My old gal has been on Deramaxx for nearly 2 years. I don't think Celebrex has been taken off the market, but something very similar, Viox has been. I was on Celebrex and this disturbed me. I am now taking a natural supplement and am off all of those medications. I started giving it to the dog and her mobility improved enough that she is on 1/4 of what was prescribed. She is a prety pickey eater and does not always eat what she has been given in a day, of course I put the supplement in her food (it is a juice). If she would eat all of her food everyday I think I could have her off the Deramaxx all together. This post has made me think I may try force feeding it on the days she does not eat well, while I dont really think the Deramaxx is life threatening, I sure would like to have her off of it.

Animals show pain by not doing things they used to do, like not being able to get up from lying down without help, not jumping, not playing, not running around like usual. They very rarely whine or cry except with acute pain, like being hit by a car. Even then, they aren't crying by the time we see them in the ER. Pain meds are great for older animals. Often people don't realize that their pet is in pain, and that pain is the reason that they don't do the things they used to do. It is more difficult to assess when the animal also has vision or hearing troubles, because that also makes the animal not want to move around as much as before. Pain meds are not without risk. Pets who will be on NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) need to have a complete chemistry panel and CBC prior to starting the medication to be sure the liver and kidneys in particular are able to metabolize the drugs. Then they must be monitored on a regular basis. The owners must watch for signs of problems, such as decreased appetite, vomiting, increased lethargy. But most animals do great on NSAIDs. Without knowing the cause of the dogs pain, NSAIDs are a good first choice. For a GSD sometimes their pain can be neurologic, like with degenerative myelopathy or cadua equina syndrome. In these cases, NSAIDs alone may not be enough. My own rottie K'Ehleyr has a terrible back, and recently had trouble getting up from lying down and some other neurologic problems. I thought for sure she'd need back surgery or be paralyzed. But after 2 MRIs, they couldn't find a specific cause for her trouble, and we just switched out one of her pain meds for another. She was on rimadyl (an NSAID) and tramadol (a synthetic opioid) for over a year with good results. But since we thought that she was having neurologic trouble, we switched her tramadol for gabopentin, which originally was used as an anti-seizure drug but it turns out to be good for controlling neurologic pain. She's doing MUCH better now. She has also been on glucosamine HCL 1500mg, chondroitin sulfate 1200mg, duralactin, fish oil, and vitamin E since I got her 2 years ago. She was a wreck when I got her, but between all that and significant weight loss (she was also fat, which didn't help) she is doing really well. In short, there are a lot of options for pain control in dogs. Sometimes it takes a little time working out which options are best. I would definitely try some sort of pain management on a dog who was having the symptoms you described. Could make a big difference in the quality of life for the dog. I know GSDs who have lived to 16, so 13 is old, but not unheard of.

lisa, what a GREAT story!! i have already spoken to my great dane rescue people who brought me ashley and swee' pea. i have told them to put me on the foster home list and i don't expect it will be terribly long before i hear that big sigh of relief you speak of. :) i cannot think of a more rewarding thing to do!!

Great place to stash an overflow guest, mtn! And it might have unanticipated uses :-) A friend who lives on Lake Michigan has a house designed to see the water from every room. Almost...as there is one very small, odd room that has a bathroom, but neither view nor purpose. They call it the Drunk Room and said they plan to put their inebriated guests there to sleep. I don't know if they ever actually do that, but I love the name!