Aspirin is a pain reliever, a fever reducer, a blood thinner and an anti-inflammatory. It also has several potential side effects including nausea, intestinal irritation, intestinal blood loss and at high doses/overdoses there can be severe consequences, including death.
So is Aspirin a good drug to manage my dog’s arthritis?
No, it is not. While Aspirin may be reasonable to treat a brief episode of inflammation, long term the risk of the side effects outweigh the benefits of the drug. As a blood thinner, Aspirin irreversibly binds to platelets. This means there can be grave consequences to the dog on Aspirin who is injured and bleeding or requires an emergency surgery.
Aspirin also has a long list of contraindications and should never be used in any dog that may have an ulcer, bleeding disorders or kidney disease.
Today there are many drugs available to the veterinarian that offer excellent pain relief to arthritic dogs with very few side effects. These drugs are more expensive than Aspirin, however, given their large margin of safety veterinarians should be reaching for these drugs when trying to manage arthritic dogs.
You should never, ever give Aspirin to any dog without specifically discussing it with your veterinarian. And if your dog is on Aspirin and you find yourself visiting another veterinary hospital (traveling, emergency, etc) immediately tell the veterinarian that your pet is on Aspirin.
