# Opinions on rimadyl or going natural



## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

My 11 year old dachsund has alot of trouble with stiff joints in the winter. She is really struggling this year she is slipping more and is shaking a lot. I hate to put her on something like rimadyl and I started her on a glucosamine product that several people have said they have had good luck with. We have been taking it for two weeks and she has good and bad days. I am feeling guilty that I am making her suffer because I want to take a holistic approach. I don't know if I am being selfish and I should use the rimadyl. What are people's feeling on this.


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## July11 (Jul 7, 2011)

Just my personal opinion..........Rimadyl can have many nasty side effects. Just do a google search. Rymadyl belongs in the same category as Proin for me, as in "Stay a far away from it as possible!!!" My own experience with it on an older pet was not a happy one.

I had a Dobie that had arthritis in her shoulder for several years, but once she began eating a home cooked diet she no longer exhibited any signs of pain as before. 

Also, there are many people who say that taking diatomaceous earth eliminated the pain they had been having from arthritis. Many people fed it to their dogs for arthritic conditions. You might want to go to earthworks.com and read up on it and see if it might be something you would like to try for your dog. Another informative site for DE and animals is wolfcreekranch.com.

DE is the only thing that solved my mixed breed female's anal gland problems after having tried everything under the sun and spending way too much money on medications, foods, and supplements that did. not. help.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

July11 said:


> Just my personal opinion..........Rimadyl can have many nasty side effects. Just do a google search. Rymadyl belongs in the same category as Proin for me, as in "Stay a far away from it as possible!!!" My own experience with it on an older pet was not a happy one.
> 
> I had a Dobie that had arthritis in her shoulder for several years, but once she began eating a home cooked diet she no longer exhibited any signs of pain as before.
> 
> ...



WOW! I never new DE had those results. That's awesome. I feed DE almost every day to my gang as it's a good detoxifer but that's awesome. I need to start eating it myself as I have wrist/knee issues!


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

I totally agree I do not want to use rimadyl at all. I know the holistic approach takes longer I am just feeling guilty. My mom gives her dog rimadyl she said she does not want her dog to suffer. So I feel guilty I do not want my dog to suffer but I also do not want to give her a drug that is so dangerous. The stuff I am giving to her now a few people with Danes swear by it but it does take you know a month maybe more. I don't want to be cruel. She has been raw fed she only gets this way for a few months every year.


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## Fundog (Oct 25, 2012)

There are a lot of fantastic plant based pain relief compounds out there now, specifically for relieving the inflammation and pain caused by arthritis. Three of the best ones I know of are: Burdock root, yucca root, and turmeric. You can use all three together with the glucosamine/chondroitin. My vet makes an herbal compound with about ten different herbs in it for dogs with arthritis. You just sprinkle a generous amount on their food. Annie seems to like it, and it does help. It takes about two weeks to see results, and a month to really get long lasting improvement. You have to keep using it regularly. After a vigorous romp, Annie is still in quite a bit of pain, so we give aspirin for the immediate severe pain relief. When she feels better again the next day, we stop the aspirin.

I remember when we lived in an area that had a really bad Burdock Weed infestation problem (they also produce nasty cockleburrs that get into long silky coats), Annie used to stop and munch the leaves every chance she got. I think she knew something back then that I didn't know.

And of course, I've noticed a difference since she got on raw too. : D


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

As far as raw I have seen many positive changes in my dogs however in terms of arthritis this is the worst winter ever so it has not helped her in that respect. I am using a glucosamine chondrotin supplement with organic sulfur from mms it has some other herbs in it. I really screwed up the first week for some reason I dosed her on her sisters weight 10 pounds sadie is 12. I guess I was feeling bad because I know the drugs from the vet's would give her immediate results but I also know they can have very bad side effects.


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## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

A homeopathic pill called Zeel has worked really well for my 11 yr old, there was a scientific study done on it where it showed to be as effective as Rimadyl for dogs without the side effects. It can take a week or two to build up in the system, I usually crush the pills up with a spoon and mix it with a spoonful of coconut oil or his food. You can get it through Amazon, or other online vitamin stores.
Homeopathic remedy equivalent to Rimadyl in Clinical Study « Harmony Veterinary Center
HOMEOPATHY, ZEEL AND ARTHRITIS » Dogs Naturally Magazine


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

Thanks that seek looks promising I am going to give it a shot.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

Roo said:


> A homeopathic pill called Zeel has worked really well for my 11 yr old, there was a scientific study done on it where it showed to be as effective as Rimadyl for dogs without the side effects. It can take a week or two to build up in the system, I usually crush the pills up with a spoon and mix it with a spoonful of coconut oil or his food. You can get it through Amazon, or other online vitamin stores.
> Homeopathic remedy equivalent to Rimadyl in Clinical Study « Harmony Veterinary Center
> HOMEOPATHY, ZEEL AND ARTHRITIS » Dogs Naturally Magazine




This article critiques a study this product.


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## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

> This article critiques a study this product.




So did the Harmony Veterinary Center, but they still felt it's worth trying since it is homeopathic with less chance of side effects compared to Rimadyl.
_"While this study is very promising, it is important to note that is was a very small study. Only 62 patients were included in the study. In addition, this was not a “blind” study–the evaluators knew what each dog was being treated with. And there was no placebo group to help determine the level of bias (people think the animals are better just because they are taking something). But this is a very promising start and evidence for the role homeopathic medications can play in animal (and human) health. Zeel appears to be a safe and effective option for dogs with osteoarthritis."_


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Just came across this and thought of this post;

Green mussel extract reduces inflammation in osteoarthritic animals.

Something to try


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

I did order some green lipped mussel. I decided to try the zeal because of all the positive feedback on amazon. It is so inexpensive too. I am not counting on it working like rimadyl but sadie can get around fine most days she runs up and down the steps but other days her leg will slip a bit ( we do have slippery hardwood floors) Other days she will not come up the stairs. It is strange she seems to want to be picked up the steps when I am letting her in. When my husband is 90:/: of the time she comes up them. So she is very mobile but I can tell she is stiff I know as soon as it is above 40 most days this disappears. I love amazon because you can get some great feedback. At this point I will give anything a shot if I Can avoid meds from the vet. I was mostly struggling with making her wait until these holistic meds kicked in. I was wondering if I was being overly paranoid about rimadyl. I am the only one I know who takes such a natural way of raising my dogs so you can imagine how they feel that I don't trust my vet.


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## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

Funny I just posted this link in another thread: Leerburg | Panosteitis or PANO
Apparently Rimadyl is very dangerous and should be avoided. They also recommend yucca and msm among a few other things - but this is for panostiatis, a bone disease in young dogs so don't know if the same will apply to arthritis. 
Chicken feet contain a lot of natural glucosamine and chondroitin, so worth including it in her diet.

Oh, and keep her thin to minimize stress on joints.


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

This chondrotin /glucosamine supplement has msm in it. When my mom suggested rimadyl she said it was a stronger version of using a glucosamine supplement I went and researched it. I was immediately very concerned I tried to show her the risks but her vet said she has never had a dog have issues with it. I find that hard to believe. I am way to concerned about the side effects even if they are not that common you never know. I know every time I gave sadie a pill I would worry way to much.i would not give my children a medication that had a possible but rare side effect of death so I would not give it to my dogs.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

for whatever it's worth, i always try the natural first. you can always go back to the others.


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