Philosophically, we can't see paying big medical bills for pets while children go without in our community. Is there a less expensive route for Doggy arthritis than prescription meds? Does anyone use ibuprofen from walmart on their dogs?

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), August 27, 2001

Answers

Dear Ann. Ibuprofen Is not good for dogs, hurts there liver, I have a old hound dog, And the vet told me to start him on one capsul of Glucosamine Sulfate, Found at your wall mart vit. dept. Spring Valley 1000mg. You will be really surprized how fast they feel better, I take for my aches and pains. and I am 71, Hope this helps. Irene

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), August 27, 2001.

Are you going to take that money you save on your dog and use it to help the children in your community who are "going without"? In our town there are organizations to help children like that but the only one who is going to help your dog is you. If you visit the library and get a book(like "The Pill book)you will learn the generic names of meds and you can then go to a pharmacy and get those. Know that some meds for people, as mentioned above, are harmful to dogs, cats etc., so be careful there. Your Vet will most likely be glad to tell you the generic of the RX he would recommend for your dogs condition( mine does). Has your dog been X Rayed so that you do know that it is Arthritis? Sometimes you need something for pain and an antinflamatory. Also if it's an Aspirin type med it will need to be buffered so it won't cause damage to the stomache. When you pay for meds at the Vet you are paying for more than just medication. Just some thoughts on the subject. :)

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), August 27, 2001.

Don't give ibuprofen (as in previous answer) also known as Motrin or Tylenol....toxic to the liver. My old dog is on Glucosamine sulfate as well. ( I am too for my arthritis!)He weighs 65 pounds and gets 500mg a day. I give him the same as I take, in his food. On really cold days or if he has a lot of exercise, I also give him a buffered or enteric coated aspirin. Another thing I have done is to take a small stool/bench and cut holes in it to hold his water and food bowls at shoulder height. Easier for him to eat and now he doesn't make such a mess. I never leave him out for more than 20 minutes at a time on cold days as he gets lame quick. All just common sense.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), August 27, 2001.

To clarify my above rsponse, Ibuprofen is generic name of MOTRIN. Acetiminophen is the generic name for TYLENOL.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), August 27, 2001.

Yes, Little Quacker, we give ALL that we can--a HIGH percentage of what we make to charity and more imporantly--ALOT of time. We do support local animal shelters and purchase our pets from them when possible. Our pets are all fixed and they are kept current on innoculations. They are well loved and properly exercised and fed on a regular basis. But we live on a farm and are often in a position to take care of many other pets/animals that other people "throw away" on our property. We cannot justify the expense and do not euthanize as other farmers would.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), August 27, 2001.

research - Feverfew

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), August 27, 2001.

We also not only use Gucosomine, chondroiton and MSM on dogs, but on our oldest goats and I use it myself. They get the livestock powedered version from unitedequinevet.com I take the Wallmart vairety. I would give you dog the people dose of the drugs, grind them up, get yourself a motor and pestil from the mexican section of any store, add some peanut butter, spread on bread and they think its a treat! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), August 27, 2001.

Hi a friend of ours uses the chondroiton on her old lab and it has done wonders for the poor old dog! Good Luck,we too are animal lovers but like you can't afford big medical bills for the dog!Be careful of the tylenol,uncertain as to motrin use.

-- Julie (nelson3@bright.net), August 27, 2001.

We had an mix breed dog. Got her as a pump and she was around for 16 or so years. In her last few years she had a hard time getting around. Arthritis. Vet said nothing could be done. My sister decided to start putting bengay on the dog. And while the dog smelled she was able to move around a better. My sister applied bengay or similar heat rubs to the dog for a couple of years until other ailments forced us to put her to sleep.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), August 27, 2001.

We were advised by our vet to give one of our cats 1/2 a baby aspirin every other day for arthritis. Should work for your dog but I would check with your vet first.

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), August 27, 2001.

Plain, or even better, the enteric coated aspirin, given according to childs weight amounts, is safe to use in dogs. Like people, do not give on an empty stomach.

Our country vet swears by glucosamine, MSM, vit. C, and magnesium given in combination, I think Cosamine or something like that is the name brand, but these can be given separate bought from Wal-mart and the like much cheaper.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), August 27, 2001.

MSM works great for arthritis, not only for animals but for humans also. Just be sure to use the real pure stuff.....pharmaceutical grade.

-- Ed (Hobotacoma@yahoo.com), August 28, 2001.

You can do more harm than good giving aspirin, ibuprofen, etc., on a regular basis to a dog.

Yucca works just as well as Chondroitin/Glucosamine and is a lot less costly. It's available in feed stores. Jeffers has 100% yucca (from Sher-Mar Enterprises) ~ one pound for $11.95. A dog gets less than 1/2 teaspoon/day.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), August 29, 2001.

Just so you know, most better quality dog foods now come with glucosimen and condrotin already in it, especially for the Senior dog. It does seem to be more expensive, but if you compair how much you need to satisfy your dog, it is equal (most supermarket foods have alot of fillers in them) I gave my dog 1 baby asprin a day with no problem. When she got worse, it was upped to 2 with still no problem.

-- Dee in NJ (gdgtur@goes.com), September 01, 2001.