Has Your Grey Gotten Congestive Heart Failure?

[Guest Harleys_girl06]

Aw thats sad Harley is home today and has taken his pills. No accident yet, he holds it in pretty well. He gets very tired on his walks, though. The doc says we can't walk him around the block anymore. Soon we may have to just let him out in our backyard Poor tyke.

You make it sound like your dog is on his death bed. It isn't so. Once your dog is regulated on his meds he should be able to take a normal walk and romp in the yard. He may not be able to endure as long as a young one anymore, but he is not geriatric by any means. Just because he has slowed down doesn't mean he doesn't have several more yrs of happy life ahead of him.

 

 

 

Yeah I know that day we were just pretty upset. Oh I def. know about the young one anymore, Harley never acted like a young one. He never liked going in the backyard or even trotting around the house. He was a sleeper, now its just even more so! Thanks though.

 

 

and thanks george thats a good idea! so far he's been holding it in very well but of course its summer so we're walking them at different times.

Edited June 29, 2008 by Harleys_girl06

[Guest vahoundlover]

You could also consider gating him off and putting pee sheets down. We use the waterproof mattress pads made for cribs, pick 'em up and throw them in the wash/dryer and your ready for the next day.

 

 

[jenn8]

The only useful thing I can remember about the meds to share with you is I do remember giving Lasix, Enalapril, Spironolactone and Digoxin (digitalis). Tai really went downhill and stopped eating or functioning for a couple of days until we figured out that the Digoxin was the culprit and backed off the dosage.

 

OMG, the same exact thing happened with Bullet, only we were already down to the bare minimum on his Digoxin and could not take it entirely away. I remember the night before I had scheduled to put him to sleep, I did not give him any Digoxin at all and he had the most comfortable sleep in a very long time. I always felt bad about having to give him so many pills but we did try as many combinations as we possibly could.

 

To the OP, if you notice anything that might be side effects from the pills, definitely ask your vet what can be done to improve that. One way of telling is by changes ioccuring in your dog's behavior, shortly after his dose of pills. There are many different combinations and dosages that can be tried until you find the right ones. Lots of information on the internet about these drugs as well.

 

Jenn

 

 

[Guest DoofBert]

I know a friend had a hound with heart problems... she had the prescriptions filled at the local drug store... were much less expensive than the vet's rate....

[Guest TaraCoachCougar]

Make sure you check both the vet and the pharmacy for prices. Our new vet sells us the Enalapril cheaper than CVS, but we can only get the spironolactone from the drug store.