Thread: Baby Asprin
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Old 03-02-2007, 04:51 PM   #7
Monday
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Dr Mike: My dog is a pure white 6 year old male german shephard. Both his parents were large dogs. He was the runt of the litter, which made him medium in size. In the last year, when it is cold outside, (we live in Colorado) he has problems getting up from a sitting or lying down position. He rises slowly and whines upon movement. No signs of the problem is apparent when weather is warm. He is very active. Runs alot and jumps alot. I cannot afford a visit to the vet, which is very high in our area. My question: How many aspirin can I give him to help with the pain and swelling. Thank you,

A: The dosage of aspirin for dogs is between 10 and 15mg/kg, given every 12 hours. This is roughly one aspirin tablet per 30 pounds of body weight every 12 hours. It is extremely important to pay attention to your dog's eating habits when administering aspirin. Dogs have no way to tell you their stomach is upset so you must watch for signs of this. If your dog stops eating while you are giving aspirin it is important to stop giving the aspirin. If any signs of gastric ulcers develop (like blood tinged vomiting or depression) it is important to stop the aspirin.
It is important in German shepherds to distinguish between degenerative joint diseases, such as hip dysplasia, and neurologic diseases, such as degenerative myelopathy. They can have very similar signs but have very different outcomes and somewhat different treatments. When you can afford to take your dog to the vet it would be a good idea.
Mike Richards, DVM

Enteric Coated Aspirin
Q: I saw the Q&A on arthritis and your recommended treatment (aspirin). I have been giving my 45 lb black lab/pointer 250 mg of buffered aspirin w/ his food each day and it seems to help. I've heard that enteric coated aspirin is better than buffered. Do you agree. These tablets are harder to cut; would 325 mg be ok daily?
A: There have been one, or possibly two, studies done that indicate that enteric coated aspirin does not work well in dogs. Due to the differences in digestive processes dogs do not seem to be able to routinely digest the coating off the aspirin and many of the aspirin tablets are found whole in the stool. Obviously, if the coating isn't digested the aspirin is not effective. The dose for aspirin is approximately 10mg/lb of bodyweight every 12 hours. If less works, I'd use less. But if you need to, you can give your dog a whole 5 grain aspirin tablet twice a day with no problem.
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