Every morning, our two Papillon dogs .. Maxxie (on the right) and Sophie (on the left) wait patiently for their “morning ritual” treats….
<img src="http://petlvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/p40800011.jpg" alt="Maxxie and Sophie waiting for their morning treat" title="Maxxie and Sophie" width="400" class=
Maxxie has Canine Disc Degenerative Disease .. and although he tries not to show it, he is in pain. And to alleviate his pain .. my wife has created a little ritual for our doggies – a piece of “Milky-Bone” with peanut butter, and with an ASA tablet in Maxxie’s treat!
Yes – they sometimes get a little toast treat in the mornings as well, or a little Flax cereal. For the most part, their treats are vegetables like cauliflower, asparagus tips, broccoli stems, and carrots. We find these are better treats than the ‘sugar’ treats like milk-bones, chew-chew bones, rawhides, etc .. although we do give them the odd dental care treats when we go out for extended periods of time and leave them at home – and can appreciate how a simple ‘chew-chew bone-bone’ can keep the dogs entertained for hours!
The A.S.A. is the light version with 81-mg per tablet and we feel helps him with his pain from walking up and down the stairs, and just getting up and down while I’m working around the home day in and day out.
Here’s a little excerpt from a site that talks about giving Aspirin to your dogs
Uses for Aspirin
Dogs are most commonly given aspirin for treatment of arthritis and associated joint pain. There may be other situations where your dog is in pain, where aspirin may give relief.
Aspirin has good anti-inflammatory effects that reduces swelling. It can also reduce pain and fever. These effects will help make your dog more comfortable.
Note that a dog is not a human. Just because your dog “does not feel good” is not a reason to give it an aspirin. Usually, aspirin is given to relieve extreme conditions of discomfort. Also note that most vets prescribe Rimadyl as a better pain-killer and anti-inflammatory than aspirin.
Use caution
You should use caution in administering any medication to a pet, because too much may be toxic, the medicine may not be tolerated, or it can cause an upset stomach or ulcers in the animal.
After recently taking our dogs to the vet for their annual examinations, and heart worm test, our doctor seems to think that the baby-aspirin pills are probably helping Maxxie – and did not find a need to prescribe additional pain killer medication. Although, we did get the annual month-end alotment of heart-worm pills that are taken from May thru October, and she did try to sell us some tick/lime disease medication as well – and, because Maxxie is a “senior” now (10 human years old) .. also wanted to sign us up for a senior’s wellness program.
While we are all for preventative maintenance and aware of the benefits, because of the costs – we passed on the latter two options at this time.
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