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Can't diagnose, here are the symptoms.

My bichon/poodle is 12 years old.  He has an enlarged heart that he has had for a couple of years.  He's just been getting slower and coughing some.  I give him meds for cough only when needed.  Vet's been watching it and it's not bad enough for any other meds.  Just recently I took him in to vet because he seemed out of sorts, breathing harder and barking out, like in pain.  She did xray to compare last xray to see if heart was larger or fluid in lungs, etc.  She said there was no change.  Sent out to radiologist, they said same.  She drew blood and blood came back okay...so nothing there.  She put him on antibiotics because his teeth are bad, in case there may be some underlying tooth/gum problem.  There is still something else going on.  He is tense and rigid, he lays only on his left side and curls his right paw under.  Occasionally he will bark or wince as in pain.  He gets up walks around and is eating but as he is sleeping right now, he appears to be breathing okay but is shaking on exhale.  My last vet bill was over $400.00.  What are we missing?  Help, thanks.  Donda
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974371 tn?1424653129
Vet bills can definitely but glad to see your Vet did comparative x-rays and blood work.  Sounds like he is in pain from something.  Did the Vet give him a good oral exam, especially of the back molars?  Due to his age and condition, he may not be a good candidate for anesthesia.  I don't know what to tell you then perhaps he needs x-rays to check his spine and abdomen.  I know, that can all add up.  
Please keep us posted.
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Avatar universal
Hi Donda,

Our pet had some of the same reactions when his teeth were giving him problems. May want to have your pets teeth cleaned as well, especially if your pet is sneezing alot.  Our vet told us that our dachshund,s bouts with tooth infections and many many "rounds" of antibiotics to fight it could lead bad bacteria attacking our pets heart leading to shorter lifespan.  Since he had a grade 2 heart murmur since a puppy, this was a major concern for us. We finally made the painful decision to have the upper two canines pulled along with a few others. We are glad we did; now at 12 years old, our pet's heart murmur has advanced and he is now on 3 different medications for CHF.  He is hanging in there though and still wants to play like a puppy; we believe this has helped extend his quality of life too.  As far as your Vet's diagnosis, it sounds like they have done the right test to monitor your pet’s heart, however you may want to do some research on the blog forum below to prepare yourself for the signs of CHF; this might help.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Dogs/I-need-advice-about-my-dogs-congestive-heart-failure/show/1492168

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462827 tn?1333168952
Answered your other post....
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