doug, but what? You trust a person on the internet who you have never met and may not exist more than a guy or gal living and working in your community, licensed by your state and almost always available to you?

    Of course Dr. Doug doesn’t expect payment for advice while your hometown vet does. Could that be it?