Rimadyl dose

[Anthony99]

Hi !! Avlon has had issues with her rear left leg / knee. Two yrs ago after xrays and a drawer test they found nothing but some arthritis and maybe a slight tear. She was given Rimadyl (100mg 2x a day) and it worked great for the 10 days she was on it. Two weeks ago after chasing a rabbit in the yard, she started getting really stiff after getting up - until like the 7th step she took, til her knee loosened up.

Vet said no way is it a full blown ACl or anything else b/c of the way she barreled into the exam room. Vet took blood work (to get a baseline) gave her Rimadyl and it worked great again. A week after the Rimadyl wore off she is back to being a "little" stiff. She is 9.5 yrs old and weighs 130lbs, but is 29inches at the shoulder. She is lean for her height.

Vet thinks Rimadyl is a good option to treat her arthritis. If we were going to try (she has no side effects) what would be the lowest dose to give her per day? We were thinking to start at 100 mg a day and see what results we get. If good, maybe then try 50mg a day? I know all the horror stories related to Rimadyl, but it has worked for her in the past and the vet will be monitoring her blood every 3 months.

Comments are appreciated.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

No advice on Rimadyl as that causes Maggie to have stomach issues.

We use meloxicam and it has worked very very well for 4 years. We are able to give her a half dose now. It's also on the $4 list at walmart so very affordable. We give a half tablet daily.

For history, she has an un-repaired CCL tear on one side (happened years before we got her), and a partial on the other side.

 

[Angela]

Personally I would ask to switch to Meloxican which is 'kinder' on the liver. If you continue Rimadyl then regular liver blood tests should be done.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

To me it was a trial and error on Deramaxx. Per the sheet that comes with a factory bottle, it said 1 to 2mg per Kg of dog. The Vets prescribed 100 mg. The instructions say you should use the lowest dose too. Snuffles is about 67Kg, so I tried 100 every 2 days at first, and I also tried 50 a day before I knew the dosing level. So now he is on a 75mg pill, but have doubled it for short term things like after his surgery and after the CCL rupture. 2 to 4mg/Kg is OK for up to like 7 days.

 

[Jeff in Ottawa]

I have to echo Leonard's experience with Deramaxx. Black and White both were on it for a few years and tolerated it well. I also have to concur with Leonard about the dosage. White was about 150 pounds and took 75 mg per day (dosage of 1.1 mg/kg) and Black was about 175 pounds and took 100 mg per day (about 1.25 mg/kg). Toward the end we added gabapentin and something else (that I can't remember) as well.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

I'd give the golden paste a try for a few weeks and see if that makes a noticeable difference before going the rimadyl path Myra is on rimadyl

 

[NinaA]

My vet will not give rimadyl. She says that giant dogs have too many issues with it, and I would agree, and none that I have ever had have been able to take it for any length of time. Moonlight takes tramadol along with a Pepcid for her stomach for months at a time. I also have discovered that I can get a prescription filled at the grocery much cheaper and she does well on a lower than expected dosage. So. . .