Dog with Congestive Heart Failure

[Rainydeb]

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.

[elliesmum]

My 9 year old pound pup chi Ellie was diagnosed on 2nd novemeber 2012 It was a very sad day, but we are now in June 2013 and she is doing very well on her meds
1 x enalapril 2.5 mg, furosemide 12.5 mg and she was on 1 x Temaril p twice a day...she is now down to 1 x half a Temaril p everyother day and they have added Vet medin 1.25 mg about a month ago...she had her bloods tested last week and her eletra lights are normal and they were very pleased with her...told me 6 weeks before another blood test then about 6 to 8 months after that. Although she does not like exercise that much now she is doing well. One of the best things I have founf to get her meds down is crush them and put in suringe with a tiny funnel add water shake till disolved then put in to mouth and this makes sure she has her meds with no lost tablets...I really think this has helped as she is now in to her 8 month after diagnoised and she is doing better now than before...I know I have to prepare for the end but I am optomistice I will have her a lot longer than I first thought...I have read alot about CHF and dogs on meds can live between 6months to 7 years if medication is admisered propley.

[Cece72005]

Hi all,
I'm so excited I found this community :).  Our dog Boogie was diagnosed yesterday with CHF.  I worry a tad because he's still fairly young, he's not turned 5 yet.  I'm guessing this might've stemmed from a previous heart condition that we were unaware of.  He's always been healthy, so very healthy and so active.  He's is an outside dog (He's a 110 lb German Shepard with a strong "aversion" toward our inside kitty  LOL or he'd be my inside buddy) so he's got the run of our fairly large fenced backyard.  So this kinda came as a shock.  We do walk him (probably not as much as we should) but we get out there and throw the ball with him and our little Schnauzer Marley loves to chase him all over the backyard (hehehe).
We just noticed his symptoms Sunday evening.  He was a whole lot less active (it felt like all of a sudden) and his stomach looked very tight, more so than normal.  So of course curiosity and the vet being closed on Sunday got the better of me and I looked online (the worst thing to do sometimes).  I thought he had an almost always fatal condition Gastric Bloat.  I was terrified that we were fixing to have to put him to sleep.  But gratefully it wasn't that, but I know this is quite a severe condition as well.  I'm just concerned about his activities.  Just this last fall, I was walking in our neighborhood every day, for about 1-2 miles each time and took him with me.  He acted as though he loved it.  And when I would walk out back with his leash, he would run up to me and just sit there until i put it on him :)  so I took that as he was loving it.  I wanted to start doing that again with the weather getting nicer, but I'm afraid now that it'll do more damage.  I know at first I wouldn't be able to walk him probably very far at all, but I just wondered if I should even walk him at all...  I really want to prolong his life as long as possible, b/c he's still so very young and he's my son's little play buddy and it would devastate him if anything were to happen to him.      

[Rainydeb]

I'm so sorry to hear about your darling Kitsey. Please know you did everything you could.  I know how you're feeling. I lost my Boomie Nov. 13th. He went down fast and I chose to euthanize. I was grateful for the 16 extra months meds gave me with him but of course its never enough. The holidays completely passed by without me noticing. It will get better. Allow yourself to grieve. Hugs.

[kitseysmom413]

I just lost my beautiful little girl Kitsey to CHF, she was 16 yrs old. She was diagnosed  last March, I was told that the usual life span is max of 1yr....she lasted 9 months. She was on 4 pills 2x per day...she did great until Oct 6...her breathing became very labored...I rushed her to the  hospital...she was put in oxygen for 3 nights...they warned me she may not make it through the night, but she made it through like a trooper(mind you, she's only 7lbs)

All was good until Oct 31...it happened again....back in oxygen for 3 nights. then again Nov 17....then again Dec 3....each time she got weaker....the last episode, the Cardiologist told me that she had about 2 hrs to live....her lungs were filling up with fluid, and she was essentially drowning.  I was a complete mess...I didn't want her to suffer, so I agreed to have her put to sleep.
  I am so sad, I can hardly stop crying,,,,I have never felt pain like this before......I still question myself....did I do everything right?  Could I have done more?  I hope to find some peace with this.

[Rainydeb]

Well, once again I went searching for information on what to expect and came across this old thread I started when Boomer was first diagnosed.

He was started on Vetmedin shortly after when everything else wasn't working. He has done well for a year and six months but I fear we are now at the end of the road. He has had a very bad weekend, beginning with throwing up his dinner Friday night, which is the last thing he ate. He is very weak now and refuses to eat. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. My only wish is that he will go to sleep and not wake up. I can't handle making that choice for him right now. It has been a brutal year.

[sstar4353]

I am so sorry for your diagnosis, ann. Our 16-year-old miniature dachshund, Sadie, was diagnosed over a year ago with CHF. However, she has worsened dramatically this week. Her respirations have gone as high as 60-72/min. while sleeping and her heart rate 144-240/min. She is exhausted all the time, doesn't do much except for walk outside to do her duties, and to the food & water bowls to eat then back to bed. I took her to the vet yesterday and we are continuing her Enalapril plus she put Sadie  on Lasix and started her on Vetmedin. She is down to 7.0#. At her peak she weight 9.5# and in Feb. she weighed 8.2#. I was quite shocked when the vet gave Sadie a 50 mg injection of Lasix at the office. That seemed like a massive amount for her size. She scared us on the way home with an episode of aggravated shortness of breath and gagging, but that resolved. Her Xrays showed that her heart is more than double the size that it should be, and expected to see the fluid in her lungs. But what really floored us is that her liver is also enlarged quite a bit.

Our vet says we should be seeing a dramatic difference in her behaviors within the next few days. Today her resp. rate is still 60/min, but much less labored than yesterday. Her heart rate is at or below 144. She is still exhausted but has a slight appearance of feeling better, if you know what I mean by that. I do not want her to suffer, and wonder if I am keeping her hanging on for myself rather than for her good. I pray it will be obvious when it is time to have her put down. I am not looking forward to that day.