Aa
Dog with Congestive Heart Failure
Hi,
I would like to hear from those who have dogs with congestive heart failure. My 12 year old was just diagnosed with it the other day. I would like to know what to expect and what to be on the look out for. Currently he is on 50mg. Lasix, which I understand is a very low starting dose and he weighs 121 lbs. I'm not seeing much improvement. Still coughing/gagging and fatigued. I see no increase in urine output so I'm worried that it's not getting the fluid off his lungs. Also, his appetite has tanked. Does lasix effect their appetite?
This is weighing very heavy on me. He's my last dog of a pack of three. The other two were 15 and 16 when they left me within a few months of each other. It tore me up, but I knew I still had Boomer and he was a comfort to me. I know losing him is going to be much, much worse because suddenly my home will really be empty when he goes. I have read that once diagnosed they generally last 6 months to a year. Is that true???
Hope to hear from you. Thanks.
I would like to hear from those who have dogs with congestive heart failure. My 12 year old was just diagnosed with it the other day. I would like to know what to expect and what to be on the look out for. Currently he is on 50mg. Lasix, which I understand is a very low starting dose and he weighs 121 lbs. I'm not seeing much improvement. Still coughing/gagging and fatigued. I see no increase in urine output so I'm worried that it's not getting the fluid off his lungs. Also, his appetite has tanked. Does lasix effect their appetite?
This is weighing very heavy on me. He's my last dog of a pack of three. The other two were 15 and 16 when they left me within a few months of each other. It tore me up, but I knew I still had Boomer and he was a comfort to me. I know losing him is going to be much, much worse because suddenly my home will really be empty when he goes. I have read that once diagnosed they generally last 6 months to a year. Is that true???
Hope to hear from you. Thanks.
Found out my little dog had chf in april and she is on vetmedin and frumiside ( water tablet) she is coping well thankfully apart from the peeing. Have noticed everytime she drinks from her bowl her gagging cough starts, now give her bottled water instead of tap and it seemed to help but still a little cough after each drink. Any advice please.x
Hello All. I have a 12 year old Malti-poo, Charlie. He started with a level 2 heart murmer. Vet wasn't worried about it. So I wasn't. She had said it was super common and he was otherwise in complete health.
(November-December 2013)Couple years later went back to Vet , we're at a level 4. Starts him on Fortekor. 2 months go by and he's worse . X- Rays showed his enlarged heart. month later another X-Ray confirmed. Another month later ( could actually be less than month .. more like 2-3 weeks) another X-Ray to see if he had fluid build up. which he did. He then got taken off fortekor and placed on Furosemide (for the fluids) 2x a day 1/4 pills. And stronger heart pills.Vetmedin (for his heart) 2x a day 1 capsule . Now, I know this sounds bad , but I had paid out over 1000.00 on X-Rays and these constant check-ups and I just didn't have anymore money for X-Rays so I never got a follow up to see if the fluid was gone. However my Vets said regaurdless Charlie has to be on Furosemide indeffinately. He is happier now and I let him live everyday like he wants to, again I know this is bad. But, I don't have a whole lot of time left with him, and I figure what they hey! If he's happy I'm happy. I read some posts saying loss of appitite. My Charlie thus far eats fine sometimes he forgets and needs a little food game to get in the mood, but so far he eats okay and drinks a lot more than before the Furosemide. He chokes after drinking , but not nearly as bad before Furosemide and Vetmedin. He's learned to drink slower and not be a hyper after. Though this whole thing has been extremely hard for me. I'm finding as the months go by it's easier to accept the fact that he is sick. I've learned to do things differently, appreciate him more, spoil him more just love him more. ( If you met my Charlie you'd know he's the devil.lol) However because of his Heart Failure it's made me realize, that I'm not going to have him forever. Which had NEVER occured to me . So I'm still optimistic that he has months with me. And he doesn't seem to be in a rush to leave either.
(November-December 2013)Couple years later went back to Vet , we're at a level 4. Starts him on Fortekor. 2 months go by and he's worse . X- Rays showed his enlarged heart. month later another X-Ray confirmed. Another month later ( could actually be less than month .. more like 2-3 weeks) another X-Ray to see if he had fluid build up. which he did. He then got taken off fortekor and placed on Furosemide (for the fluids) 2x a day 1/4 pills. And stronger heart pills.Vetmedin (for his heart) 2x a day 1 capsule . Now, I know this sounds bad , but I had paid out over 1000.00 on X-Rays and these constant check-ups and I just didn't have anymore money for X-Rays so I never got a follow up to see if the fluid was gone. However my Vets said regaurdless Charlie has to be on Furosemide indeffinately. He is happier now and I let him live everyday like he wants to, again I know this is bad. But, I don't have a whole lot of time left with him, and I figure what they hey! If he's happy I'm happy. I read some posts saying loss of appitite. My Charlie thus far eats fine sometimes he forgets and needs a little food game to get in the mood, but so far he eats okay and drinks a lot more than before the Furosemide. He chokes after drinking , but not nearly as bad before Furosemide and Vetmedin. He's learned to drink slower and not be a hyper after. Though this whole thing has been extremely hard for me. I'm finding as the months go by it's easier to accept the fact that he is sick. I've learned to do things differently, appreciate him more, spoil him more just love him more. ( If you met my Charlie you'd know he's the devil.lol) However because of his Heart Failure it's made me realize, that I'm not going to have him forever. Which had NEVER occured to me . So I'm still optimistic that he has months with me. And he doesn't seem to be in a rush to leave either.
Hi my name is Laura and my Little Angeles name is Brandy she now has Contesting failure and been placed on 44 different medications Furosemide Vetmedin Enalprill Primor and Told NO MORE PUPPY FOOD & I need to cook for her which I do not mind I Will DO ANYTHING TO SAVE MY BABY I Am cooking chicken CARROTS rice and Apple's THIS time I tried to add Apple to see if she would like them Brandy also has a Heart Murmur so all of this is Very troublesome to my Heart , I worried so much about her and what I can do to help her feel better I am wondering what other foods I can cook for her without sodium CAN PUPPYS HAVE PORK ? What type of vegetables and meats can I make for her and is it normal for her to be unaware of loading her pee while sleeping or just sitting even when she barks pee dripples out & down her legs PLEASE HELP .........
Hi Patti and Mini Me,
I am so sorry to hear :( My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I am in a similar situation. My little 15 year old, mini dachshund, Mylo was diagnosed with CHF back in January. He was fine that day but later in the evening started having rapid breathing. So fast to the point, I could not even count the breaths per minute. I rushed him to the vet. The vet did not think he was going to make it. The vet kept him and actually took him home with him for 5 nights. He told me he would call only if something happened. :( Needless to say, I did not sleep the whole time dreading a telephone call.
I finally was able to bring him home. He was happy to be home but ate very little. That night he did the same as your dog and laid in his bed not wanting to eat, drink or move. I carried him outside to go to the bathroom and he was very unstable and falling over.
The next day the same thing. I could see it is in eyes that he had that "help me" look. I could not let him just lay there so I decided to take the matters into my own hands.
I started off by mixing his Hill's critical care food with the Hill's W/D food with Pedialyte in a blender. I then began syringe feeding him twice a day. He would also not take his pills and I had to physically put them down his throat. I learned the proper way and it does not hurt him. I had to do this because like your dog, he would not take it in any type of treat, food, etc. He began to regain his strength and his appetite did come back!
Mylo is on the same meds as your dog except he takes Lasix and Denamarin (for his liver since his enzymes were a little elevated). I also have him on glucosamine for his back.
He was having those breathing/rapid heartbeat episodes frequently. Scary as all hell. They would finally subside after HOURS. I would go outside and cry uncontrollably because I was afraid that he wasn't going to make it. His respiratory rate was off the charts and I could not even count his heart beats per minute. I rushed him to the vet too many times to count He even got to the point of coughing every so often and then even that became more frequent.
Well it has been almost 9 months since his diagnosis. He is still on all his meds and I still syringe feed him the Hill's food mixed with the Pedialyte in a blender to this day. He has an amazing appetite but now I do not feed him anything but organic chicken that I cook every day for him. I feed him in small portions. The weird part is, he has not had a rapid breathing/heart racing episode in a while (almost 2 months I would say). He did have some problems with his back (that is another nightmare altogether).
He truly is my little miracle. I am beginning to think that diet was playing a big part in his breathing/rapid heartbeat episodes. I am just stumped. Whatever caused these episodes to stop is beyond me. Who am I to question? I am just happy that he is feeling much better. I know there is no cure and he doesn't bounce like a madman like he used to. However, he does trollop around, barks for his food and even wags his tail like crazy again. These things he didn't do for the longest time. I am so blessed and thankful each and every day.
I know each dog is different but I wanted to share what I have been doing in hopes that maybe it might help.
You and Mini Me will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Please respond and let me know how it is going.
Hugs to you and Mini Me!
I know when it first happens Patti, I was scared beyond belief. I love my Mylo like a child.
I am so sorry to hear :( My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I am in a similar situation. My little 15 year old, mini dachshund, Mylo was diagnosed with CHF back in January. He was fine that day but later in the evening started having rapid breathing. So fast to the point, I could not even count the breaths per minute. I rushed him to the vet. The vet did not think he was going to make it. The vet kept him and actually took him home with him for 5 nights. He told me he would call only if something happened. :( Needless to say, I did not sleep the whole time dreading a telephone call.
I finally was able to bring him home. He was happy to be home but ate very little. That night he did the same as your dog and laid in his bed not wanting to eat, drink or move. I carried him outside to go to the bathroom and he was very unstable and falling over.
The next day the same thing. I could see it is in eyes that he had that "help me" look. I could not let him just lay there so I decided to take the matters into my own hands.
I started off by mixing his Hill's critical care food with the Hill's W/D food with Pedialyte in a blender. I then began syringe feeding him twice a day. He would also not take his pills and I had to physically put them down his throat. I learned the proper way and it does not hurt him. I had to do this because like your dog, he would not take it in any type of treat, food, etc. He began to regain his strength and his appetite did come back!
Mylo is on the same meds as your dog except he takes Lasix and Denamarin (for his liver since his enzymes were a little elevated). I also have him on glucosamine for his back.
He was having those breathing/rapid heartbeat episodes frequently. Scary as all hell. They would finally subside after HOURS. I would go outside and cry uncontrollably because I was afraid that he wasn't going to make it. His respiratory rate was off the charts and I could not even count his heart beats per minute. I rushed him to the vet too many times to count He even got to the point of coughing every so often and then even that became more frequent.
Well it has been almost 9 months since his diagnosis. He is still on all his meds and I still syringe feed him the Hill's food mixed with the Pedialyte in a blender to this day. He has an amazing appetite but now I do not feed him anything but organic chicken that I cook every day for him. I feed him in small portions. The weird part is, he has not had a rapid breathing/heart racing episode in a while (almost 2 months I would say). He did have some problems with his back (that is another nightmare altogether).
He truly is my little miracle. I am beginning to think that diet was playing a big part in his breathing/rapid heartbeat episodes. I am just stumped. Whatever caused these episodes to stop is beyond me. Who am I to question? I am just happy that he is feeling much better. I know there is no cure and he doesn't bounce like a madman like he used to. However, he does trollop around, barks for his food and even wags his tail like crazy again. These things he didn't do for the longest time. I am so blessed and thankful each and every day.
I know each dog is different but I wanted to share what I have been doing in hopes that maybe it might help.
You and Mini Me will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Please respond and let me know how it is going.
Hugs to you and Mini Me!
I know when it first happens Patti, I was scared beyond belief. I love my Mylo like a child.
We just found out yesterday that our 11 year old rat terrior has a very large heart murmur (CHF). They have started him on 5mg of Enalapril 2x a day and Vetmedin 5mg 2x a day. He started this medicine this morning and hasn't moved, eaten, barely drinking any water and has only been out once today to do his business. Not himself at all, he has slepted all day, breathing heavy and just kinda of out of it. They did blood work on him yesterday also and luckily his kidneys and liver are good so far. Can someone please tell me what I need to be expecting. I'm scared to death, and been a basket case since yesterday. I worried giving him these meds or making him more miserable than what he was. Mini Me hates taking pills and the peanut butter and cheese trick doesn't work with him at all. I feel awful that he is having to go through all this and that mommy can't take away his pain. Please help with any info that may help us. Thanks in advance Patti and Mini Me.
My name is Debbie. My little pomeranian was diagnosed with CHF on June 4th of this year. The vet said that she was between a 2-3 on the scale of 1-5. She is taking 2.5mg of Enalapril, 12.5mg of Furosemide, and 2.5mg of Vetmedin daily. Plus a supplement called Total Heart. In June her heart was swelled to 2.6. In July it was down to 1.6. It is suppose to be between 1.2 - 1.4. She hasn't been choking as much as she was in the beginning but in the last day she has started choking again a lot. My baby just turned 10 and I am no where ready to lose her. I hope that I have to force her to take her meds for at least a year. Yes I did say force her, she is a very picky eater and peanut butter doesn't work with her. I crush the pills and put them in soft food and make her eat it.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Dogs Community
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
