My 6-year-old Shih Tzu has hip pain. What are the best relief options?

At this point it seems he will need anti inflammatories pain killers on a regular basis, dogs can only take very specific pain killers, you will have to get a prescription from your vet for one of those: Rimadyl, Metacam, Previcox or Onsior.

If it is quite mild pain she is experiencing you could try giving her a supplement of chondroitin and glucosamine. You can get this from good pet shops and it helps to lubricate the joints. If that does not help you may have to go to the vet to get her something stronger such as an antinflammatory. Also make sure she has a well supported bed to take pressure of her when sleeping.

If supplements alone haven't helped, it may be time to add in a pain medication or other joint medications to help relieve Halo's discomfort. Unfortunately, these do require a trip to the vet in order to be prescribed, but it's a good idea to schedule a vet visit anyway to monitor Halo's joint health and any progression of disease. Your vet may recommend regular bloodwork and X-rays to watch the hips for any additional deterioration so that medications and joint supplements can be adjusted as needed. Changing supplement types in addition to this, such as adding in fish oil and vitamin E, Green-Lipped mussel, or another glucosamine/chondroitin combo may also help, however, consulting with your vet first to make sure there is no interaction with other medications is best.

Hi there. Thank you for using PetCoach. I'm sorry to hear that Cocoa is having this issue. She sure is adorable! Unfortunately, we cannot recommend that you give any over the counter medications to Cocoa. We are not allowed to do that by law since we haven't examined her in-person. Dogs are actually very sensitive to over the counter medications and if she has any conditions underlying (like kidney disease for example) those medications can make it worse. I suggest you get her to your vet for an exam. It is not common for small breed dogs to have hip problems so it would be best to get her examined to figure out what is causing the problem. Then you can discuss the options for treatment with your vet. In the meantime all I can recommend is that you use a natural joint supplement like the Missing Link Plus but you are not likely to see an immediate effect. http://www.allivet.com/p-1647-missing-link-vet-canine-plus.aspx Hope this helps. Best wishes!

I am sorry Prince is having hip pain. I would recommend taking him to a vet to make sure he is not having any other issues. The vet will most likely want to do bloodwork before starting him on long term pain medications. I typically start patients off on a NSAID (non steroidal anti inflammatory) and add additional medications if the NSAID is not enough on its own. However Prince should only take medication for dogs and should have blood work before starting NSAIDs. NSAIDs can be harmful to a dogs kidneys and liver if they are not working properly. Over the counter you can start him on a joint supplement. I recommend glucosamine and chondroitin. There are non medical options too like a cold light laser and acupuncture. I would ask your vet about if these are options in your vet office or near by.

Poor Mia! You should contact your vet to discuss pain relief options and i would also recommend a specialist diet such as the hills mobility range. Physiotherapy, acupuncture and chiropractic care can all help optimise comfort and mobility

You can talk to your vet about therapy laser treatments if it is available in your area as these can help with pain and inflammation. You can also see about starting Adequan injections to help with the joints or further pain medication such as gabapentin or Tylenol 3 or 4 in extreme cases.