Experiences with dogs in heart failure ?

Question

Please help ... I am interested to know ANY experiences people have had when their dog is in heart failure. Our collie was diagnosed yesterday and we have been told she probably has not much more than a week if we let her go naturally. Apparantly, her internal organs are failing but how can the vet tell this by just listening to her heart and breathing ? We were told there is nothing the vet can do to ease any pain and we have to make a decision about whether or not to let her go but it is so hard as even though she has collapsed with heavy breathing 3 times the last week, in between this, she is quite alert and seems okay, although her breathing is often heavy with a kind of growling noise. On doing some research, I see that dogs can carry on for some time with heart failure and although I trust the vet we saw, I just need to understand why he thinks her time is so limited. Also, if anyone has let their dog go naturally, was it quick or traumatic for them or yourself ?

We think she is about 15 years old. We had her from a rescue centre almost 10 years ago and they estimated then that her age was 5-6. She was in a terrible state from the rescue centre where her paws had holes in down to the bone where the vet thought she had been jumping up and down out of distress (we did not know this until we got her home) but we bathed the paws and nursed her back to health. If anything, I thought it would be that which would give her problems later in life. I know this is a good age for her to reach but I am clutching at straws here. Thanks for all the sensible replies given so far (except for the idiot who wishes he had it himself)

Answer 1

Sorry to hear about your dog. I lost a dog with heart failure, I actually had her put to sleep although the vet told me we were only helping her on her way. I had hoped she would go naturally, but I couldn't bear to see her not enjoying life & wished I had taken her earlier. If your girl's heart is failing, her kidneys will not work properly, filling her body with toxins and her lungs will be becoming congested with fluid. Please listen to your vet and let your dog go with dignity. It is a very hard decision to make but the last kind thing you can do for your dog. Remember the saying "better a week too soon than a day too late"
So sorry X

Answer 2

My dog is 20 & for the past 9months our vet hasnt known how she is still alive-she has no heartbeat - just a wish wash sound.She has a great quality of life,eats & drinks well & runs around.She occasionally coughs but not to the extent that she needs to be on diaretics.
I would wait & see how your dog goes-ask your vet if you can at least try heart tablets & if she's coughing use diarettics.I think you will know if putting her to sleep is the right thing,if she seems depressed or stressed or is collapsing you might be close to that but dogs can live a long time with heart failure.

Answer 3

if she has CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) than based on what you are stating, she should be on Enalapril which helps increase the hearts function to operate. Fuorcemide which helps reduce the liquid on the heart which causes dry coughing and growl sounds when breathing and on digoxin as it appears she is in phase two of CHF. I would ask your vet if this is the case and ask if this will help. I have gone through this and one of my Min Pins was diagnosed over a year ago. She has only recently gone to phase two so now digoxin has been added. She is little slower and sleeps more often than before the CHF really set it but outside of that she is normal in eating etc. She will be 15 next month.

Answer 4

I am very sorry to hear about your dog's prognosis. It sounds like you had no idea how sick your dog was before yesterday. The heart problem must be very severe for your vet to tell you that. I know how hard it is to make a decision about euthanasia, but I could not watch my dog die.
If you are unsure about the prognosis, get a second opinion. Ask if you can buy some time with medication. Or go back to your vet and tell him how shocked you are about this and what would he do if this was his own dog?
Good luck to you and your dog

Answer 5

id like to start of saying im very sorry.

now. on w/ my story. idk if this is the same thing. but our dog Sandy had a heart tumor in between two layers of her heart. i dont really understand it all. but it made her heart beat rly rly fast and it was bad. She was born w/ it. What happened was that opening filled up w/ fluid. and the vets could drain the fluid, but it would keep refilling. First it would start off at once a month. then once a week. eventually, every day. (from the draining thing to here was told to us by the vet)

One morning we sensed somthing was wrong w/ Sandy, so we took her in. That morning was my last to see her. After taking forever to diagnose it, the doctors found the heart tumor. They drained the liquid and she was fine. Bright eyed and bushy tailed. She completely came bak to life. Idk wat happened then. No one does. She just rolled up into a ball ( like she always does ) and went to sleep. But, it was a long sleep. It wasnt one that necessarly lasted for long. Only for a few seconds or minutes. And she passed away

Im not rly sure if this helps you. but it rly touches me and is hard to type. Losing a pet is what i think one of the hardest things to lose. Of course nothing compared to losing a direct relative. But people become very close their pets. I know i was. Sandy died about a year ago. Call me a loser but im still not over it.

But, maybe it was a good thing she died. The vets say she could have had a bled out, which means she would have died a violent death. idk. alls i kno is i miss her.

im not sure if this is what ur going through. Im not sure if this applies. but thats my story. I wish u the best of luck. Remember, all dogs go to heaven. <33

Answer 6

I'm sorry for your dog but there is hope my dog had heart surgery for his heart at 8 mnths and now hes 10 and going strong we were lucky that some vet placement students doing rotation took an interest and performed the surgery for free basically - the dog was going to die either way so why not try was thier opinion it worked and he is with us to day healthy as a horse.

Answer 7

keep your dog on a low sodium diet. look at foods that are healthy and low sodium. I know Lasix and enalapril are the 2 meds used. In the end, they don't respond to medicine. When it gets that bad, you know it's their time. Their breathing sounds girgleing and theres coughing. My dog had this. The humane thing to do is going sleep.
I know how you feel. .Praying helps too. My current dog just got diagnosed with this too. She's a Chihuahua, so was my other one. Best wishes in a trying time.