My dog is unable to tolerate anti-inflammatories and youmove isn't working :(

[SweatyyBettyy]

Please help. I posted about Librela and have decided against it. She is 12.5 and struggling with her legs :( Can anyone recommend a better supplement please. She has paracetamol twice a day. Many thanks xx

Yumove takes time to work - 4-6 weeks, I think? And it's about the best in the market. Almost all over the counter medicines and supplements take time to work (if they work at all).

There are other medicines a vet could proscribe, but I imagine their first port of call would be Librela - which you have already ruled out. Most vet proscribed medications for this sort of treatment can have horrible side effects, including worse than those that Librela reportedly has.

My springer has daily Arthrocam. She also has Gabapentin and 3/4 of a Paracetamol tablet three times a day. Then every four weeks she has a ketamine injection and electroacupuncture.

She doesn't take any supplements, but my younger cocker has Kater4K9 Hip and Joint formula. I can't day I have noticed any difference yet, but we are awaiting a referral to a orthopaedic specialist.

What about gabapentin?

Jointsure works better for my dog.

Also a grain free diet has been a game changer.

Riaflex Joint Plus Pro is brilliant.

My old Labrador was on Tramadol.

What was it about the Librela you weren’t happy with OP? Our Ddog(10) has been on it for a little over a year now, no side effects at all and his quality of life is night and day improved versus where it was before.

There's better/more targeted supplements out there than Yumove but I'm not sure any of them work that well.
I've tried Dasuquin, Cosequin, Riaflex... currently on Vince The Vet PEA and GLM.
You have to to give them months to work to see if they do but there are not the miracle products the reviews will have you believe.

Why don't you want to try Librela? Didn't work for mine but would have kept her on it if it had.

I delayed librella after reading horror stories but eventually put both my dogs on it. I feel so bad now for delaying- no side effects and their quality of life has improved massively. I really recommend thinking about it again.

Nutravet have a few different options for mobility and joints, including a prescription only supplement.
I havent used the mobility supplements but wouldn't have been without a few of their other supplements for calming and cognitive functioning for our senior dog.

My metacam-intolerant lab is on Galliprant which does not upset her stomach.
She has also had Pardale ( which contains codeine) and tolerated that well.
My old boy, whom we lost at 14, was on Librela for 3 years with no obvious side effects and a lot of benefit .
Yumove did nothing, but bone broth and omega 3 oils may have helped.

I am trying a collagen supplement along with Metacam. I also use a Photizo led therapy device. Our vets do laser and acupuncture.

Our 15 year old Springer does have Librella and it has worked however she is deteriorating now. She has 2 doses of Calpol per day (it's too stressful trying to get a tablet down her). She was prescribed Gabapentin last week but after 1 day we had to stop it as she couldn't walk at all. It's so hard to know what to do for the best - I would try Librella at 12.5 though, I wish we'd have done it sooner with ours.

My sprocker can't tolerate metacam either. He was on Galliprant for a while but is now on Previcox, which is working well for him. He's also on Librela, paracetamol and Gabapentin as he has multiple causes of pain and they all work on slightly different pathways.

He's only 7 and it breaks my heart to see him in so much discomfort. Hydrotherapy isn't suitable for him because of where the pain hits his spine and hips, but he gets some relief from acupuncture

My girl has arthritic wrists and has turmeric paste in all her meals - we saw a big difference with that about a fortnight after it began. I was dubious, but it can't hurt her. The limping stopped!

She also has paracetamol three times a day - spread out across breakfast, dinner and bedtime snack. She's also on daily Metacam but I know you can't have that.

She also has a YuMove type knock off with a higher % of all the various supplements.

The main thing to remember is that even in humans it's not a curable condition, only managed as best as possible but not all pain can be mitigated.

I suppose I'm saying that you need to have the discussion as a family as to when you'll say her condition is at the point of saying goodbye. Better to have a discussion now and agree a way forward rather than drag it out because no one wants to have difficult conversations or think about the worst.

What is the yumove type that you use? I have a springer and yumove is not working for him now so something with a higher % might help

Yumove plus was useles for my now 13 year old. ProDogRaw Flex works well for her though.
I doubt on its own it woukd be enough for the majority. My girl was started on librella when it was first introduced and before the horror stories- it’s been life changing for her and she’s still going strong (90 minutes walking are still fine daily) three years on with that, the supplement above and regular hydro

Turmeric paste - https://amzn.eu/d/005aRRRP

Knock off YuMove - https://amzn.eu/d/0ckxoPlY she has 3 chews a day added to her breakfast

It might be worth asking your vet about trying a lower dose of gabapentin (assuming it was a high dose). My dog does really well on one tablet twice a day but gets very wobbly on his feet on two tablets twice a day. So we use the one tablet dose. (He's also on librela and paracetamol or pardale).

She was on a low does unfortunately, it was like she was drunk - they said to stop it straight away. The issue we've got now is actually getting her to the vet, she get's so stressed just getting in the car now (which she used to love) it's leaving us questioning if we're doing the right thing 😕

Yeah, I went through a phase of having to give my dog Trazodone to get him to the vet. Not helped by the fact that the weakened muscles in his back end mean that he can't express his glands properly when he has a poo so he has to get them expressed at the vet far more frequently

That's a shame. I'm struggling with getting my (large) dog in the car too now - I had to go to his last vet visit without him! (They know him well at the vets and I wanted to talk pain relief) My issue is he's too heavy to lift and he has lost his confidence so I'm going to try a ramp. Public transport options where I live are very limited so we're pretty stuck without him going in the car.

I know what you mean about wanting to make sure you make the right decision for them. I think there will be a point in the not-so-distant future where we can't control the pain for my dog or he gets too weak in his backend. They get old too soon.

Thank you. I just don't want her to be in pain. She still wants to go out twice a day. They are very short walks. I wish I could do more for her 😔

Green lipped mussel supplements from Holland and Barrett helped our old dog in his last few years

Full spectrum cbd oil helped our dog who reacted badly to librella, he was also on amantadine and previcox .