Real life experience of Librella?

[OldSpeclkledHen]

DPup is 8yo TerrierX, I've had him about a year - he loves chasing the ball - and we do a fair bit of walking (2-3 miles daily over the course of two walks) and longer at the weekend... (5 miles max in one walk) but he is slowing down :(

The vet says he has a bit of arthritis, and suggested Loxicom or Paracetamol (but both with long term issues ie liver and kidneys)

She then mentioned Librella - the monthly injection - she said comparatively new drug, so long term side effects not yet realised ...

So please tell me your real life experiences of Librella?

Is my dog to young? I'm reluctant to use if it will only work for a couple of years before it loses effect (iyswim)

What sort of exercise can I expect him to do on the Librella? I want him to be happy - that is priority.

Does it mask all pain? I'd be anxious about that! (even though I understand Loxicom masks it, so we're taking easy walks right now, but he gets bored quickly)

If your dog has the injection - how quickly did you see an improvement? And what age did they start it?

Just any real life experience please! I can ask the vet more questions (I have a long list) but just wanted other dog parents views and experiences please :)

they are such a worry! TIa :)

Personally our experience was not good.

We were told by vet specialists in a referral hospital that it should not be used on young dogs as a long term solution.

Some dogs do well on it but it is masking pain not curing anything.

I would try ever other avenue first. Physio, life changes, green lipped mussel, hydro and definitely stop the ball chasing

I'm in favour of it to be honest. Started my 11 year old lab on it 7 months ago, took around 10 weeks to work and has made a big difference to her quality of life. She had had a touch of arthritis since age 5 and was on daily metacam for 6 years until we started Librela.

We think our dog has arthritis and is a relatively young dog. The vet suggested giving it a trial to see if we notice any improvement in his stiffness.

Tried it for 4 months but didn't see any difference so we stopped. It was worth a try but not for us.

@KeenOtter thanks!

Just to add, he's on YuMove, which I don't actually think makes any difference (didn't with my horse either 🤷‍♀️) probably it's more a preventative measure (and the horse has already bolted so to speak)

Also there's not masses of ball chasing, mostly hide and seek with it, but I can't stop him running about! And I certainly don't use a wanger!

Good idea about physio/hydrotherapy though 👍 the vet did suggest hydro too ... I've just got myself caught up in my head about it 😳

My friend who is a vet, put her dog on it aged about 8 years and she had great success with it for a few years until it stopped working.
Another friend put her 12 year old whippet on it and it definitely made her pain free but she had ataxia as a side effect.
My mum recently tried her 14 year old dog on it and she stopped limping but had a vestibular episode 3 weeks later, which may or may not have been connected, but she won't be having any more librella.

Our 12yo lab started on it when he could barely walk, and it made a massive improvement to his mobility. He was on it for about a year. He was put to sleep recently just after he reached 13 after a suspected stroke.

my 13 year old whippet was on it for his last five months. It made zero difference to his mobility or pain ☹️. I think there are some dogs it works for, and some it doesn’t. You can only try and see 🤷‍♀️.l

My late Border collie had chronic arthritis from 5 years old. We tried everything possible for him as it gradually got worse. We thought his time had come until the vet suggested Librela.
The difference in him was amazing, it started working almost immediately and continued to do so for almost 2 years. And then unfortunately it just seemed to stop working. After trying Tramadol and then Ketamine, neither of which really helped, l said goodbye to my best boy last March which he was 11.5.
I would say to you , yes try it as it gave my wonderful boy an extra 2 years.

We've had the second injection for our spaniel today, aged 7.
He has inflammatory arthritis and the difference in him was very quick with the first librella however we're also doing weekly hydrotherapy with him - our aim is to build the muscle around his joints to support him.
He's also been on a super strict diet to loose weight and keep him lean so there is no fat weighing him down.
Oh and collegen supplements.

Our biggest concern is it simply masks pain and we have to really watch he doesn't do anything stupid ( like jumping off the back of the sofa) as he forgets it hurts - he has inflammatory arthritis so impacts and too much exercise makes him limp.
Were very early days so I can't say how it will work long term but I do not believe we'd be doing hydro and physio without it as it eases his awareness of the discomfort

Personally I would say your dog is too young.
Try other supplements first ?
Change / amend the exercise ? maybe 5 miles at weekends is too much.

It worked wonders for my 13 year old dog and kept her pain free for the last 18 months of her life.

Similar here. Started with metacam then added Librella then paracetamol. Legs finally gave up age 14 y and 1 month. Best boy.

I would add that by getting the Librella online and injecting it myself I brought the cost down very substantially.

My 13 year old lab has been on it for over 2 years now - he started on it while it was being trialled. He is on a 4 week cycle and we noticed a difference from the very first cycle.

My vet insisted on bloods and full examination, including X-rays before starting, to ensure there were no other conditions at play.

It has made a huge difference to his quality of life, but it was impressed upon me that it would mask, not halt the arthritis.

As pp said, we started physio - hydrotherapy, exercises, laser - around the same time.

He also takes paracetamol . He has regular blood tests and his liver & kidneys are fine.

I know that he is only with us because of the drugs and the physio, and we are very careful to manage his activities ( which was harder at 10 than it is now), and which I think is key to a good result.

Its worked really well for DDog (9 year old Goldie). He started being a bit stiff getting up about a year ago and a vet friend said that she recommended Librella in the future so when he got a bit worse we went to our vet and asked for it.
Its not a miracle cure but DDog is much better on it, gets up a lot more easily and even does (very brief) zoomies when out from time to time.
Its £100pm and Petplan pays but if they didn't we would