So recently my husband and I moved across country to be close to his parents, and while we've been looking for a place we've been staying at theirs. They still have my husbands childhood dog, so he is very old. The vet said he has arthritis, and he pants very hard when he breathes. The vet thought it might be because of the pain. He has a very hard time walking and bending his legs and he lays down almost all day.

The vet prescribed him tramadol and he was supposed to get it every 8 hours, but my in laws noticed he had become very lethargic so they stopped giving it to him all together, their logic being that's no way to live (personally I think living in severe and debilitating pain is no way to live, but that may just be me). I ended up convincing them to give him meds at night, and to let me do it as I had found his meds on the ground a few times(we have a 1 year old daughter so that scared the living daylights out of me). Sometimes if it seems like he's having a bad day I'll sneak him more.

Anyway, I just feel awful about all the pain he's in. I have severe fibromyalgia so I have a keener sense of when he's in pain than everyone else, and it's a lot. I was wondering if there is anything else I can do for him. Is there a kind of doggie massage that helps relieve arthritic pain? Any advice would be appreciated.

As a whole Tramadol is a pretty good pain reliever, but he may need something like Deramaxx or Rimadyl they are a little more expensive, and can have adverse reactions on other body systems, mainly stomach and liver. These may not be options for him but worth discussing with the vet.
There are others but if you don't feel that he is getting the pain relief he needs I would talk to his vet.
Things like Glucosamine and Chondroitin may also be helpful to him they don't reverse any damage and do nothing for pain relief, they are simply supplements to help lubricate the joints which may make things a little easier on him.
Discuss this with the vet also he may even carry joint supplements at the clinic.
If I think of anything else I'll post it for you.

You could also try looking into Adequan. It works much faster than the Gluclosamine supplements and helps with pain by lubricating the joints as well.

I'll talk to my inlaws about it, but I'm not sure how well it will go. They don't like spending extra money on him and, especially my mother in law, try to avoid all his problems in hopes they'll just "go away". It's truly awful. If my husband and I had any money other than literally the bare minimum we'd get it ourselves but we don't. I need to bring up with them that they need to take him to the vet again anyway because he's almost out of his meds. Thanks for the advice!

I'll talk to my inlaws about it, but I'm not sure how well it will go. They don't like spending extra money on him and, especially my mother in law, try to avoid all his problems in hopes they'll just "go away". It's truly awful. If my husband and I had any money other than literally the bare minimum we'd get it ourselves but we don't. I need to bring up with them that they need to take him to the vet again anyways because he's almost out of his meds. Thanks for the advice!


I have a very large (both tall and wide) GSD. She has arthritis, is "only" 7, has a TERRIBLE reaction to Tramadol. She gets very, very lethargic and unsteady on her feet. I can give her half, but I still don't like what I see after I give it to her.

She also pants and pants, sort of like not getting enough oxygen or being overheated.

I'm haunted because I gave Tramadol to my other dog, a Gordon Setter (and I wrote a blog about her) the day she suffered the heart attack and died. What was fated to be was fated to be - but I always wonder if there is/was a connection.

I also was stunned by the cost of both Tramadol and Deramaxx.

I have a very large (both tall and wide) GSD. She has arthritis, is "only" 7, has a TERRIBLE reaction to Tramadol. She gets very, very lethargic and unsteady on her feet. I can give her half, but I still don't like what I see after I give it to her.

She also pants and pants, sort of like not getting enough oxygen or being overheated.

I'm haunted because I gave Tramadol to my other dog, a Gordon Setter (and I wrote a blog about her) the day she suffered the heart attack and died. What was fated to be was fated to be - but I always wonder if there is/was a connection.

I also was stunned by the cost of both Tramadol and Deramaxx.

Yes some are quite expensive, which is why I came back to this particular question, an afterthought.
Meloxicam is now used widely in veterinary medicine, it is an NSAID so it still carries the same risks- GI upset/liver/stomach ulcers- but my SO is on it for his back pain and it is on his pharmacies ever popular $4 list.
If the vet would be willing to write a prescription for an outside pharmacy it would be much more cost effective, I don't see how anyone could object to that.
And the lethargy would not be an issue.
So given the dogs' medical history, the vet may wish to run lab work before hand to check liver and kidney values,(not only for this med but for others also) but this is good information to have I would definitely have it done (better safe than sorry)
It may be an option that everyone can live with.
I'm not implying that this is a magic bullet, but perhaps between your concern and his vets knowledge all can come to a workable conclusion that makes him a little more comfortable and you a little more at ease with his painful condition.

So bottom line discuss with vet different meds, joint supplements, make sure he/she knows that cost is an issue, but I would not skimp on the lab work if suggested, giving some meds without knowing the internal organs are working properly can be dangerous.
Good luck with this I hope he is up and getting around better soon.

Yes some are quite expensive, which is why I came back to this particular question, an afterthought.
Meloxicam is now used widely in veterinary medicine, it is an NSAID so it still carries the same risks- GI upset/liver/stomach ulcers- but my SO is on it for his back pain and it is on his pharmacies ever popular $4 list.
If the vet would be willing to write a prescription for an outside pharmacy it would be much more cost effective, I don't see how anyone could object to that.


I'm going to ask about Meloxicam.

I believe you know my late husband was a Pharmacist, had his Doctorate, taught. He was a very quiet man, never raised his voice, very calm (or else people who drop off prescriptions to be filled would drive you crazy, or so he said) BUT our Vet REFUSED to give him a prescription for our dog and stated that he bought, dispensed the medication himself, that was the only way he was 100% positive what the dog was taking. My husband actually raised (and then some) his voice and that was the end of that Vet. (There is actually a course which "translates" dog dosage to people dosage, and my husband taught it.)

We found a second Vet and heard the same story.

The third and present Vet has no problem - and, I, of course, still have "pharmacy" connections.

I do understand the profit Vets make on medications - but this would be the same as your Doctor prescribing and filling the prescription. It's a straight, full on money maker and I would question what is necessary and what is not.

So - people may need to try other Vets in order to get a prescription.

Yep, I've seen both ends of that too, we carry and dispense many medications at our clinic.
But for the most part the Vets will write prescription so that clients can save a little in order to care for their pet, especially when money is an issue for them.
In my opinion it is just good customer service to offer that when people need it, but you are absolutely right some flat refuse. It's a disservice not to offer it, not only to the client but mostly to the pet who needs the meds. That's how I look at it, if it is good for the pet, it is good for the owner and in turn is good for the clinic.
That's why I included "if the vet would be willing to write a prescription" because all are not.
As for being 100% sure, I can't see that when the medications are the same whether they are for humans or animals, I've never gotten the wrong med from a pharmacy.

The vet I work for scripts pet meds through human pharmacies. She has no issues doing it either. And.. If the human pharm won't do it, I live about an hr from a pet pharmacy.

As a whole Tramadol is a pretty good pain reliever, but he may need something like Deramaxx or Rimadyl they are a little more expensive, and can have adverse reactions on other body systems, mainly stomach and liver. These may not be options for him but worth discussing with the vet.
There are others but if you don't feel that he is getting the pain relief he needs I would talk to his vet.
Things like Glucosamine and Chondroitin may also be helpful to him they don't reverse any damage and do nothing for pain relief, they are simply supplements to help lubricate the joints which may make things a little easier on him.
Discuss this with the vet also he may even carry joint supplements at the clinic.
If I think of anything else I'll post it for you.
Glucosamine/condroitine is an excellent suggestion to give the old fella better mobility. I have always given it as a supplement to my old pals and I take it too! Much cheaper at the drugstore in the vitamin section and is given by weight.