I've used aspirin in a pinch until I can get other meds from the vet. Aspirin helps, but some animals can have a negative reaction.........and just as it does in humans, it can cause stomach problems.
Most drugs used on animals 'are' human medications and have been compounded so that they can be safely administered to animals. Even then, some pets do not tolerate the meds well.

I've used benadryl for years after having my vets recommend it.

Neosporin, hydrogen peroxide and moisturizing eye drops are others that I've used.

My dog takes Benadryl for allergies. He only weighs 21 pounds, but my vet told me that dogs have a very high tolerance for it and that he could take up to the same dosage I would take. I only give him one children's chewable twice a day, though, and that pretty much controls it.

For arthritis, you could look at glucosomine and chondroitin supplements for dogs. This lubricates their joints.

A good source for products and information is www.drsfostersmith.com. This site is run by veterinarians and there is much health info there. There are several articles on both allergies and arthritis. Also, the vets used to have certain times that people could call and talk to them and have their questions answered. I'm not sure if they still do this, but you could check their site.

There are a number of human meds I give the animals, but ONLY under veterinary direction and ONLY at the dose prescribed by my vet for the specific animal in need.

Laurie

I was always told never to give dogs a Tylenol or Advil. Bufferin was okay as well as Ascripton so long as your pet is not on a drug such as Deramaxx. You need to be off the Deramaxx 24 hrs. before administering Bufferin or Ascripton. I also have given Imodium and Pepto for diarrhea - new vet says no but have given many times in past and worked well. I have 3 labs who seem to always get into something they shouldn't no matter how careful we are. If the problem persists of course the pet needs to be seen by a professional. I know Benedryl is widely used as well. I would agree that if you haven't used human meds for your pets before, always consult your vet and follow his/her directions.

We were told we could give a baby aspirin for pain to our 14 year old Brittany.

For those of you with older dogs who have arthritis or problems with joints, I would like to suggest you ask your vet about Meta-Cam. It is a "dog" medicine, not human. We had our Brittany on it for about a year and a half. She went from not wanting to move around and having problems with squatting, not barking to running the length of our fence once again, jumping into HER recliner to sleep, and barking again like a puppy! We were so glad to have some of those bad behaviors back again cause we really didn't know how much pain she was in. It is a liquid that you squirt on their food or give directly into the mouth. Fairly expensive but well worth considering.

Our neighbor who raises Old English Bulldogs got it from his vet and had similiar results.

Even better is that the improvement is almost immediate. With in a day, we saw signs of less pain. We felt so bad that we didn't know how much she was suffering. We feel it gave Chelsea another year of quality life. When we lost her it was due to a tumor and she suffered alot that last week. Wish I could have found another miracle medicine for that.

I have a bottle of liver flavored doggie aspirin that the dogs will eat without having to disguise the pill.

My vet told me its okay to put Neosporin on a dog's skin

Most drugs we use on animals ARE human meds. Some exceptions are parasiticides, heartworm prevention, things specific to animal diseases. There are very few drugs developed for the sole purpose of use in animals, and most of them are developed for dogs and cats. There is not one drug labeled for use in ferrets for example. Yet we Rx drugs for ferrets all the time.

Benadryl is often used to help animals with alleriges. Again, there are not any allergy drugs specific for animals, so we HAVE to use human drugs. If you have any questions about the dose or effects, the vet is the person to ask. But I can say that benadryl is exremely well-tolerated in animals, even with long-term use. To save money just ask for the dose of whatever drug you need and shop around. You have to be careful with things like allergy drugs and make sure you purchase products that are ONLY antihistamines, nothing with a degongestant, or you will have one excitable dog with a heck of a tachycadia. But the stuff the vet sells you is just generic benadryl (diphenhydramine) and s/he may be able to sell it for less than a drug store.

I give my dogs glucosamine/chondroitin now. When B'Elanna had hepatitis she got Sam-e and milk thistle on recommendation from the vet; both are OTC. I've never given a dog aspirin of any kind, because of its problems with GI ulceration; I prefer the Rx drugs for long-term use (using Rimadyl on K'Ehleyr now). BTW, Rimadyl was developed for people, but humans had too many reactions so it got sent to the veterinary market. I've given my allergic dogs chlorpheniramine and diphenhydramine. Aleks needed antacids when he was sick- Tagament/cimetidine, and a proton-pump inhibitor -Pepcid. Tatya got a couple doses of Immodium when she had soy-induced diarrhea (won't make THAT mistake again!).

If your vet asks what drugs you give your pet, tell him or her everything about everything that isn't food. All the supplements, vitamins, OTC products, EVERYTHING! There are many OTC products that cause serious interactions with other drugs.

BTW- if you are using aspirin on a regular basis in your dog and want to switch to an NSAID, the withdrawl time for the aspirin is 2 weeks! That means no pain control for 2 weeks while switching over. Also ANY NSAID (Rx or OTC) plus steroid= GI ulcer, I'd put money on that. So PLEASE tell your vet about ALL the drugs you give your pet, especially when the vet is going to Rx more drugs. S/he might need a reminder to avoid bad interactions.

We give one of our dogs aspirin and benedryl occasionally. Also neosporin. We only give these after the recommendation of our vet. I wouldn't give them anything without the vets ok. Some human drugs will kill dogs.

We have separate bottles of aspirin and benedryl (they are children's formula) and we wrote "FOR DOGS" on them so we won't have a mistake.

-renee

I swear by the "Little Tummys" baby anti-gas and anti-nausea formulas. Also use children's liquid Benadryl (with a dropper) - came in handy for a bee sting. And Pepto Bismol for diarrhea. Dog hates the smell of that but I "paint" it on his gums with my finger and he has to lick it down.

I too keep Benadryl on hand for bee stings. We had a bee problem one year.

I tried pepto once. Pink stuff slung all over the kitchen. LOL