I'm hoping somebody will have a good idea for me to try. Our old boy needs to take Vivitonin now. He has mobility problems and has been diagnosed with CDRM. The Vivitonin seems to help but he has problems keeping the tablets down.

He's supposed to take them twice a day. But sometimes he pukes them back up almost straight away. I've learnt not to give them anywhere near mealtimes.  Our vet phoned the manufacturers who said vomiting is quite a common side-effect (it's not on the data sheet!) At the moment we give a Gaviscon tablet about 10 minutes before his Vivitonin. That seems to help and they do stay down about half the times as opposed to never before we gave him a Gaviscon tablet first.

I've even tried crushing them up and rubbing them on his gums. He still puked but I could see some powder was still on his gums so I guess he got some benefit from them. I would give up with the tablets but he does seem more mobile when he has managed to keep them down so I'd like to persevere if I can.

Has anyone on here got any bright ideas? 

Is this a drug that can be administered another way?  Does it have to be tablet form?

I don't know if it has to be tablet form. I guess I can find out. When our vet phoned the manufacturors they said vomiting wasn't an unusual effect and that perhaps Vivitonin doesn't suit all dogs. It was our vet's suggestion to try giving Gaviscon first and it does seem to help a bit. I could try crushing the tablets up and mixing them with a bit of water. Then I could syringe the solution in and see how that goes.

One of my boys is on them and has no problem at all but as dogs do differ there may well be another medication that will have the same effect but not the side effects it seems to be having on your dog. Only problem we have is that they are so small I have difficulty in managing to get them into his mouth and usually drop it on the floor then everyone dives for it and I can say who I have medicated so now it is a job for my OH.

hi these tablets shold never be crushed or broken in half and certainly not rubbed on gums,this could cause awful side effects,try and wrap one in a piece of meat,any sickness after a couple of days i would go back to my vet.this drug is after all a anti inflam.

Sheila

I have never heard them described as an anti inflammatory, I thought they were mainly used to improved circulation. This is taken from the datasheet "Vivitonin is a treatment prescribed for improvement of circulation, demeanor and breathing in older dogs. Vivitonin contains propentofylline as the active ingredient." Apologies if I am wrong.

I have used them in the past and didn't experience any problems. I used to wrap tablets in a slice of ham but my present girl always managed to eat the ham and spit out the tablet so now I use pork pate (59p from Tesco), just a small scoop with the tablet squashed in the middle and they go down a treat.

if your dog is foody you can hid his table in a cooked pasta tube.works for mine.

I find that with small but not very palatable tablets, the way to get them down and keep them down is to slice a cocktail sausage almost in half and push the tablet inside.  dogs tend to swallow them whole and it keeps the tablet inside something until the sausage starts to break down in the stomach.  This should lessen the instant vomit response and he will hopefully get some benefit from the tablets.

Find half a chip is good but not always available we just scrape it in some spread, low cholesterol, of course :-)

Agree not Anti-inflammatory, I always think of them as like my Warfarin, I know they are not but are to increase blood flow and vascular efficiency.

sorry for my ignorance,I was getting it mixed up with another drug,still think that any tablet that makes dogs sick is worse if crushed as the coating is there to protect.

Sheila

To be honest, the times when he's sick are equally whether I crush the tablets or not. There doesn't seem to be any alternative to Vivitonin for his condition - CDRM, mild cognitive disfunction and an aging heart. The days when he can keep them down he looks a bit better so I want to persevere with them if I can.

And yes, pate, peanut butter, wrapping in a bit of sausage, cheese etc are all good ways of getting the pills down him. That's not the issue at all. It's keeping him from regurgitating them that's the problem. They seem to come back pretty quickly if they're going to.

And yes, I did go back to the vet. That's when he phoned the manufacturers to be told that vomiting isn't an uncommon response with these tablets. The Gaviscon first was his suggestion and it does seem to help a bit.

I think we're on end times with him to be honest. So sad.

> It's keeping him from regurgitating them that's the problem

The only thing I can suggest is that you try a few different options, after he's taken the tablets, to see if any work at keeping them down for longer.  I wonder if he needs calm and quiet with minimal movement or if perhaps a distraction might work...

If you think distraction might be the key then could you give him a bone to chomp?

I do hope you can find something that helps - poor chap, it's bad enough feeling ropey without having to be sick every time he has his pills.  Fingers crossed for you both

I am sure you can get it in liquid form :-)

>  I wonder if he needs calm and quiet with minimal movement

Yes, that does seem to help. If we give his second dose about midnight then turn off the light straightaway, those are the times when it stays down most often. He's supposed to have it twice a day though. I haven't tried giving him a bone after the midday dose so will give that a go.

I've also contacted the manufacturers and asked for suggestions. And I asked them if Vivitonin ever comes in liquid form, not that I can find it on any of the suppliers lists but it seems worth asking.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Much appreciated x

> To be honest, the times when he's sick are equally whether I crush the tablets or not.

Sadly, I think you really need to be thinking whether the cure is affecting his quality of life to the degree where he would be better just allowing his condition to dictate matters.

Is not aktivait a similar thing - would it be worth considering changing to that?

an old boy of mine now sadly gone ... was on vivitonin for a good few years..never had a problem.. we used to get a piece of bread spread butter on it put the tablet in the butter and fold it up like a tiny sandwich he gulped it down and they never came back up ..good luck.

> Is not aktivait a similar thing - would it be worth considering changing to that?

I've heard of it. Does anyone know anything about it? It would be worth a try if it works. When he keeps the Vivitonin down he's not too bad, so anything that works in a similar way could be a good idea.

have a google, it made no difference to our old boy but vivitonin did so it maybe that your dog will do better on aktivait rather than what he is on

Just to let everyone know who kindly offered suggestions, we lost our old boy with CDRM last week. He went completely off his legs and after talking it over with our trusted vet, we decided to let him go. It seemed there was nothing left to try. Sad day, and his best dog friend is really downcast, even though he is part of a multi-dog household.

Also for what it's worth, Vivitonin doesn't come in liquid form. It's OK to break the tablets in half (our boy was on 3 tabs a day, split into 2 doses). And it can cause vomiting as a side effect in some dogs. But when it works, it does seem to benefit similar oldies and I think it helped our old boy to an extent.

Thanks again go those who offered ideas x

Such sad news for you, although it sounds as if you acted at the right time.  They leave such a gaping hole in our lives don't they

Lots of love to you and his best pal xx

Thanks dogs a babe, much appreciated x

Sorry to hear you lost him,but it sounds as if you did right by him x

sorry to read this Esme, take comfort from all the good times x

Thanks Celli & Ruby Roo, you're very kind x

that's sad :(

So sorry to hear of your loss. Try and think about all the good times you had together, and put the last few weeks behind you.
It takes time but after a while you will be able to think and talk about him without tears. It is never easy but you did the right thing by him, and gave him as good a life as you could. That is all any of us can do, hard to make the decision, but that is the hardest part of owning an animal. Sending you a {Hug}.