My senior dog has recurring neck pain. What are affordable options?

Sorry Buzz is having some issues again. Your options are to get a CareCredit card to pay for his expenses or to contact some of the organizations in the link below to see if someone can help you. ( https://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/ ) ( https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/having-trouble-affording-veterinary-care ) In the future, you may want to consider pet insurance for any new pets. It is well worth it and will cover things like this in most cases. Getting insurance now will not help as this is a pre-existing condition and at his age, most companies will not cover him. If he had been covered since he was a puppy they would. ( https://trupanion.com/ )

Hello. I agree, surgery at this age would not be ideal given her age. You do not indicate what meds she is already on, but she should be receiving an NSAID such as meloxicam, carprofen, or any one of several excellent drugs in this classification. I would also have her on gabapentin, possibly tramadol, & maybe even Adequan injections, just in case some of her joints are painful. An alternative for the NSAIDs would be steroids as they are very good at reducing inflammation, but that does put her at some risk for side effects. Hopefully, these can keep him comfortable for some time to come. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I recommend getting her checked by your vet right away. She could have a disc problem in her neck or upper back that is painful. Your vet will do an exam, labwork, and x-rays, and based on these results will be better able to tell you what is wrong with her and what the best treatment will be.

Ouch, poor Harper! Unfortunately, there are no safe over the counter pain medications for dogs (including aspirin). Try to restrict Harper to a crate or a small room with no furniture for the next week or so to prevent further injury to her neck. Only take her on a harness for a short trip outside to eliminate, but avoid a neck collar. I understand your financial constraints, but Harper really should be examined by a vet to make sure she has not sustained more severe injuries to her neck that are causing neurologic deficits. Some SPCAs or rescues have low cost veterinary clinics available. Care Credit (carecredit.com) can provide a financing option for veterinary costs. There are some non-profit groups (redrover.org is one example) that will also provide financial assistance for veterinary care if costs are a concern. Best of luck and I hope that Harper is feeling better soon!

I'm so sorry that you and your Bella are going through this. I recommend speaking to your veterinarian about financing options such as CareCredit that may allow you to have the surgery performed, as the surgery would give her the best chance at walking again. Also contact your local Humane Society/shelters to see if they know of other companies that provide financing options. If surgery is not an option for you, I recommend you look into pain management and crate rest through your veterinarian, and contact a veterinary acupuncturist immediately. In some cases acupuncture and rehabilitation/physiotherapy can help restore at least some function in dogs with IVDD. Time is of the essence in IVDD cases, so please look into treatment right away, preferably via immediate surgery. Best of luck to you both. See the links below for more information. http://www.tcvm.com/Resources/FindaTCVMPractitioner.aspx https://www.carecredit.com/

That sounds like neck pain and it could be from disc disease or other causes. Rimadyl can help but a lot of dogs with neck pain need multimodal pain management. And, it can take time to resolve, especially if disc related. The length of time of pain management can be variable but often is required for weeks if not longer dependent on the case, cause, response to treatment, side effects, etc. At your dogs age you will need to be very careful with Rimadyl as it can be hard on the kidneys. Older dogs especially benefit from multimodal pain management to try to decrease drugs like Rimadyl dose and dosing frequency. Rest is key, ideally crate rest. For disc disease this is typically 4 to 8 weeks, but this is case dependent and is best guided by the vet who examines the patient. Anyway to have a vet come to the house to see if this helps with the vet anxiety? I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. At Peques's age neck pain is usually caused by intervertebral disc problem or chronic arthritis / spondylitis. X-ray/CT scan is helpful to identify what is the problem and to decide what is the best treatment. If Peques is still showing signs of pain and crating is not a viable option, getting a second pain killer will be probably the best course of action. Your local vet will be able to prescribe him an anti-inflammatory medication or a different pain killer for a trial to see if they can keep him pain free.