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What daily pain medication is safe for my senior dog with arthritis?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Bichon Frise | Female | spayed | 15 years and 11 months old | 15 lbs

15 year old Bichon who weighs 15 lbs and has no chronic systemic illnesses but does have arthritis and noticeable stiffness. What pain medication can I give her daily?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 5th, 2019

Hello. There are many wonderful medication availably to make Sassy much more comfortable in her older years. You can start with a good glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate supplement ( I like Dasuquin by Nutramax ). Then, you can visit with your vet about some of the amazing medications we have to keep our elderly pets so much more comfortable, like NSAIDS ( Previcox, Rimadyl, Deramax, Meloxicam, Galliprant ) to which we can add additional medications such as Gabapentin, if necessary. In addition, adding Adequan injections may actually lower the amount of medications that Sassy might need to keep her comfortable. We have so many safe medications available, but they do need some monitoring. I hope you can talk to your vet soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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