Our vet has recently presribed the above drug for our 13 year old border collie. This was in response to our visit to them following bouts of night wanderings, inability to settle, panxiety pantings etc.

Jos is a tall border collie and weighs in at 28 kg (I don't consider this over weight for him).

We were given a 10 day supply with the dosage of 150mg twice per day.

He has been on the drug 7 days and the bed time 'episodes' have got a little better. We enquired about a repeat prescription, as we understood it is a lifetime drug, and have been quoted a price of £48.48 for a months supply.

Do any of you have knowledge of this drug? dosage? price? alternatives.

We have seen Hills have a new food out to help with the aged 'senile' dog, reference b/d, has anyone any knowledge of this?

Thanks in advance

Keith.

Hi there, One of my Wolfhounds was prescribed this drug for heart problems. It worked wonders for him for nearly four years, and he lived a normal dog style life. It was however, very expensive, and cost nearly £100 a month for the supply. I dont know about any side effects with this drug, I can only tell you that our lad didnt appear to have any, and it gave him a new lease of life. Only trouble was, when the insurance ran out after a year, it became an expensive item!! However, he was worth every penny. I do hope this helps your dog to enjoy life again.

I've only heard good things about it but not in too much detail so can't really comment on the safety aspect. As for prices it might be worth contacting Canine Chemists, or one of the other online chemists and checking the price from them, it might well be cheaper than your own vet. You would have to get a prescription from your own vet but this should last a number of months and they are not supposed to charge more than a nominal amount for the prescription.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

My BSD bitch was put on this after a major stroke, (from which we nursedher at home and she recovered 100%), and stayed on it for nearly 2 years. She was a bit more active and mentally alert, and I would very highly recommend the drug for a "new lease of life".

We noticed absolutely no side effects.
There is another similar drug which my friend's dog had, can't remember the name. I would only recommend Vivitonin 'cause that's what i have experienced.

Best wishes
Lindsay

Is this drug ok if they have a heart murmer as Im interested in it for Bobby My Maltese he is twelve ( forgotten I'd seen this on here)

Yes Mattie, vivitonin can be given to dogs with heart problems, my JRT had it, she had a heart murmur and apparently it increases the bloods circulation, so I would imagine could benefit such a dog.
Dawn.

Hello Keith,
I just did a search for Vivitonin and found your post so I had to answer it.  My vet has suggested we put our dog on this drug due to a very weird episode yesterday.  He quoted me £40 for 100 tablets, I was absolutely gobsmacked (sorry, can't think of another word), how on earth was I going to find that sort of money each month when he is already on Metacam £20 for 32 ml.  Altogether it would have come to £60 !!

My initial search was just for more info on this drug but lo and behold it also gave me a web site where I could buy it online.  You will never guess the price ......... it is on special at the moment for £22.50 for the Vivitonin and £23.75 for 100ml of Metacam (special price) both include VAT.  If you are interested have a look yourself at http://www.petdrugsquick.co.uk/?SID=V 

Hope this has been of use to you.
Kindest Regards

  

DawnB gave me this link and I'm now saving a fortune on our Phoenix's meds.
The vet charges £5 for the prescription so we are saving nearly £40 month.
I buy Phenobarbitone from them but they have Vivitonin,100mg & 50mg, and Metacam at a reasonable price.

DawnB gave me this link and I'm now saving a fortune on our Phoenix's meds. http://www.hyperdrug.com/store/searchprods.asp
The vet charges £5 for the prescription so we are saving nearly £40 month.
I buy Phenobarbitone from them but they have Vivitonin,100mg & 50mg, and Metacam at a reasonable price.

Hi Keith

I'm a vet nurse and we've had a lot of success with Vivitonin on our "oldies"!  One client in particular springs to mind - she had a Sheltie who had a million different problems.  He was on quite a cocktail of drugs, and we got to know them very well over the last couple of years.  This client was extremely impressed with the effect of Vivitonin, and continued to use it although the insurance company stopped paying for it after 12 months.  The dog was sadly PTS a couple of months ago, but our client was sure it helped keep him going, and he was happy until the end.  We also have a 21 year old Heinz 57 on it, and although she's pretty slow these days, she doesn't display many signs of senility.

Hills b/d is relatively new, and I'm reserving judgement for now, although I'm a bit sceptical.  I believe it is supposed to help increase oxygenation of the blood and blood flow to the brain, (although I missed the seminar!) but I wonder how much difference a food can really make to this problem.  It certainly won't hurt though.  If you do decide to feed it to Jos, I'd be interested to know your thoughts on it.

Good luck

If it were my dog and I did not feed raw I would be more inclined to feed Naturediet or Burns and give Vitamins A  C (in the form of Ester C with bio-flavonoids) and natural Vitamin E as they are antioxidants, Fish Body Oil, this assists brain activity, DHEA for age related behaviour and digestive enzymes to help the aging digestive system utilise ingredients.

The contents of the Hills b/d diet are:

Corn meal, chicken by-product meal, pork fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), brewers rice, soybean mill run, soybean meal, flaxseed, fish meal, chicken liver flavor, dried egg product, dried carrots, dried spinach, dried grape pomace, dried tomato pomace, dried citrus pulp, vegetable oil, oat fiber, L-lysine, L-tryptophan, taurine, L-carnitine, preserved with BHT and BHA, minerals (potassium chloride, salt, calcium carbonate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), alpha-lipoic acid, rosemary extract, beta-carotene, vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin E supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of Vitamin C), niacin, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).

This diet has corn (maize) as its main ingredient which is tryptophan deficient; soya, which can interfere with nutrient absorption, produce gas, bind zinc and be a goitrogen, flaxseed which can be problematic for some dogs, contains BHT and BHA preservatives, added salt, lots and lots of different fibre/bulking agents none of which I would be feeding to a dog of any age, let alone an aging one.

Just my personal view...........