My old dog has arthritis. Should I increase prednisone or try Metacam?

Question

My lab cross 12 year old dog has always had an arthritic left wrist joint. 3 months ago she was put on 5mg of prednisone daily which improved her limp but now she cannot bare weight on that foot first thing in the morning. It gets better throughout the day. My question is do we increase the prednisone or should we put her on medicam and wean her off the prednisone. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Female | 11 years old | 70 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello. You can wean her off the pred onto the Metacam , or you can add additional pain medications such as tramadol or gabapentin. I, personally do not like long-term prednisone because of the possibility of side effects, but even Metacam can cause some issues. Regardless of what you & your veterinarian choose for Sydney, make sure periodic blood work is run to pick up any early signs of problems. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My old dog has arthritis. Should I increase prednisone or try Metacam?

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