I picked up some capsule meds from the vets. The contents are supposed to be micro encapsulated granules - with the option of giving the capsule whole or opening and sprinkling on food.
Anyhow I have opened two and the contents are solid! I checked the manufacturer's website and you are indeed supposed to be able to sprinkle the contents.
So I have rung the vets and the receptionist assured me that they were still in date. Assuming that I was given the correct meds () I can only think that moisture has got to them at some stage. Or maybe the manufacturer's quality control is lacking. Just waiting for the vet to check their remaining stock and get back to me.
This stuff isn't cheap but the main thing is I want to be sure that I am giving my girl something that is effective. If you were me would you insist on either an 'as described' replacement or a refund if not possible?
Don't want to make a fuss over nothing but I don't want to take risks with my dog's health either.

Update - the vets think they should be fine. I have left it for now but am still not happy and have emailed the manufacturers.

Are they definitely capsules you've been given? As some meds come in tablet and capsule form and without close inspection the packaging looks identical. Assuming they are, if their supposed to be opened and sprinkled and their so solid they can be mistaken for a tablet, I think I too would want them changing. I would be concerned theyd got wet or air in them and made them go off, or were just a faulty batch and would loose their effectiveness as a a result. I don't like giving medication as it is so I definitely wouldn't be happy if they weren't as described.

Yes they are actual capsules - the sort you can take apart. It only comes in capsules. The blurb says they can be given as they are, or opened and the contents sprinkled onto food.
So rightly or wrongly I was expecting them to have a loose powder/granule content.
The receptionist said 'oh just crumble them with your fingers' but the content is so hard/dense even that's not possible.

If the instructions had said 'can be ground and sprinkled onto food', that would be a different matter. Is it me being picky and pedantic?

The vets are lovely and have done me some favours including seeing my dog who had torn off a dew claw - even when we weren't registered. So don't really want to make an issue of at this point.
I've emailed the manufacturer and have left a review on Amazon. I find that usually concentrates minds.
My dog has a failing liver and I have to be really, really careful what I give her.
So I won't give any more till I have heard back.

No I don't think your being picky and pedantic, if they say you can sprinkle them on food and their hard like a tablet, they sound not right. I'm guessing, they've gone like an oxo cube when it's gone off/half opened for too long, a solid lump instead of the normal easily crumbled consistency? Out of interest what exactly are they as if their something I've seen/heard of , I might be able to advise you a bit more.

Not stricty a med I suppose but a supplement containing SAMe - which is recommended by vets for pets with liver conditions and available in various formats through surgeries or online
http://www.vetclick.com/news/introdu...alth-p3753.php

https://www.medicanimal.com/Hepatica...ort/p/I9151286

There are actually several different makes of SAMe supplements these days. I still have some Zentonyl Plus which was the old standard. However it is a humungous tablet and Poppy hates it - even when ground into a powder
So I got a newer product called MaxxiSAMe which is a powder but while on this Poppy became sick. It's probably a coincidence as ups and downs are typical of Poppy's condition. But while at the vets they mentioned the Hepaticare so I thought I would give it a try.
When you open the capsule there is a hard, white, solid capsule shaped blob. The analogy with an old stale Oxo cube is quite good!
I have emailed Ceva the manufacturers and got an out of office reply. So hopefully a proper one next week.
I just can't afford to take risks with my girl. She can't even have flea treatments or vaccinations or fairly routine drugs as her liver can't process things properly. I even have to home cook her food from a restricted list. So products which may be faulty are out.
Who knows, they might have to do a product recall as a result of my intervention.
Cheers

Hepaticare is a new and improved replacement for Hepatosyl Plus, and whilst I haven't seen it, if it's like its predecessor, the capsule could be easily squashed and if you shook it you'd hear the powder inside. They certainly weren't solid in any way. As their so new, it could well be a manufacturing issue, which Ceva may be unaware of, a bad batch, or something they've overlooked such as proper storage temperature. If you can break it up with a hammer or something! it may be ok, but personally, I wouldn't be giving it to my dog if it wasn't as described, until I had spoken to the manufacturer. Med capsules have either powder or liquid in them, their not hard, even if the powder has solidified a bit you could still crumble it by pressing it. Being so new, not only might it might have 'teething problems', not many will have had it and I wouldn't want my dog being first in line for it, especially if she had liver problems and the med doesn't even look as it should. I think you are right not to take the risk, I wouldn't either.

They are so hard I can't crumble them with my fingers. I need my mortar and pestle!
Will post an update when I hear back from the manufacturers.
Cheers

Are they general liver support? Had great results for denamarin for liver trouble but I don't know if it's similar. Sounds as if you need to speak to the manufacturer.

Ho it's Hepatosyl - one of the newer kids on the block. I think we have tried them all! We started off with Zentonyl Plus and Zentonyl Advanced which used to be the mainstay in UK vet surgeries and online.
In discussion with the manufacturer at the moment.

Oops I meant Hepaticare (which replaced Hepatosyl).
Anyhow the vets gave me some new ones. These are completely different - even the capsule shell is more pliable (the others were hard like the contents!).
Have left the vets and the manufacturer to sort it out between them. However I am wondering if the reason the first lot was decanted into a new bottle was because they were flogging me some left over Hepatosyl.
In fact I note the Hepaticare offers 'improved stability'. Which suggests there was a known problem with the old version?
Guess I will never know. Other than that they are a brilliant vets so hope I am just being paranoid!

Glad you got them sorted MrsG, and glad the vet did the right thing and changed them for you. Those others definitely didn't sound right, whatever was wrong with them. That's a good thought, if the old Hepatosyl capsules looked the same as Hepaticare (from memory they were just plain white capsules) , the vets could have given you those instead to use up leftover stock without telling you, hence them being put in a different bottle, but not realised they were old and gone so hard. If so, you caught them out good and proper