my 18 year old mongrel dog seems fit and well apart from deafness and fairly poor eyesight, except last week she started to lose the use of her back legs and she kept walking round the room bumping into every corner, she was very distressed but it only lasted one night, i took her to my vet the next day, who didn't seem to have the slightest interest, she just said come back tomorrow if she survives that long.i did go back the next day as her condition gradually improved, and the vet gave me a weeks supply of rimadyl and vivitonin, she is now back to her normal self. my vet gave me no information about these tablets, and i am reluctant to use that vet again, is it advisable to keep my dog on these tablets? iv'e read that rimadyl can be dangerous to dogs and i'm not sure theyr'e the right tablets anyway as my dog doesn't suffer with arthritis(her back legs are failing her but it's more like she's losing the feeling in them than painful joints)
if we keep giving her vivitonin will that help to safeguard her against another attack like she had last week?
if it is advisable to keep her on vivitonin can i order the tablets on the internet?
thanks for your help

Vivitonin seems to work very well on certain dogs and I don't know of side affects. You can get them by mail order, but you do need to have a prescription from a Vet. Your Vet is not allowed to refuse to give you a prescription to get drugs elsewhere but they may charge a reasonable amount for providing the prescription. I don't think anyone has defined a reasonable amount but shouldn't think it would be more than a few pounds.

Rimadyl can cause side affects in some dogs, it can also be a great deal of help and can help to keep some dogs alive with a good quality of life so it is by no means all bad. If it does work, go with it!

18 is a wonderful age for a dog and it sounds as if yours is doing really well. If the Vivitonin is working (and it sounds as if it might be) I would keep her on it, I think at her age quality of life is probably more important than worrying about side affects of drugs. Good luck if you decide to look for a new Vet, there are some excellent ones out there who will care for your girl.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Hi Louise, thats a great age! A site you might find helpful is, The Senior Dogs Project
http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadyl.wsj.html
Christine2

What an achievement to have an 18 year old dog!
Here is the Rimadyl package insert. http://www.pfizer.com/ah/mypet/mydog/dhealth/dripkg.html
It contains important information for dog owners that is often omitted to be pointed out.

Good luck with your old boy, hope he recovers and enjoys some more good time with you. Not sure about the vet, is she always that off hand or do you think it was PMT, either way perhaps you should consider a change if she can't be bothered with the senior dogs. Ja:)kie

Cherish every day you have left.

Lucy
xx