We put Tai (and her geriatric 14 yr old Lab brother Bandit) on Metacam, aka Meloxicam. It seems to be the drug of choice when it comes to musculoskeletal pain. Like Rimadyl it is an NSAID. There can be some issues with long term use but the mobility benefits were obvious. Bandit can literally bound around when he is on Metacam. You can start with a normal dose and then reduce it to a half dose for long term use after a couple of weeks. I agree that the hydrotherapy is beneficial too but sometimes not all that easy to achieve in the winter months.

Laura, Bandit, Kali and Angel Tai

Wow, thanks for all the quick responses!

We are trying Rimadyl after a discussion with the vet. She's also on Tramadol, and I haven't noticed it making her "loopy" although obviously there's been some personality change, but that's not too surprising. The amputation happened on March 2. She had her 12th birthday on March 11.

We are now trying to take her on "around the block" walks with a support sling holding her up, hoping that her desire for daily walks (which were always prominent when she had four legs…we would walk 3-4 miles daily) will be ramped up by these jaunts and that at some point she won't need the sling (obviously this is a work-up-to-it circumstance).

We continue with daily stretching of her hips as physical therapy. The surgeon suggested water PT, but we need to figure out how to do that without paying through the nose to go to doggie PT and the underwater treadmill. Frankly, the surgery took a lot of the financial resources and we just can't afford hundreds of dollars monthly for PT.

Just a reminder (or for those who don't know) you can get Meloxicam (Metacam) at the Walmart Pharmacy $4.00/30 tablets.

Good luck, I hope you find what works the best for Fudge.