I had a big blonde german shepard, she was an achy old gal (21 yrs old when we had to put her to sleep, she just couldnt stand up no more) what did her the best good was HEAT, she had her own electric blankie to sleep on, and dont laugh, but she had jammies. we custom made her a set out of heavy sweatshirts. that the heat and a nasprine a few times a day did her good for a long time. if she decided as dogs do, to sleep off her blankie someplace she couldnt get up, but after a nap on her blankie, she was fine.
i'm a lot like her anymore, I ache and nothing helps but heat and asprine... daily, regular doses, thats the trick of asprin.
my moms old dog that just had a stroke was like that, she was getting slow and stiff, and she was getting the warmth treatment but she had the benifit of my moms new woodstove, so she was alwways looking for a cool spot to sleep. (ma keeps her house like a steel mill...whew!)
my sister does the pill thing for her beagle, but I dont see where it does any better than the warmth and the REGULAR doses of asprin.