Page 6 - Arthritis in Dogs - Comprehensive by Dr Erik Johnson

THEM: “I know I ran out a long time ago, but when I ran out of the Methocarbamol he went bad
again. All he seems to need is the methocarbamol!”

And so I learned from that: Their dog, that particular dog, was experiencing MORE pain from
muscle spasm and less pain from inflammation, obviously. And that’s not something you can
guess. Trial-and-error is the only way to figure it out.

What if the Triad doesn’t work?

That suggests that “arthritis” and “muscle spasm” aren’t really a player in the pet’s mobility
issues.

If the triad works, how does the client proceed?

So if your dog is one of the many that thrives on the three medications in the triad, the object
THEN is to see one of two things:
1. How little of the medicine can we use to produce the same amount of comfort?
2. Which medicine even MATTERS in the ease of the pets pain?

The way to know these things would be to stop one or the other medicine and see if it impacts
the way the dog is performing.

Some people may decrease the amounts of all the medicines, or some of the medicines to see
what amounts are truly needed. There’s economy in that approach, too.

Some folks change up the dosing, to attempt:
 Methocarbamol in the morning
 Gabapentin in the evening and
 Deramax once a day or even once every OTHER day.

The heavier the dog is, the more medicine it will need to remain functional and the shorter the
remission of soreness will be.

The role of tramadol

Tramadol is a mild pain reliever that’s been used in cases of canine arthritis for a long time. It’s
“pretty good” in my hands. I used a ton of it when all I was doing was Deramax. So “Deramax
and Tramadol” was my go-to older-dog arthritis cases. Now it’s just okay and not as good as the
Triad.

The role of CBD

CBD stands for Cannabidiol which is a compound extracted from the cannabis plant, or hemp.
CBD is legal, while THC (tetra-hydro-cannabidiol) is not legal in many states.

Anecdotal evidence derived from human usage suggests that CBD makes a difference. In some
cases such as my own Temporo-Mandibular-Joint Disease, results were remarkable. I also
stopped teeth grinding while sleeping and that may have helped with the TMJ.