Advil is the least safe of the three drugs to give your dog. Stick with the baby aspirin or buffered aspirin until you can talk to your vet. Even aspirin can cause ulcers so any symptoms shouldn't be ignored.

Absolutely do NOT give the dog Advil/ibuprofen- it is extremely ulcergenic and trust me you don't want to deal with a dog with a stomach that has been blown apart (I've dealt with 2 too many, due to cancer, but same result). I know some people do it occasionally, but I've seen way too many deaths to consider it safe. You'd be better off with buffered aspirin. Call the vet and ask for a dose. Tylenol is not orally absorbed by dogs, so it wouldn't do any good.

Here's a link about IB & pets

Here is a link that might be useful: Aspca

My orthopedic vet recommends Ascripton, it is coated with Maalox, I give my dog one pill a day.

No tylenols/advils/ibuprofens under any name. Baby aspirin or one half a regular aspirin tablet for a Sheltie size dog. I give my 70 lb 11 y.o. an occasional aspirin when he's stiff after a good run. Every few months he might wake up with a stiff neck and the aspirin does the trick. If and when he begins to show more frequent symptoms of arthritis then it's time to get them to the vet for prolonged relief.
I wrap the tablet in a bit of cheese and he doesn't know.

Thanks for all the great advice! It's good to know that a baby aspirin should help until I can get her evaluated. Actually, when she got up this morning, she was able to put weight on it again. She is big for a Sheltie, 38 lbs. but the Vet says shes not fat. I do have both my dogs on Senior food w/glucosamine and reduced fat mix. They both get daily excercise and do well considering their ages 8+ and 10+. When they get hurt or appear to be in pain, I hurt. (I'm sure you all understand)
Thanks again!

I have to tell you, I had my 14 and 12 yr old dogs (dane lab and akita mix)on bufferin and glucosimine, I found the Mangosteen juice had helped me and my mom so much with anti inflamority and pian problems that I tried it with my dogs. I was at the point of considering having to put the 14 yr old dane lab mix down because he could hardly get up to go outside, after a week he was out trying to chase squirels. This has definatly saved his life, you just cant have a 110 lb dog that cannot go outside. The 59 lb akita has degenerative joint disease and on some days could barley walk, she is ornery though so she would still make it outside, last week she busted out the front door screen and ran 1/8 mile down the road after a rabbit. (scarry)has no respect for cars. But I got her home ok. I swear by this stuff!
Lisa

coated asprin, buffered asprin, and regular asprin...

Coated (enteric) asprin
My understanding is that coated asprin is not absorbed very well by the dog's shorter digestive tract. I give our dogs regular asprin, not enteric coated asprin.

buffered asprin
Dogs tend to do slightly better with buffered asprin than unbuffered.

regular asprin
In my personal experience, my dogs have done fine with occasional doses of regular uncoated, unbuffered asprin. Our 90 lb arthritic Labrador would take 1 or 2 325mg tablets and show obvious relief.

I've found a natural product for dogs and cats instead of ibuprofen. Mangosteen is useful in the treatment of arthritis, acid dyspepsia, fibromylagia, moderate asthma, otitis externa and eczema. In addition to its antioxidant effects - Mangosteen is at least as effective as most pharmacological agents as far as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties are concerned. I can send you a brochure so you can read about using it on pets (allergies, dermatitis, arthritis, seizures, etc).

My parents 6 yr old sheltie is having rear hip problems. Will be doing xrays soon. Vet thinks it is more than likely arthritis (I hope, must be better than hip dysplaysia???) Where do u get ur Mangosteen from? How can u tell a high quailty mangosteen product versus a poor one? Do you use the liquid or Pill form? Would like to give this a try for him!! Thanks

Give your dog some ST Josephs asprin for children or Ascripton. If your dog will sit still long enough you can put an ice pack on her leg too.

HELP!!!

i had NO IDEA that ibuprofen was toxic to dogs!! my dog has had a UTI for days and he has been uncomfortable so i gave him Infant Ibuprofen (liquid) the lowest dose, twice a day for the past 6 days!!!

Is he going to be ok?? He is only ten pounds!!

Do you know what signs I should look for if he is having any kind of kidney or liver problems? he seems fine and i have, of course, thrown away the ibuprofen.

i am a nervous wreck! any advice would be so appreciated! thank you so much!

I have an idea. Call your vet for both issues?

NO MOTRIN, IBUPROFEN, ADVIL. BAD FOR DOGS.

A recent large study showed conclusively that glucosamine/condriton is worthless for arthritis/ pain in animals...the only reason your pet seems better after weeks on it is because of the natural ebb and flow of pain....if you really want to help your pet call your Vet for advice on type of aspirin and dosage that is right for your pet....

I give my dog vet prescribed Deramaxx. He's a 14 year old very active Border Collie but was beginning to fall over occasionally, couldn't manage stairs very well if at all had trouble getting up, trouble laying down etc. I highly highly highly recommend it. It's been a Godsend for him, he's got some energy back, he can laydown and get up now, not perfect, he can manage carpet stairs againn though not hardwood stairs etc.
It's a very low dose he takes once a day and while per pill it seems expensive he only takes 1/4 of a pill per day which is permissable, the pills can be halved or quartered so 20 pills last me 80 days.
Have had no side effects
The manufacturer was offering a free 7 pill (28 days) offer last year, ask your vet. Here's the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Prescription Deramaxx for dogs

I misread your original post. Deramaxx is not for occasional bouts of pain. It's for chronic arthritis in dogs and must be given on a daily basis to alleviate arthritis pain.

Use ascripton or st josephs asprin for children. It sounds like your dog could be suffering from a muscle strain or tear or arthritis. I suggest you contact your vet by the middle of the week if the symptoms in your dog do not lessen with the asprins.

I just read that someone said that there was "one" study that suggested that glucosamine/condriton is worthless to dogs. That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Glucosamine/condriton and MSM have saved years of my dog's life. He is a 100lb. pure blooded German Wirehair with hip displaysia, after one dose of glucosamine/condriton and MSM from Natures Sunshine he showed extreme improvement AND my vet recommended it because there are no side affects. I'm doubling the dose I'm giving him every day because of the great improvement in his mobility and attitude (he's ten years old). I would recommend it daily for all senior dogs as well as something I just found called Missing Link for Dogs (you can get it on Amazon) it's a powder that is fed daily and I'm giving it to all three of my dogs and have see energy and movement improvements.

Yeah tarahlynn, we give our 12 year old Lab Glycoflex (which contains Glucosamine) as per vet recommendation, and it has given her a new lease of life. She showed dramatic improvement within a week! Putting the improvement down to the natural ebb and flow of pain is quite frankly bs... since putting our dog on Glycoflex, she has been able to jump things she never used to, and is more keen to play- it is definately not a temporary thing either, she has been this way now for over a year.

I have been givng my 14 year old husky rimadyl (also known as novox) for months. It helped tremendously for her arthritis.
The bummer is that I believe it caused her to go deaf. She began shaking her head right after I put her on it probably due to tinitus. She did the head shaking for weeks after taking the meds (I had no Idea the meds were probably causing her ears to ring)
She stopped the head shaking after she was completely deaf and only then did I make the connection between the drug and the cause of her going deaf.
Now that she is deaf and did not recover after I stopped giving her the drug, I have decided to start her back on rimadyl the benefit at this point outweighs the risks. Since she is not recovering her hearing I figure she may as well be comfortable.
If I knew to look for the signs causing her to go deaf (shaking her head) I would have stopped administering the drug. Having a deaf dog is harder than it sounds and a bummer for sure.

Ototoxicity is not one of the adverse effects of Rimadyl, or any non-steroidals that I am aware of. However, any aged dog is likely to go deaf acutely and a good percentage are already deaf by age 1. So it is much more likely your dog went deaf from an age-effect and degenerative neurologic disease, rather than some bizarre effect of Rimadyl. It is sad that dogs go deaf when they age, but I am not aware of anything that can be done to prevent it.

It is Saturday afternoon. My vet is closed. My dog started shaking uncontrollably. I finally gave her 1/2 tablet of ibuprofen. She has finally laid down to sleep and is resting...and breathing comfortably. I hope that I haven't hurt her. I read that some say kidney failure. My question is if she has just had it this one time. She is 12 and has never had ibuprofen, ever! This is the first time. She has never been sick...well just a few times to her stomach over her life. But nothing major! I hope I didn't hurt her....

Use aspirin next time!! I had a doctor client who thought he would use something 'safe' on his older arthritic dog and was shocked an amazed when I informed him he had killed his dog with Ibuprofen. Just because it is relatively safe for people does NOT necessarily translate into it being safe for dogs or cats. One dose can do serious damage, even kill if you give a large dose to a small dog, but I hope, depending on your dog's weight, there is a good chance it will live through the experience... but don't push it and ever do it again!!! The sort of pain Ibuprofen would help is never as bad as dying is.

I gave my dog a quarter pill of ibuprophen (he's 20 pounds) three times a day with food for 2 days and it seemed to help with his pain. When I told my vet, however, he flipped out and told me to rush the dog in for liver and kidney tests. The tests showed an elevation in one of the enzymes - nothing life-threatening but he was emphatic that I don't do that again. Instead he prescribed Rimadyl, 25mg to take once a day.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT give a dog ibuprofen!!!! I gave my dog the infant formula for 3 days n it killed her!!!!!! It caused liver failure and can kill them in very small doses!!! Please don't risk it!!! It is not worth it!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank u all for the advice! This is my first dog & she hurt her leg running to hard... I only hd ibuprofen in the house & cracked it in half to help with the pain but I will never hive her ibuprofen again!!! Thanks so much!!!

From careful reading of what I've found on the Web, Ibuprofen is only slightly more dangerous--if at all--than Carprofen (Rimadyl). That doesn't mean it's safe. Use the lowest dose that makes your dog feel better, and don't use it for extended periods of time. I can't help but suspect that the more panicked statements about ibuprofen in dogs originate from companies for whom Carprofen is a cash cow.

The correct dose in dogs is 2.5 to 4 mg per pound (5 to 8 mg/kg) every 12 hours. I've used the lower end of that range once a day with good effect on my dog's tendon issue.

Here are some useful Links:

http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/ibuprofen-motrin-advil-etc/page1.aspx

http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/05/rimadyl-relief-for-swollen-wallet.html

Remember, MOST drugs have some danger associated with them.

you might do MORE careful reading then... visit VIN.com if you want to see the veterinary discussions of Ibuprofen, or talk to one of the toxicologists at the ASPCA poison control center... I am an emergency vet and we see plenty of poisonings with Ibuprofen (as I mentioned above some time back, I had a doctor client kill his two dogs with it). I have personally seen several dozen fairly serious ibuprofen toxicities in dogs (actually not had a client yet give it to their cat that I know of). And I do not have that many clients that give ibuprofen to their dogs.. on the other hand, I have literally seen thousands and thousands of dogs on Rimadyl (and a few cats here and there) and as of yet, not a single confirmed case of toxicity from the drug in my personal experience (I know there have been some in the literature, and hundreds of 'anecdotal' poisonings on line). Some dogs will vomit now and then, though no way to know if it has anything to do with the Rimadyl as I see a LOT of vomiting dogs that vomit for all sorts of reasons that are not on NSAIDS... either way, we always stop our patients from taking NSAIDs where there is any suggestion of toxicity, and we strongly recommend monitoring blood work regularly for those pets on it long term, or who have other health issues.

Most veterinary texts state that there is NO 'correct' dose for Ibuprofen in a dog or cat as it is very dangerous at any dose (some old texts may list it but most of those are quite out of date - more is being learned all the time about drugs and their side effects). Perhaps you ran across one of those old published dosages.

It certainly is true that most drugs have potential dangers, and using them without knowing what the proper dose is is really taking some risks. Also, taking drugs when unnecessary is also not wise.

I enjoyed one of the first posts on this string in which the person specifically said, "don't give your dog Tylenal." The original post said nothing about Tylenol or the active ingredient in Tylenol.

Another thing: Sheesh...is the world THAT full of unneeded advice givers? One person asked one question & people can't wait to post their advice....even though fifteen others have already advised this poor soul. I just thought it was humorous.

My Rottie suffered from a hip injury and I would give her half a 200mg dose of ibuprofen every day. After 2 days she was jumping around and running just like when she was a pup. The relief it gave her was amazing. If you have a smaller dog I would suggest to give them 1/3 of a 200mg pill

I noticed that several people suggested to give a dog Asprin for joint pain. I am really confused now because the American kennel Club just sent out a list of poisons for dogs to avoid and Asprin is on this list.

Aspirin, and all NSAIDs, can cause problems to dogs and people alike when they are given regularly over a period of time. It can build up and interfere with the blood's clotting ability. Giving aspirin to a dog over several days for an injury is unlikely to cause a problem. However for a chronic problem like arthritis, your dog can develop bleeding stomach ulcers if aspirin is given continuously.

I usually try to take some time off the drug at intervals to prevent this happening, to sort of let the body re-set, then resume treatment for a couple weeks. My old collie in the 1980s was on one aspirin twice daily for the last few years of his life, and my old pony took bute for her last years, and neither had a reaction, but taking a week off the drugs for one week out of 3 will lessen the possibility.

A lot of lists of supposed poisons are highly misleading. For instance I've seen lists that include salt as a toxic substance. This is ridiculous as salt is an essential mineral for all living beings. Too much of anything can harm you, even water.

Any dog may have a bad reaction to aspirin but it is far more likely to cause problems if given continuously.

Aspirin is dangerous to CATS and should never be given to a cat. Cats are highly sensitive to NSAIDs. (There is a new NSAID pain killer on the market that was just approved for cats.)

Not all NSAIDs are equal, either in us or in animals. Aspirin, for example, despite what some state above, is relatively safe for short term use in both dogs and cats (yes, cats, too). However, you have to know the dose! Cats detoxify aspirin very slowly, so one 81mg tab is good for up to three days in your average 10lb cat. Giving aspirin to a cat 2-4x a day as we might treat ourselves will quickly cause toxic problems and could result in death. Dogs can take the proper does of aspirin several times a day, but each dog has its own sensitivity to aspirin (can say that almost about any drug, actually).

On the other hand, as I have already explained above, Ibuprofen and Naprosen are particularly toxic to cats (one dose can kill sometimes) and though Naprosen can sometimes be given to dogs very cautiously (I would never recommend it though), there is no safe dose for Ibuprofen in a dog. Yet meloxicam, a common NSAID used in people, can be given to both dogs and cats, though there is very little room for error with either species (have to get the dose right). Cats still sometimes react poorly to meloxicam. There are some much safer products for dogs than those listed, and I would stick to those. The new one for cats, Onsior, is still too new for me to say its safe... but the few times I have used it went well.

my 8 y.o pit has been having leg problems and my family and i have been giving her advil for a while now. only once a day every 2-3 days or so and she's fine. she hasn't had any bad symptoms of any sort. so i don't if i should keep giving it to her

Might want to stop before she does have bad symptoms. .very toxic stuff. Aspirin is MUCH safer.

Don't ever give your dogs human painkillers without consulting with your vet first! They can be toxic and extremely dangerous for dogs. Besides there are so many painkillers and anti-inflammatories on the market that are especially for dogs. Why don't you look into them before just giving your dog a human advil? Also if your dog is limping, it could be a sign of a torn ACL and that's a serious issue that needs to be treated and looked at by a medical professional! If you just give your dog a pain killer and try to mask the pain, what you may very well end up doing is making the problem worse and creating further complications down the line.

My dog tore her ACL and it was a long recovery process (without surgery). We give her this Inflamex all natural anti-inflammatory for dogs from the online store ortocanis and we also use their knee brace for dogs, during her recovery as well as after she recovered to give her that added bit of stability to her knee.

While doing your research into products for dogs if they're experimenting pain and mobility problems is a good way to go, nothing is going to to substitute the opinion and diagnosis of your vet. That's where you really need to start.

"Ibuprofen can be used in dogs."

No pet owner should do so without direction from their Vet. The Merck Vet Manual, kind of the bible, makes this abundantly clear!

For chrissake. Before you follow dangerous internet quackery, talk to your Vet!

Beware of people that do not have any uppercase or punctuation keys.

Those of you that are giving your dogs ibuprofen are insane. And whoever recommended searching the internet for ibuprofen dosage is equally crazy.

SPEAK TO YOUR VETS people, you're killing your animals.

HU-106844468 You again plagiarize an article (From PetMed) and do not attribute the source. You ought to be banned from the internet and can likely cause serious damage to our pets.

PLAGIARIZED Content from PetMed

HU-106844468 you are more annoying that a buzzing mosquito!!

My poor Sonny has been in pain for several days. He’s a dauchand and he has back issues. Not eating well or drinking water. I gave him a small piece of ibuprofen and he within 24 hours died. I am feeling so guilty and sad. He was my dog, so devoted to me. 11 years old. Hard day today, like loosing part of my family. My heart hurts! Don't give ibuprofen. I believe I killed my Sonny.

Ibuprofen is Lethal to animals ...PLEEEEEEEASE don’t risk your pet’s life so save a few bucks on a Vet...