Alternative to Carprieve

Our customer asked:

I am looking to place an order with you but i wonder if you could advise me, at the moment he is on carprieve 50mg (one & half tablets a day) but after reading the possible side affects i am looking for an alternative and i am wondering if you know of something more kidney friendly and with less side affects,any advice would be much appreciated">carprieve 50mg (one & half tablets a day) but after reading the possible side affects i am looking for an alternative and i am wondering if you know of something more kidney friendly and with less side affects,any advice would be much appreciated

Our reply:

This is a bit like wanting an alternative to Nurofen if you have a headache. There are safer alternatives, but they are not as effective and the genuine risk of taking the original product is very low. Some people would rather have the headache than the pill, others take the pills happily (and usually are perfectly well).

There are a number of non-prescription products used to relieve stiffness and discomfort in the joints of older dogs. If this is the reason you were thinking of giving Carprieve then you could consider Seraquin or Yumove instead. They are very safe, with no recognised side effects, but they are not as potent or effective in most dogs. They do seem to be helpful for many individuals, but need to be used for a few weeks for the full benefit to develop.

I think that you need to judge how much your dog is in discomfort without the Carprieve, and balance a slight, potential risk against a genuine, probable benefit. The choice is yours. What do you think your dog would say if you could discuss it with him and ask him?