My old chihuahua has leg pain. How can I help her for a road trip?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Poncho is lame in one of his legs, he could have an injury ranging from a problem with his toes to something in his shoulder (front leg) or his hips (hind leg). If this is a chronic issue, it is possible Poncho has some arthritis in his joints, which may benefit from a joint supplement. However, if Poncho has a soft tissue injury or something like a fracture or dislocation of any of his bones or joints, a supplement will not help. I recommend restricting Poncho's activity for 3-5 days and see if this helps his lameness. If he is no longer limping on the leg after this rest, this may have just been a soft tissue injury that needed time to heal. If his lameness does not improve or worsens over this time, I recommend having Poncho seen by a veterinarian. He/she can perform a full physical exam and orthopedic exam to localize his pain and determine the best course of treatment. As a reminder, NEVER give dogs pain medication that is intended for humans, as these can be fatally toxic to dogs. I hope this is helpful!

If she is anxious in the vehicle it is best to contain her in a crate. That would be the first consideration. There are not many over the counter medications you can give that will make her sleepy other than antihistamines (like Benadryl) but even sometimes they do not have that affect on dogs like it does in people. I suggest you try Benadryl at home on day when you are there to see if it actually works. Dogs take a very large dose compared to people so a dog her size would need 5 of the 25mg adult human tablets. If it makes her sleepy then on the day of travel you can give it to her 1-2 hours before you leave for the vet. You can buy the generic Benadryl (diphenhydramine). Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Poor girl. Considering her age she likely has some arthritis setting in her joints. Sometimes joint supplements (ie Dasuquin or Cosequin) can help with pain if it is mild-moderate. However for immediate help with her pain your vet can prescribe some anti-inflammatory (Rimadyl or Meloxicam) and pain medicine (Tramadol) to help with Nila’s comfort. Also the vet will want to check her organs (liver, kidneys, etc) to ensure they are also fine. Best of luck with Nila and I hope she feels better soon. Take care.

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.

I am sorry that Fudge is not feeling well. Typically a seizure and leg pain are not related. IT is possible he hurt his leg during a seizures but it sounds like the leg pain started first. My largest concern about the leg would be a fracture, ACL tear, sliding knee cap, or even auto immune disease. unfortunately Fudge needs a physical exam by a vet to determine which one is the issue and possibly x-rays or a joint tap. The seizures could be epilepsy (seizures of unknown cause), toxin or even signs of infection. I am sorry your dad will not allow him to go to the vet but he really needs to have an exam to help give a better idea of what is going on. In the mean time I would recommend restricted activity with a joint supplement to help with inflammation. Hope he gets better soon

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!

It is very likely she has a condition called patellar luxation. This is where the ligament in the knee goes in an out of the socket. She can have this surgically repaired if it becomes a chronic issue and impedes on her quality of life. Otherwise joint supplements (i.e. Dasuquin) may be able to help reduce some inflammation and pain in the joint itself. Have your vet do a simple physical exam and check the knees. Patellar luxation is detectable by a physical exam and doesn't require radiographs to diagnose. I wish you well at the vet. Best wishes with Mindy and take care.