Can I give my dog celebrex?
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Celebrex is used to treat arthritis. You may be tempted to give this drug to your dog for pain relief. But this is a powerful prescription medication so can it be appropriate for pets?
Prescription drugs are sometimes hazardous to the humans they were created for. And that’s after they’ve gone through rigorous testing and several trials in order to get FDA approved.
Celebrex isn’t your run of the mill over-the-counter drug. It comes with a host of potentially serious side effects. If you give this to a dog you are really rolling the dice and hoping for the best.
Can I Give My Dog Celebrex? Answer: Not Recommended
Under a vet’s recommendation and guidance you may give it to them according to the dosage they assign.
But you should not play doctor and just start administering it to your dog based on what you think they should have. There are better ways to help them with their joint pain and arthritis than playing trial and error with a powerful pharmaceutical.
For Canine Pain
It can be hard to properly diagnose how a dog is feeling and what is wrong. Some things are easy, like if they have something stuck in their paw they will hop around and not use that leg to walk on.
However, arthritis is one of the more tricky conditions to diagnose. It’s more of an overall pain in the joints, and your dog won’t be able to just not use that leg.
Or maybe they have an arthritic hip, and so they can’t stop themselves from using it so they just move more slowly or you’ve noticed that they don’t move around as much at all.
Even though you do know your dog best, you’re likely not a trained veterinarian. Only they will be able to accurately diagnose that your dog does indeed have arthritis. They know what signs and symptoms to check for, and what tests to do in order to identify the condition.
Conveniently, they will also be able to prescribe a treatment for them, so they can get back to their normal selves, or at least not be in constant pain any more.
Some doctors do prescribe Celebrex which is manufactured by Pfizer, but most do not, opting for more dog-safe treatments including ordinary over-the-counter meds.
Going All Natural
Some dog owners have had success giving their dog glucosamine. This is an all natural remedy that many humans take to treat joint pain and inflammation, and early findings show that this is also effective for dogs.
Even though this is an all natural substance, you will want to consult with your vet before you start any type of regimen with your dog, just to be on the safe side.
Other Ways to Help
Sometimes medication is not the only way to help them through the pain. You can make your house more accessible to them, either by reducing the amount of stairs they need to climb in order to get to common areas, or providing a step stool for them to get onto their favorite piece of furniture. You can also get them a nice soft doggy bed so they can relax more comfortably.
Accepting Things
As the owner, it can be hard to watch your dog be in pain and suffer, but this is just a part of life for many animals. Humans have the idea that every little condition should be treated and we shouldn’t experience pain in any form. But animals just sort of accept things as a way of life.
A dog’s life is much shorter than ours, so they start to show signs of aging a lot faster than we do. Resisting this fact and waging war against it is no way for you or your dog to live.