Is there an update yet on the availability of Librela? The new monthly injection for canine arthritis?

I know it was in very short supply for a while and wondered if that was still the case...

This just came up on my feed:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158053195541805&set=a.469018661804

That's really good . It has been so successful for so many
We use the cat version for.our burmese and she Is like a new cat at 18

Oh excellent, that's great to know.

Not sure where abouts you are 1234 but a friend of mine, who lives in London has had it for his dog, they didn’t have a problem with stock and has continued on it over the past year…actually had this months dose a couple days ago - just thinking if it runs short again it seems city vets seem to do better when it comes to stocking things :)

My father's Lab has started on it recently and no issues with stock levels here in Sussex either

I'm not yet needing it, but I've got a dog starting to age and having an intermittent occasional limp - it's good to know it's available for the coming years!

A follow-up question...

Would it be indicated to 'trial' Librela if you are not sure what is causing lameness? And to let the trial be a test, of sorts? (Ie - if it gets better, can assume probably arthritis?)

For eg - if an 8yo large breed dog has a persistent limp and x-rays and exam are normal, would it be reasonable for me to ask my vet if we can try Librela? Or do we need to see something on an x-ray which causes us to diagnose arthritis before we can use it?

I’ve only ever known it to be used when arthritis can be seen/proven…that being said if a vet deems it ok (considering the side effects, if there are any) then it only costly to you.

You may have already done this 1234 but when one of my girls was limping intermittently I got my vet to sign off on her being able to go and see a canine physiotherapist (even though the vet had examined and said they couldn’t feel anything wrong). On our first consultation they were able to spot the problem straight away and we were able to stop the limping by continuing our sessions and doing our ‘homework’ which involved strengthening exercises…I’m so passionate about physio now that all my girls have sessions every few weeks just for a top up and we continue exercises at home. Recently one of my girls who had a litter started developing an uneven gait after delivery, she’d been carrying very unevenly and that had made her to compensate and then overcompensate out of habit once pups were born. Any dog thats very physically active I’d say it’s worth it for sure! Apologies if you’ve tried this though

I’m a big advocate for physio, and underwater treadmill as well.

Another vote for a veterinary physiotherapist's opinion here. I've used them a few times and had great results with soft tissue/ligament problems that my vets weren't able to do much other than rest and metacam for. I've also used a greyhound track vet a few times for racing related injuries, he was awesome.

I personally would want to know that it is arthritis rather than guessing it is. In all probabilities it is more than likely but to be sure that its nothing else going on I would xray.

Okay, so the process is likely to be an x-ray to begin with, via the vet? And then I can see a physio?

I don't think it's anything sinister just because it's been there for about 4-5 years, happening about 2-3 times in all those years. Previously it's just gone away again by itself after a week or so - and stayed away for years again. This time it seems a bit worse, maybe because she's getting older.

It's a hard one because you could go down the physio route and if it doesn't help then maybe do the xrays? I'm the type of person that likes to know what's what before I make a clear course of action.
1st time mine was diagnosed with arthritis. Did all the therapies needed to help her and then she went into a bad limp at times compared to where she was. Went back for xrays and they found the early stages of the dreaded bone cancer, this meant I now knew my options, which were none because we know there is no coming back from this and with all 4 limbs arthritic I let her enjoy the life she had left

That's sad :( Gosh I really hope it's not something like that. I guess that's why I wondered about trialling Librela, because presumably if it were bone cancer, it wouldn't help it at all. I also don't know if all arthritis can show on x-rays??

Well anyway, we will give it a couple weeks to get better and then go to the vet I guess and see what they suggest.

Unlikely but with Librela I know it doesn't work for all dogs. The reason I needed to know was because I was doing laser on mine and you can't give that if they have cancer as it speeds up the cancerous cells.

Librela also won’t do anything if it’s a muscle/physio problem. Dogs can have exactly what you’re describing go to the physio and never have a problem again, could definitely be due to muscle weakness etc that only a qualified physio will be able to notice (in some cases). Honestly I’d be going to a physio just for an initial consultation, if they find nothing then you haven’t had a massive bill to pay anyway. Then you can go down the X-ray/librela route. But the problem with starting with a librela trial is that if it doesn’t make a difference it could still be one of several different problems.

So can I just self-refer to a physio? Don't I need to see a vet first to get a referral?

Most vets are happy to sign off/write giving the ok for physio from a chat on the phone that you can then go and pick up. They don’t need to give permission per say, only that to confirm the dog is well enough for physio…if a vet that you regularly see won’t sign off from a phone call then I wouldn’t trust that vet personally. That’s my experience with using physios outside of my own vets, I’ve never used an in house physio. I suppose it depends the last time she went in for a check up, sounded to me like she’s been in recently and if that’s the case then most vets would print out something saying ok for physio that you can take to the physio etc.
If she hasn’t been in a while then I’d take her just for a general full health check up and then ask to be referred to a physio. But I would definitely do it soon, from going I’ve learnt that dogs can ‘look’ fine but actually can be in quite a lot of discomfort with prolonged intermittent limps. Hope you find the answer and can get the problem sorted