Ibuprofen and dogs don’t go
The medication I am using to treat my old girl’s arthritis is becoming prohibitively expensive. Can I use ibuprofen instead?
Neil says: The answer is a most resounding no. While aspirin and paracetamol do have their uses – under strict veterinary supervision – ibuprofen, despite it being a common ‘over the counter’ anti-inflammatory for human use, is toxic to dogs. Ibuprofen, like many other non-steroid anti-inflammatories, works by blocking chemical pathways in the body that result in inflammation.
These processes are also important in maintaining normal gastrointestinal, kidney, liver, and blood-clotting functions. When ibuprofen is ingested, it is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream, but in dogs, instead of being removed from the body, it is released from the liver and then reabsorbed in the intestines over and over again. This recycling prolongs the poisoning effects. Poisoning may occur from a single dose or repeated dosing. The very young, the very old and those with kidney, stomach or liver disease are more at risk. Toxicity results in liver and kidney damage, which can be lethal, and even small doses can be very irritant to the stomach lining.