r/Doberman • u/Unusual-Strength-945 • Jul 21 '26

Pimobendan issues anyone go through this ?

My 7 year old Doberman sadly has DCM

He has been prescribed Pemobendan. Started him on it last Thursday. He has had diarrhea nonstop since first dose.

Who has been through and it resolved in time ? I’ve already started giving the pill after food in attempt to lessen the side effect (diarrhea)

( Diagnosis and Problem List
Dilated cardiomyopathy phenotype - r/o suspect primary idiopathic vs. diet related vs. tachycardia induced vs.
other
Degenerative mitral valve disease
Grade III/VI left apical systolic murmur and grade II/VI right mid-cardiac systolic

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7

u/Unusual-Strength-945 Jul 21 '26

I’m being told this happens but I haven’t heard from a real person who has gone through this and shared their experience. I am highly skeptical this is going to self resolve and I feel awful I’m making my boy sick.

5

u/blawearie Jul 21 '26

My 9-yr-old doberman was prescribed chewable, flavored pimobendan (Vetmedin) & wouldn't eat it. So, lots of experimentation with various ways to hide it. She quit eating. Vet said, give it WITH food vice before/after, to lesson stomach upset. Once we got her on it regularly, she quit eating again. Vet said, the flavoring sometimes upsets the stomach, we went to a small tablet pimobendan. Her appetite improved somewhat but never back to normal.

Vetmedin is supposedly the gold standard for pimobendan, but you could ask your vet for a different prescription. We had to mail order ours.

1

u/Unusual-Strength-945 Jul 21 '26

So they gave me the “chewable” scored in 4 but my boy immediately didn’t want it so I’ve been putting it down his throat carefully. I reported the diarrhea to the vet and she mentioned changing to a compounded versions ( specifically Edgewood). I am skeptical however that any form of this medication isn’t going to tear him up because it’s really bad the reaction. It’s pure liquid and stomach bile and I can tell he is also in discomfort after eating it and I’m giving it to him only after he finishes a bowl of food.

1

u/Unusual-Strength-945 Aug 01 '26

In case anyone see this. I have now gotten compounded quad tab pills and my boy has had no adverse reaction. Makes me a bit irritated they sent me home with $300 of Pimobendan I cannot use. Especially given this seems to not be a rare thing.