My senior dog has neck pain and head tilt. Can I continue Rimadyl?

Question

My dog was scratching his neck really hard and screamed out in pain! His head is low and turns to one side now..Have given Ramadyl..makes him drowsy but eases the pain for his rest..Should I continue for 1 week with Ramadyl..and will it heal itself..it's hard at the vets as he attacks..thanks. Pet's info: Dog | Labradoodle | Male | neutered | 17 years and 8 months old | 22 lbs

Dr. B. DVM, DACVIM (Oncology) · Accepted Answer

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!

My senior dog has neck pain and head tilt. Can I continue Rimadyl?

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