In the 2 dogs I had with severe arthritis, one dog had it in his hips from an early age - around 5. He was on
rimadyl for years, and during his last year we went to deramaxx. Rimadyl is pretty cheap because it's been on the market for quite some time. Deramaxx is much more effective, but also more expensive. The difference in my dogs was truly remarkable once their arthritis pain was treated effectively. At least the meds give a short-term trial run and see how she does.