Can I give my dog aspirin for hip pain? What are the side effects?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. In the meantime you can go to Petco and use the Well and Good Buffered Aspirin to provide some pain relief. I do not recommend using this product long term but for short term use over the weekend, this should be absolutely fine. This could also be an injury further down the leg such as the stifle joint (ACL injury). Your vet will know what to do based on the physical examination. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello. We generally do not recommend aspirin because of the same problems seen in people. It can cause severe gastric upset & possibly ulcerations, & aspirin decreases platelet activity that can lead to prolonged & abnormal bleeding. Only use aspirin on the advice of your veterinarian, or consider one of the newer & safer anti-inflammatories available for dogs. Definitely continue your joint supplements, though. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. Just like you & me, if there is no longer any significant pain it is best to stop the aspirin. If Katie needs long term pain management, there are other medications that are safer than aspirin. The problem with aspirin is how quickly it can effect the clotting mechanisms, so generally I like to limit its use to about 3 days at a time. Take with your vet about safer options & ancillary treatments such as Adequan injections & glucosamine supplements if her pain continues & is due to osteoarthritis. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. When dogs are 'non-ambulatory'- not walking on a leg, this is usually a sign of significant pain. Also, swelling is concerning for either a significant injury (fracture/dislocation), an infection or abscess (pocket of pus), or in older animals we worry about cancers. I would recommend having Swayde seen by a vet to see if anything serious is going on, and would recommend x-rays. Best of luck with Swayde.

Aspirin is not really recommended for you to give but if you decided to do it, it's up to you. Please see the link below that provides information about side effects. It must be BUFFERED aspirin so be sure that is the kind you give. The dose is 5 to 10mg/pound so a 90# dosing range is 450mg to 900mg. The aspirin comes as 325mg so you can give 2 safely up to twice a day. If he has any black stools or starts vomiting stop giving the aspirin right away and get him to your vet. ( https://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/drug-library/library/acetylsalicylic-acid-aspirin-for-dogs-and-cats/ ) Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I agree that this is possibly arthritis especially if this has been an issue before. Usually this can improved with joint supplements like Cosequin and the food Science Diet j/d. Pain control medications such as NSAIDs and gabapentin can be used on an as needed basis to help with pain. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment of this. If they agree that this is likely, they can go ahead and prescribe this to help her. Good luck and have a great day!

Poor Wednesday! Unfortunately, I am unable to prescribe any medication without examining Wednesday myself. I do not recommend giving her aspirin, as it may have some unwanted side effects in dogs such as damage to the kidneys, gastric ulcers, and bleeding issues when given in high doses. She should definitely be seen by a vet as soon as possible, especially because she is limping. Your vet can take x-rays to see where the trauma is, and perform blood work to make sure that Wednesday's organs are functioning properly to handle any pain medication, as well as place a cast or splint if necessary. You should try to keep her as calm and quiet, with as little activity as possible until she is examined by a vet. Good luck and I hope Wednesday feels better soon!