use of over the counter pain relief,

Question
Hi Gary,

I have a large mastiff cross that is 14 yrs old. He is a bit stiff with a rear leg that he tweaked twerking, just kidding,a  few years ago when he pivoted to catch a ball. For most of his life I have applied a type of canine kinetic therapy on him, to open up his range motion and stimulate blood and nerve flow. He responses well to it, pushing into each pressure rub stretching
out his legs, neck and back.
He has never winced or pulled away, I believe it is much like a
therapeutic body massage we would enjoy, he really likes it.
My question is can I give him an anti-inflammatory or ibuprofen (unless they are the same?) once in a while? Once a week or every other week, just to give him a break.
Or if you have any another ideas for my best friend it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you Gary, looking forward to hear from you.
Shelagh & Argus

Answer
Shelagh,

Great question and thank you for asking. You can buy over the counter pain meds at your local pet shop but like i tell everyone,call your Vet and run it past him. Best to play on the side of caution. We had a Rhodesian Ridgeback that lived to be 15 years old and he had back trouble and i used to give him back rubs all the time and my vet gave him a strong pain drug for the bad days.

 Argus is 14 WOW   Good for you. Double check with your vet and i would feel a lot better.

You are a great dog parent Keep up the good work ;-)



Best of luck with Argus
Gary
thepuppyguy@yahoo.com