The Use of Carprofen for Canines

According to the FDA, "Carprofen" is a NSAID or a Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug that is non-narcotic, analgesic and antipyretic. In other words "Carprofen" is not addictive and is proven to relieve pain, inflammation and fever in the dog. Although administered to humans and a variety of animals in the past, "Carprofen" currently is cleared by the FDA for use only in the canine. Rimadyl is the human label for carprofen and Novox is one of the generic equivalent of carprofen. "Carprofen" is now used exclusively  for relief of hip dysplasia, osteoarthritis, post surgical pain, somatic (non-neurological) pain and inflammation. The stage for additional FDA approved canine NSAID drugs has become crowded adding Dermaxx, Previcox, Galliprant and Meloxicam.

"Carprofen" still serves as  one of the most popular NSAID of choice prescribed by veterinarians because of it's reputation of being safe, has a predictable effective performance and familiarity with repeated use. Because "Carprofen"  is generally prescribed for medically compromised or aging pets, veterinarians will generally recommend physical exams including blood panels to review the integrity of  blood corpuscles, kidney and liver function. Once on a prescribed "Carprofen" treatment protocol, veterinarians recommend follow up  blood panels on a regular basis to monitor healthy body functions. Carprofen is generally administered orally at 2mg/lb daily once daily or divided in two.

Because of the long term familiarity of administration of "Carprofen," some veterinarians have created there own effective safe cocktails mixing in other pain relief medications like Gabipentin with "Carprofen" resulting in even stronger pain relief. Pain is reduced as early as a few hours after "Carprofen" administration with maximum effect experienced within a couple of weeks. In rare cases, negative impact on the kidney, liver, stomach or intestine will be observed and "Carprofen" treatment should be discontinued with alternative medical protocols considered. Medication should be administered daily and continued long term absent of negative side effects with appropriate monitoring of patients and regular review of blood panels.