My yellow lab is nearly 13.5 years old.  She is in very good health for an older dog.  She still moves pretty good and I intend to still hunt her this upcoming season.  I've always maintained a healthy weight her whole adult life, regular exercise, and I've been using glucosamine supplements for a year now, which I think has helped.

 

However, the most recent bi-annual comprehensive vet visit revealed early stages of arthritis in one of her back legs.  Not uncommon for older, bigger dogs.

 

The vet prescribed Gallaprant.  It's a relatively new drug that combats arthritis and osteoporosis in older dogs.  It's not cheap ($90 for 30 days) and requires blood work after a month's use because it can cause liver issues.

 

Has anyone used this stuff?  It's hard to find any honest reviews or opinions out there that don't originate from the actual drug company.

 

Thanks

My father in law's lab was on galliprant.  My slovak (12+ now) was on Rimadyl (a similar pain med).  Galliprant works fine as does rimadyl.  Ask your vet if Librella is appropriate.  We swapped our slovak to librella and she is like a new dog.  It is a once monthly shot which is annoying, but our vet is 6 minutes away and I can always steal away for an early friday appointment before work.  It is a monoclonal antibody that targets the joints.  For the first two weeks after the shot she bounces around like a puppy again.  By the fourth week it is wearing down but still equal to when she was on rimadyl.  it is about the same price per time (I pay 110 a month) but the slight bit of expense and the extra 20 minutes of my time are worth it.

We give our Dachshund Galliprant when her back flares up. Vet has never mentioned needing blood work outside of her annual physical. 

No experience with Galliprant or some of the other meds mentioned. But I do have longterm experience with Rimadyl.

 

For Tricksie, my GSP upland dog, I relied on Rimadyl for post hunt aches and pains and then serious arthritis pain and lameness in her hind quarters for the last few years of her life. She passed March 5 at 14 1/2. GSPs are the NFL quarterbacks of the dog world and Tricksie was a hard charger and by retirement, had the body to go with it. In her first hunt with a GPS collar she had run 24 miles by the end of day.

 

My vet always prescribed the 100 mg chewables which I was to cut in half for the correct dose (saved a bunch over 50 mg pills) for a 50# dog. She took it daily for the last 3 years of her life with no apparent liver damage.

 

Best of luck with whichever way you ultimately chose for a long, active and healthy life for your lab.

 

The photo is my old girl at 2 1/2 at the close of our first hunting season together.

 

My 15.5 year old dog takes Cosequin once a day. It seems to really help her. She has arthritis in both her back legs and some days she gets around better than others. It helps that she readily eats the pill, unlike some other medicines that have to force fed. 

Both my recently pased Tricksie and Max (another GSP "working" dog, now 9) got Cosequin every day for years. After he eats I tell Max "pill" and he sits for Cosequin like it's a treat. Anything to support joint health, especially in working dogs, is a good thing IMO.

My GSD has taken Rimadyl a couple times through the years. She is 13 and has a bad hip. Last vet showed “just” arthritis, and no dysplasia which in GSD is a godsend. That said, my grandmother took Rimadyl (carprofen) for years for rheumatoid arthritis. I remember when she first started it. Now, it’s only for use in dogs.