What are some signs and symptoms of pain in your dog, and how quickly should I bring my dog in if I'm noticing these signs and symptoms?
Well, you may see several behavioral changes at home with your dog when they are in pain. Things such as changes in appetite, vocalization, sometimes barking, whining, crying. Often, the dog will bite at the area of their body that is painful or bothersome to them, so if you're noticing any of these changes in your dog, I'd recommend that you give us a call right away.
Are human pain pills like Tylenol or Advil okay to give my dog if I'm noticing these?
Now, I never recommend giving over-the-counter medications to your dog. While some over-the-counter human medications can be safely administered to your dog, most of the time, an owner will not know which medications are safe and which dosage will be appropriate for their dog. So I never recommend giving an over-the-counter aspirin or Tylenol, any over-the-counter medication. But if you have questions about those medications, you can give us a call, and we'd be glad to give you some guidance about them.
What kind of medications do you prescribe as a veterinarian to help treat pain?
So in dogs, we have a wide range of medications that are available to help us treat pain problems in dogs, ranging from what we call non-steroidal medications, to ibuprofen-like drugs, but they are the dog version of that. So again, giving over-the-counter medications to your dog is not advised, but we do have the dog-appropriate medication that we can give. We also have injectable medications that can be used either for short-term use or long-term use for managing pain, as well as prescription strength medications like gabapentin, which are commonly used to treat pain in dogs.
How will you as a veterinarian help me manage my dog's chronic pain? What does that look like?
I think the answer to that question depends on the dog's chronic pain situation. Chronic pain can be caused by lower back problems or not even lower, just back problems. Chronic pain can be caused by orthopedic disease that's not related to the spine, or even cancer and/or dental disease. There are just so many different variations of varieties of problems that can cause pain in dogs, so I think the answer to how is it going to be managed is really dependent upon what the source of the pain is coming from. There is not one medication that is used to treat all kinds of pain.
Where is the best place for me to get pain medication for my dog? Do I get it from you as my veterinarian? Do we have to pick it up at a pharmacy like we do for humans? What does that look like?
Some medications that we use for the management of pain in dogs are taken from the human world, and so in those cases, we can phone those medications into a local pharmacy that's convenient for that client. However, many of the pain medications we use, and the ones that the FDA specifically indicates for use in dogs, are going to be held at a veterinarian's office. They're going to be prescription medications, and really, dispensing those medications is going to occur after we've had a chance to take a look at your dog and decide what your dog's problem is, and then the best course of action to manage that.
If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (919) 556-1944, or you can email us at [email protected]. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can. Don't forget to follow us on social media Facebook, Instagram