What Can I Give My Dog For Pain? Therapy, Medicine and Supplements
Feeling pain in your body is another thing, but seeing your innocent little pupper in pain is a whole different type of pain you feel. It is in your instinct to do something about it as soon as possible.
If you are a first time pet owner, then going to the vet immediately is the best option, but if this is not your first rodeo, then you know exactly the type of pain meds you should give.
But consider the possibility that the nearest vet to your home is still quite ar, so in the meantime, the question what can I give my dog for pain?
So there are certain remedies and pain meds you can give to your dog. In this article, you are going to find out the type of meds for pain relief for dogs.
Signs To Know When Your Dog Is In Pain
The first question that should arise in your mind is how to recognize if your dog is in pain or not. Since they can’t talk, then how will you know? To help you understand, there are certain signs to let you know that your dog is in pain.
- Looking uncomfortable.
- Crying, whimpering, howling, or groaning.
- Distracted easily or restless.
- Rubbing, licking, chewing, and biting surgery areas or wounds.
- Not moving parts or all of the body.
- Not responding when they are called.
- Not interacting with other people.
- Droopy ears, also looking worried (arched eyebrows and shifty eyes).
- Growling, pulling away, flinching, biting, whimpering, or crying when they are touched.
- Shifting their weight and or limping to certain areas to protect it.
- Sleeping more than they usually do.
- Hunched posture.
- Lethargic.
- Trembling or shaking usually.
After knowing all these signs, you need to understand that these signs usually indicate certain fears and illnesses rather than usual body pain. So whenever you see any of these signs, the best and immediate action you can take is to consult your vet.
What Can I Give My Dog For Pain? Are Human Meds Safe?
In general instances, there are some human medicines that can be given to dogs and other animals, such medicines like thyroid or heart medicines and even antibiotics.
Although these medications are safe for animals like dogs, the dosages for humans and dogs are quite different. So before you give the medication to your dog, it is important to know the exact dosage, or else it can be harmful to the dog.
When it comes to the most popular human medication that can be given to dogs are,
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- Ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin)
- Naproxen (Aleve)
Pain Meds For Dogs
It is already known that your dog can experience pain, but their way of showing it is different. The first course of action should be to take them to the vet for a checkup.
But the question arises what can I give my dog for pain? Then to answer that question, there are a few types of options you can opt for. The types of options are listed down below.
1. Over The Counter
There are many types of over-the-counter pain meds that you can give to your dog. But it is important to know that you should not give any OTC pain meds to your dog without consulting your vet.
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- Aspirin
- Naproxen(Aleve)
- Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil)
2. NSAIDs
NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are great for pain relief and reducing any type of swelling. These are prescription drugs are great for pain like injury, arthritis, and surgery recovery.
- Carprofen (Vetprofen, Rimadyl, Novox)
- Firocoxib (Previcox)
- Meloxicam (Metacam)
- Deracoxib (Deramaxx)
- Grapiprant (Glliprant)
3. Opioids
To control pain before and after surgeries, opioids are used with anesthesia. The drug is then injected into the body.
But opioid is only good as long as the surgery recovery process. An opioid is not used for a long-term purpose but only for a short-term purpose.
- Morphine, Oxymorphone, Hydromorphone
- Buprenorphine
- Butorphanol
- Fentanyl
- Tramadol
4. Other Prescription Drugs
If your dog is suffering from such illness like convulsions or vomiting, then the below-mentioned drugs are great to treat these illnesses.
- Gabapentine
- Maropitant (Cerenia)
Natural Pain Relief For Dogs
When it comes to the question of what can I give my dogs for pain, then chemical pain medications might not be the one you wanna give to your dog.
But then, if you wanna give your dog natural pain medication, then you might look into a few of these natural pain meds as alternatives.
• CBD
In a mild dosage, CBD can be really helpful for your dog’s arthritis, but it also depends on the brand of CBD oil you are giving to your dog.
• Joint Supplements
Something like glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, then your dog’s joint pain can decrease lubricating and inflammation of joints. These supplements go along great with NSAIDs and any other pain medications.
• Herbs
Certain herbs like arnica and turmeric have certain pain relief qualities, but they should only be used under the supervision of your veterinarian.
How To Comfort Your Dog In Pain?
Other than just giving your dog medications, there are certain ways you help your dog to get momentary relief from the pain. To know these ways, then keep on reading this article.
1. Manage Your Pet’s Weight
Relief of excessive pressure on joints to any risk in case of concurrent diseases like heart disease or diabetes mellitus.
Consult with your vet to create a new modified diet chart and a light exercise routine so that your pet can slowly achieve these goals over time.
2. Get Your Pet Moving
In the case of body or muscular pain, there are certain ways and exercises that are quite helpful when it comes to relieving pain from your dog’s body and muscles.
These exercises are swim therapy, daily walks, and more low-impact exercises that will help the muscles and body of your dog move and help their body get relief from the pain. The exercise would help your dog get used to a new exercise routine.
3. Make Modifications To Your Home
You can make your dog move around the house easily with certain things like grip socks, carpet runners, and dog boots. Assess any doggy doors or difficult areas to get up, like stairs.
There are ramps or certain accesses that are easier for your dog, both safe and comfortable. With some pets really excel with elevated food or water bowl, this is great if your dog has neck pain or any kind of joint pain.
What Can I Give My Dog For Pain? Alternative To Pain Meds
If you are not inclined towards giving your dog strong pain medication, seeing that your dog’s pain is not serious, then pain medicines might not be the best thing to do right now.
So as for any other alternative method to pain medications. Then if you wanna know more about these alternatives, then your dog might find these other techniques quite helpful. Still, it is preferable that you provide your dog with proper medications only after consulting a physician. Otherwise, things can get really serious for your pooch.
- Acupuncture.
- Laser Therapy.
- Chiropractics.
- Physical Rehabilitation.
- Underwater Treadmill Rehabilitation.
- Massage.
- Passive Range Of Motion.
- Therapeutic Ultrasound.
- Neuromuscular Stimulation.
Painkiller Poisoning And How To Treat It?
Just like human beings, dogs can also suffer from painkiller overdose or poisoning. This is a hugely risky situation that needs to be dealt carefully. Even the smallest overshooting of Tylenol or acetaminophen, a popular painkiller, can cause total organ failure in your dog. This might sound too drastic, but dogs do not have natural enzymes that can detoxify or eliminate drugs from their system. Therefore, handling painkiller poisoning in dogs is a very complicated ordeal.
Symptoms Of Painkiller Poisoning
Painkiller poisoning is a serious issue for dog owners. However, this happens mostly unintentionally. Mostly, the painkillers for dogs are flavored in a way that makes them delectable for dogs. Therefore, if these painkillers are kept in an accessible space, then there is a chance that your dog might have gotten to these pills. So it is seminal that you need to understand the symptoms effectively. Like for example:
Vomiting
Lethargy
Abdominal Pain
Loss of appetite
Excessive salivation
Lack of general coordination
Blood in the urine.
Diagnosis And Treatment
In order to diagnose the painkiller poisoning, you need to go through your dog’s medical history extensively. This would help you understand the symptoms they might demonstrate. However, in order to diagnose accurately, you need to take your dog to the vet. Only a vet can identify the true cause precisely.
If you take your dog to the vet at this point, he or she would recommend some blood-tests. Since painkillers are fast as well as slow acting, this initial test will act as a base reference point. This would enable the vet to proceed effectively.
The reason why it is important for you to know the symptoms, so that you can convey the message to the vet effectively. After which the vet would decide the way to proceed. the most common way to proceed in such cases is to make the dog vomit. However, do not try to make your dog vomit using home remedies. this can inflict more damage to your dog than you could comprehend. These sort of mishaps only occur due to some negligence and are definitely not intentional. However, the best way to prevent such mishap is to keep the pills and medications far from the reach of your dogs and other pets.
Wrapping Up!
Now that you have got the answer to your question, what can I give my dog for pain? Then now, you can decide on the type of pain medications you want to give to your dog for pain relief.
You should also know that there are particular drugs for particular pain medications, so give your dog a particular drug to relieve them from pain.
So if you liked this article, then give it a like and comment down below what is your choice of pain medicines that you give to your dog.
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