Hi, I am new here but have already introduced myself. Writing from Gran Canaria. I now have my second dog, the first (Max) died at 16, and this one, Yago, has been just as healthy as Max, until now that he has some infection in his "rectum" (arse... sorry, but I don't know what to call it, I am not English!). It seems that there is a rupture of the inside, like a bladder (besides the hole) and the vet has squeezed some liquid and blood out now 3 days in a row and given him antibiotica (Synulox) and today I got pills home with me, Rimadyl, which according to Wikipedia (and other sites) are for arthritis. I have been to vets before and I no matter how I ask, nobody will tell me what I can give dogs for pain. I will, of course, be using the tablets (3/4 of one) but the thing is, I would like to have pills in the house that I can give my dog just in case he got hurt, his arthritis got worse etc. and I was really told off for giving him a piece of an aspirin (100 mg) the other day. Does anyone know about pills that can be given to dogs so they sleep better when they are in pain? I have problems here, as my Spanish is only intermediate and the vets don't speak English.
I also asked them about a recent behaviour of the dog, he has started licking his front paws constantly for ages in the sofa so the sofa (or wherever he is lying down) is totally wet around him. I was told it was psychological. I am not sure about that, nothing has changed, we are (too) good to him and he is a very nice, happy and a quiet dog, never bites, still plays occasionally with other dogs (he's 6) and eats well. Could it be arthritis?
Also, I would like to know if it is very bad for dogs to lick their bottom (to clean blood from the injection), I hate seeing him with that plastic collar and he is going mad trying to get rid of it! I would have thought it was natural, but it obviously isn't.
Yago is a rescue dog and spent 6 weeks in a clinic after he was found and before they put him in a kennel (cage) where he stayed 9 months, his legs were paralyzed when he was found .. a small puppy. His mother had been hanged in a tree above. He obviously has Staffordshire in him (don't know what else), so nobody wanted him. But he is the most gentle dog I have ever met.
Sorry about the loooooong post.
Greetings,
Eva

Rimadyl is a good pain relief and an anti inflammatory My dog was given Rimadyl after his hip replacement which is a big operation, so I think it will be fine for your dog too. You must also remember to give it with food as being a non steroidal anti inflammatory drug it can cause an upset stomach, even stomach ulcers.

Tramadol is another good pain relief but it can make the dog drowsey for the first few days until he gets used to it, when the sedative effect lesssons. However it's not an anti inflammatory so I think what you have at the moment is most likely better for your dogs condition.

Get well wishes from here.

I hate buster collars too and use comfy collars instead: http://www.comfycollars.co.uk/ I know they can reach the tips of their tails and feet, so it wouldn't help with the foot licking but he shouldn't be able to lick his bottom. You can get doggy boots on the net, which may help for this:http://www.ppepets.com/doggyfootwear.html
Have you checked his feet in case he has something, like a grass seed stuck in them?

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

Thank you! I have never heard of any other kind of collars, so I will certainly check them out. Grass is very rare in South Gran Canaria ( but I have checked for all kinds of other stuff and don't see anything. Once I had to pull out several pins from a hedgehog, but I doubt that will happen again, he avoids them now.

Lovely, your dogs, Huskies, some (?) there are several of them here in the warm climate, I don't know if I would keep one here. But of course there are all kinds here...
Off to bed
Good night and thanks again

Hope it helps and the comfy collars are just what they say - comfortable, lol.

Mine are Malamutes and I know some who have them in Saudi Arabia and Spain, they tend to have air conditioning in their homes out there and ceramic tiled floors, so are probably a lot cooler than here in the summer.

Flynn recovering from his hip replacement with his comfy collar and Kali when she had a sore elbow that she wouldn't leave alone!
Flynn.

Kali.

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

so sorry to hear your dog is poorly-its very upsetting i know. Our dog also a rescue staffie has had major surgery on her joints and is permanently on Metacam for pain relief.It comes in liquid form so nice and easy to put in her food. Your vet should be able to prescribe it. As for paw licking-we were told our dog does this because her joints are painful and its her way of soothing them. Hope this helps.

Sounds like he has a anal gland abscess, painful. Aspirin is not too good as it can upset the stomach. Vets rely a lot on the NSAID painkillers and forget there are others which do not affect the stomach as badly and are cheaper. Paracetamol is one (Pardale-V Tablets are a combo of paracetamol and codeine). My old vet said to use 10mg per kg of body weight every 6 hours if needed occasionally and I have done so without any problem.

I agree - I have taken Flynn completely off of Metacam as if used for too long can cause stomach ulcers - in fact if you google stomach ulcers in dogs the words NSAID's always come up. He will have to have Rimadyl 100mg twice daily when he has the other hip done but that's a necessity for a while. I used to give him Metacam liquid in the corner of his mouth before food with a syringe, then I noticed a raw bald patch where it must have dribbled out occasionally, took months to heal - so it put me off as it can do this to their stomach too!

I have increased his glucosamine/chondroitin/msm and now he doesn't have painkillers at all. If he gets a bit stiff in his bad hip I give him one Tramadol 50mg, at his weight he can have up to six but God forbid i'd ever have to give that amount. If I took two it would knock me for six.

If it's an anal gland abscess it will be at the 4 o'clock or 8 o'clock area by his bum - and it will be very painful indeed.

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

Thank you all, this has really been informative. I am going to copy and save some of it, I suppose that is ok. And now, for the first time, I have seen a different kind of collar than the one Yago just managed to ruin....

I am still fighting with how to upload photos, have to read more and try, I can see that others have had the same problem, so I must be able to learn from the replies and help that they got. I see so many lovely photos here, I wish I had time to just sit and read and browse all day long for a while!
Rain and storm here in Gran Canaria now, so even Huskies should be ok with the weather

I upload mine to photobucket, resize them to about 400 - click the direct link that then says "copied" come back to here and click on the yellow photo square, delete http// in the box and paste the copied link from photobucket, then press okay - presto, you should have it!

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"