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I think you will know when it is truly time, you cannot see them suffer anymore and they lose the will to keep trying "for you". Usually it is us holding on that last little but of time, but it helps to know that these days with the double shots (one to put them to sleep before the heart stopping shot), they go completely out without any pain and fear and pretty much instantly. I know back in the "old" days, it wasn't as easy on them, and it will never be easy on us. So sorry for each of you as you walk this sorrowful path.
We have an 11 year old pomeranian who was diagnosed with CHF on 26 January 2010. We had taken him to the vet mid-January 2010 where they first heard a heart murmur (grade 3 – 4) and put him on fortekor and lasiks. On the night of the 26th he passed out, vomited and we had to take him to the emergency room. He was put on oxygen for the night, then sent home. He had no symptoms other than the cough.
About 2 weeks later it happened again, he was in the hospital for 2 nights on oxygen. The vet put him on vetmedin in addition to the medications he was taking already. Within a few days he started to perk up again. He did not have another incident of CHF until August 2012, which they believe was triggered by tracheal issues. They adjusted his meds (did not increase, just changed when they are administered). They also added a small dose of children’s cough syrup for the cough. It is now January 2014, and he has not had an episode since then. Knock on wood!
He has the added complication of a collapsing trachea, which we monitor. It can make the CHF more difficult to manage but we do the best we can. He has 6 monthly check ups (3 months during the warmer months, as he tends to get quite lethargic). He sleeps in an air-conditioned room during the summer to keep him cool. Dogs with this condition have difficulty regulating their body temps and struggle with the warmth. We watch out for snoring and lethargy, and we monitor his breaths per minute when he is sleeping. On very windy days we keep him inside because we have noticed that the wind causes him to cough, which can make all the other problems worse
He is a very lively little dog – acts like a puppy and his 12th birthday is in a few months. Our vet has told us that most dogs with this problem are put to sleep because it can be stressful for dog owners and difficult to manage. We just do the best we can and consider every day we have him in our company to be a gift. Unfortunately he has worked out that coughing will get him attention – we have learned to distinguish the heart / trachea coughs from the ‘that looks like delicious food you’re eating, can I have some?’ coughs!
We don’t know how much longer we have him for, but it has been nearly 4 years now with careful medical attention and a lot of hugs. We actually live 5 minutes away from the best vet hospital in the country, so we consider ourselves very lucky. I am happy to answer any questions people might have on living with a little mate with CHF.
We have a 15 year old Jack Russel mix who was diagnosed with CHF about 5 years ago. Over the past few months the fluid has got worse and the Lasix was no longer helping. She was swollen to the point she could barely walk and had almost quit eating entirely. We consulted our vet regarding having her stomach drained. We had also looked at some recommendations on WebMD.
The vet discouraged us from draining her stomach and did not give us much hope. We discussed other options and we decided to try the drug SPIRONOLACTONE. She has been taking this for approximately 2 weeks in addition to the Lasix. At this point all of her swelling is down, she is eating well and very active. It did take about 3 to 4 days for her swelling to go down completely.
We are excited about the results but do not know how long they will last. Given we were at the point that we thought she might have to be put to sleep we are grateful for any quality time we have left.
I have my yorkie for 20 long years, he felt like a child to me. Sometimes my children thought I babied him too much. When he first statrted to decline in health I was in denial. I took him to an emergency vet hospital, who treated him. After $500.00 in bills, he never completely got back to being himself. After 2 days I took him to his regular vet, who advised to just put him to sleep. I couldn't do it. He died while I was at work. Even typing this makes me sad, I miss him so. I also had too more to pass on Tika and Fifi. They all bought great joy and love into my life. Missing you gals and guy.
Much love MOm
My Boston just turned fourteen on 06/06/2014 and was diagnosed with CHF the day before his birthday. The Vet put him on a couple of meds and he is breathing a bit easier but still coughs a good bit. No matter how little or how much water he drinks, most comes back up and is like syrup. He wants to eat all the time, still knows when he has to go and loves on me like crazy. The Vet said that he is uncomfortable but I still need to decide if his quality of life is where I still think he is good for a bit longer. This Pet has been my BEST FRIEND EVER and all I do is cry for the thought of him not being with me. He was in both my daughters weddings then guarded both of their children when they came into this world. He has been through a lot of life with me. Sometimes I think I am 90% DOG and 10% HUMAN. He sleeps in my room during the day as it is quiet, cool and dark which he seems to love BUT, he use to only want to stay downstairs to watch the door if when I was not at home? So, he is in a bit of solitude now. How to know when and what to do is crushing me. I don't sleep because when he coughs I have to check on him as he now refuses to sleep on the bed with me and that is also unusual. Any Advice? By the way, his name is BUDI.
My Doberman is 14 and began coughing two months ago the vet started him on a course of antibiotics , a revisit a few weeks later another course of antibiotics . One night last wee she had difficulty breathing and took him to the vets and she discovered fluid build up (heart Failure) .
He's been on the heart medication for 8 days and he's much better breathing, but still has the cough (as if he wants to cough up something )
I plan to return for a check up this Thursday and see what the vet says.
Our beloved boy passed away last night after being diagnosed 4 weeks ago. He became bloated, was short of breath then collapsed so we took him immediately to our vet who then referred him straight away to the emergency/animal surgery and that was when he was diagnosed. We were shocked as he had a splenectomy at the same facility just before Christmas and had seen the vets regularly with no mention by anyone of heart problems. After they stabilized him he was put on 2 heart meds and 2 diuretcics and apart from sleeping a lot seemed to be doing well, all things considered. The prognosis was weeks to months at best, a year very doubtful especially considering his age. He had no more shortness of breath, bloating and had never coughed. I woke up this morning to find him next to his bed. He was a 12 year old rescue English Bulldog mix and was the most gentle dog you could ever meet. We are completely devastated.
my 14 year old dog has had congestive heart failure for a while now and is taking enalapril for it which i had once talked about. Over the last couple of weeks her abdomen began to swell and she started to refuse food a couple of days ago for the most part, though she drank water and went to the bathroom pretty normally. Today (christmas) she started throwing up so we had to take her to the emergency vet clinic, where we didn't get a lot of firm answers since we could not commit to over $800 in tests they wanted to do.
Basically, they drained 3 pints of fluid from her ab area, and put her on lasix. While they wanted to do a lot more tests, one vet tech there basically did admit to me they had done enough to know what was going on with her, and basically this is about all they could do at this time. The general idea i think is that at her age and this stage of the disease, every day is touch and go and that the fluids could come back in days, weeks, or at most, a couple of months.
I'm really just curious if anyone in here had a dog with congestive heart failure in the past, and what their symptoms were, and how long they lived once they were diagnosed. Each dog is different of course and i realize our dog won't live even a single year more even with these pills, but i'm just trying to get a general idea from owners who have gone through this before what to expect as it progresses.
my sheltie pom. Mix is 13 1/2 years old. He has vhf for almost 2 years. He takes vetmedin, enalipril, & lasing.coughs off and on thru out the day. Sometimes extends his head and stares. I'm very glad he is on the vetmedin. I think the dr. Might have to incress it. Billy takes his meds like a champ. God love him. I cry all the time with worry. My love for him is endless. His appetite is very good. I massage him everyday.he eats vengeful and i also feed him steak when we have it weekly. I hope my billy is around awhile yet but this stresses me very much. I never knew how much one can love a fur baby soooo very much!!!!! Please say a prayer for my billy boy. Ty......
Please say a prayer for my boy. He has VHF and his heart is enlarged. He's been on vetmedin,, enalipril,, lasix. For almost 2 years. Anyone else here has a FUR BABY with CHF?
My Doberman is 14 and began coughing two months ago the vet started him on a course of antibiotics , a revisit a few weeks later another course of antibiotics . One night last wee she had difficulty breathing and took him to the vets and she discovered fluid build up (heart Failure) .
He's been on the heart medication for 8 days and he's much better breathing, but still has the cough (as if he wants to cough up something )
I plan to return for a check up this Thursday and see what the vet says.
Anyone had similar experience?
Thanks
Ronnie , Belfast Northern Ireland
This sounds exactly like what happened to our 11 1/2 yr. old beagle. Her coughing in the night finally got so bad that we did put her to sleep. It still devastates me to think of it, but she was struggling. We knew she had a murmur but she seemed to cope pretty well until the fluid started building up. Meds did help her for about a year, though. I hope that is the case for you, too.
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My Billy has CHF
