Heart trouble

[lurky]

My dog Charlie is a brittany spaniel and he is 10 yrs old. He developed a severe heart murmur and it was discovered in Sept/oct. One sign i heard of when they get worse is coughing. Tonight is the first sign.....he keps coughing. So i wonder if anyone here knows anything about this. Like what this sign means? Is it heart failure? I'm afraid to go to sleep thinking i should be here for charlie in case he dies. I think we were forgetting it is real because there have been no signs........Now in the last hour he is coughing. So if anyone has any knowledge on this stuff, I'd appreciate any input.

Wendy

 

[nccountrygirl]

Poor Charlie and you, it might not mean any thing but that he's coughing, don't think the worst yet, just give him all the love you can to make his last days be filled with love. Good luck to you.

 

[lurky]

Thanks. I dont usually get scared about stuff. I understand that its his time is coming....but i dont want him to suffer or be uncomfortable. If he is going to have problems tonight, i want to be as prepared as i can be. It seems like its has been hours since i asked if anyone knew about this to advise me.......and its only been 20 min. I decided to give him some nyquil because it helps you sleep and its supposed to help with a cough. Maybe i should take some too........

 

[cherndon712]

Oh hun, I'm so sorry! Try not to worry too much, and call the vet in the AM! My prayers are with you! :aww

 

[texasgirl]

Sometimes they can live for a long time with heart disease. Is he on medication? At the clinic I work at we have several CHF (chronic heart failure) dogs that are doing amazing on heart medication, most of them you would have no idea they are sick by looking at them.
Don't assume it's all over! Call the doc. He may have a lot left in him

 

[helmstead]

If the coughing is indeed a result of progressive heart failure - then it means there is fluid building around the heart and in the lungs. This happens because the blood isn't pumping effieciently enough to move waste fluids to the exits.

If you take him to the vet, they can put him on diruretics (spelling is wrong, I think - it's early!) to help his body remove the fluids. This will prolong his life! I'd do it!

Of course, he could just have a touch of Rhino.

 

[lurky]

Quote:
Thanks, but they wont put him on meds without doing a kazillion dollars worth of tests. We cant afford what they want to do JUST to get the meds. I dont like how they do that to you. They know people love their pets enough to spend all their money.....but charlie is at the end of his years and i cannot justify spending all that when there is not alot they can do. He has HUGE tumors on his neck (almost the size of a football) and he has had seizures all his life. We spent $1000. last Feb to remove the tumor and he had NO heart murmur then. The tumors all grew back in 6 months and i took him in just so she could see how big they were again, and that when she found the murmur. She said it was already almost a grade 5. She said it should have taken YEARS to get this bad and it took months. So that is why i did not want to spent too much $ on him now. If he is that bad.......i doubt it is going to help much. The nyquil actually quieted him down for the night. I think i will call our vet just to ask what to do and if what i did was ok to do again if needed. He is not coughing now either. Fortunately we have a brand new 24 hour emergency vet hospital in case we had to do something in the night. We are very fortunate there. I want to know WHY the coughing.....what does it mean?
I suspect it has to do with fluid building up because the heart is not pumping right

 

[lurky]

Quote:
Yes, but they wont even give me this without doing all the tests. Can you believe what it has all come to?
I have water pills i take for meniers.....Do you know if i can give them to charlie? I would if i knew it was the same as they give a dog? I get a small dosage ..... like 12.5. Anyone????

 

[helmstead]

I don't know - you could google it like "prescription name + canine dosage" or similar and see if anything pops up.

If the coughing isn't persistant and he's not wheezing or laboring with his breaths, then I wouldn't worry about it yet.

I know your pain with vet bills. I cherish my surgical vet tech training and short stint in pre vet. It saves us literally thousands a year because our vets respect my judgement calls and I oft know what to do without their help.

 

[lurky]

Quote:
I really would spend the money if i thought it was a responsible decision. I do know of a vet in VT that is more rustic and known to put the animal ahead of the money and/or rules. I think i will call her and see if she can tell me what to do. This is charlie........you can even kinda see where his neck is big. he is a sweet boy.