My overweight dog has pain. Is gabapentin safe? What diet helps?

Question

My 10yr old Pembroke Welsh Corgi teddy is a bit overweight. He's 40lbs but we have him on a diet food, but it still doesn't seem to be working. His back legs shake and he can't stand up for long. He has appt at end of the month. He was crying in pain so I gave him one of my 300mg capsule of gabapentin. Is that ok? And do you have any recommendations on diet food. He can't walk that long but still is able to move. Any vitamins that would help. Besides arthritis. Pet's info: Dog | Pembroke Welsh Corgi | Male | neutered | 12 years and 8 months old | 40 lbs

Makenzie Kurth, DVM · Accepted Answer

It may be that you’re just feeding too much or haven’t given the diet enough time. Start with the guideline on the bag and re-weigh in a month. If no changes, decrease each feeding by about 25%. Weigh in a month. Continue until you hit his ideal weight, then go up slightly to stop the loss and start maintaining. Weight loss is definitely crucial for managing arthritis so good work in that department. That dose of gabapentin is safe for him (and in fact what I might prescribe to him if you came to my clinic). However, it works much better when given consistently so do get a prescription just for Teddy from you vet. He or she will also want to make sure it’s nothing else serious going on like a fracture, fungal disease, or cancer. My other “go-to’s” for arthritis are high dose omega 3 fatty acids (about 1000mg fish oil daily) and a glucosamine chondroitin supplement. Talk with you vet as there are dozens of other options as well including Adequan, cold laser therapy, stem cell therapy, and many others.

My overweight dog has pain. Is gabapentin safe? What diet helps?

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