This is a miracle drug that pretty much instantly changed both my (older) dogs' lives. Every vet tech I've spoken to (it's a monthly injection) agrees it is amazing.
Librela gave us another year with our old girl and allowed to her to walk again. It was absolutely life-altering for her and we're forever greatful for the extra time we had with her because of it. Some are saying it's not a miracle drug but honestly, a monthly injection that gave us back our girl for a year is 100% a miracle to me.
I'm just past the second dose on my older border collie, and it has been a good thing for him. But I would hesitate to call it a miracle. He's somewhat more active and flexible, but he still has some trouble climbing steps and stairs.
He also loves the cold, and he's always more active in the winter anyway. I would say he's close to the level he was last winter instead of slightly declined. That's great, but not miraculous.
We'll stick with the regimen and see if he continues to improve. I'll upgrade my judgement if he starts climbing stairs again.
+1 on the Librela. "Fine, I'll blow $99 on your snake oil injection. Who knows, maybe it might actually work!"
36 hours later, the limping stops and the dog wants to walk further than he has in years. We take him to doggy daycare once a week since his housemate passed, and daycare staff commented on how he was like a new dog. Not every day is a great day, but most of them are.
This was the same experience for me too, except that it really took after the 2nd shot to be really apparent.
My girl has had shoulder arthritis for years and walked with a limp. We had her on daily pain medication and we tried multiple kinds because they weren't very effective. It always was a chore because she hated the pills and would literally eat around them in placed inside a treat (she wouldn't even take the flavored ones). She was in pain and would basically just lay down all day.
Now? No limping anymore. No pills. She isn't scared to go up and down the stairs. Jumping on and off the couch without missing going up or being scared to hop down. Running around with my other dog.
I'm so happy to learn this exists, and I'm also feeling deep heartbreak that I didn't learn about it a year ago before we lost our dog. He had an almost inoperable tumor, so I don't know that we would've gotten a whole lot more time, but watching his decline and increasing pain was horrible. If we could've had even one more month of walks with him I would have paid a lot more than $99.
Pain medication, specifically for arthritis. I hesitate to post a marketing page, but it does specify what the product is for and how it works, and better than I could do:
We thought we were going to have to say goodbye to our girl back in February this year. Her arthritis was so bad, she'd stopped using the litter and was... Backed up, let's just say.
But she's currently curled up right next to me, and generally acts like she used to a couple years ago. You can tell her legs are weaker than they were, but the pain doesn't bother her anymore.
My 19 year old cat is on the feline equivalent, Solensia (Frunevetmab). It is a once a month injection that relieves his joint pain. We don't have to give him other pain relief and so can save the stress on his kidneys.
He isn't back to being a kitten, you should have appropriate expectations, but he wasn't able to jump on or off the couch before, now he can. He is walking around more than he used to, before he would spent most of the day in his box. The effect of getting him more exercise is compounding his good health.
If you have an older cat/dog you should definitely talk to your vet about it.
My understanding of Librela is that it specifically targets arthritis pain. I don't think it has anything to do with the breed, but more about what kind of pain they are in. My bigger, older dog did much better on it, but not as well as my dog with elbow dysplasia, who basically was made brand new again.
The other comments imply the same; it will depend a bit on the dog's condition. That being said, I still stand by my miracle drug assertion. And seemingly side-effect free.
This is a miracle drug that pretty much instantly changed both my (older) dogs' lives. Every vet tech I've spoken to (it's a monthly injection) agrees it is amazing.