dog with heart failure :(

[bumpybecky]

I'm just back from the vets

Treacle is 13 years old black lab x border collie (probably!) and we've had her since she was about 6 months old. We knew she had a heart murmur and the beginnings of heart failure, it was diagnosed a few months ago as she was coughing / retching a lot. We were offered X rays and advised of medication that could help, but it's expensive and we didn't want to start anything we wouldn't be able to afford long term. The vet has assured us she's not in any pain from it, just that she finds it harder to breathe than normal.

Apart from the heart problem she's got a few more issues, she's gone fairly deaf, has some big fatty lumps, a few weeks ago she had a urinary infection (gone now thankfully). She's still a relatively active, happy dog though

This morning Treacle was incredibly slow on our walk. She normally charges off ahead of us, but she wasn't able to keep up even when I walked a lot slower than normal. We've been to see the vet and they've confirmed the heart murmur is a lot worse than when she was last seen 3 weeks ago

We've got the choice of the expensive meds £75 a month) and a prognosis of maybe 6 months or no meds and a few weeks to a month. I know we should have got her insured, but by the time we could afford it she was too old to insure. I'm now unable to stop crying and I'm not sure what to do. How am I going to explain to the kids what's happening

So sorry to hear this. Sadly you will have to make a decision eventually, whether she's medicated or not. Your own vet will doubtless be the best person to discuss this with but you might be able to manage her for a bit longer using a drug called furosemide. It's a diuretic and it's really cheap. It won't work as well as it would if it was given with the heart drugs but it can help to reduce fluid accumulation in the lungs and keep dogs comfortable for longer. A cardiologist I refer to advises this drug in cases where money's tight. It may not be suitable for your dog's case but you could ask your vet. Please remember that your dog knows none of this, so she won't hold any of your decisions against you.

thanks

the vet recommended two things, one expensive heart medication (vetmedin) and a cheaper diuretic called 'frusemide' which I'm guessing is the same one you've suggested, it's about £8 per month. As you've said, the vet said it can help with the fluid, but she said Treacle's lungs sounded OK, she thinks it's the heart itself causing the problems.

We've also had advice about limiting walks and walking in the evening so it's cooler and hopefully easier for her. The vet was lovely, her dog is on the same medication and I think is a similar age.

It's just so hard facing up to the inevitable. Even with medication she's not going to be with us that much longer

You can always try it, I agree that it's much less effective when used alone but can sometimes be surprisingly helpful. You'll know quickly if it's helping. In the past I've also had some success using lower than usual doses of the expensive drug when the owner's budget has been able to accommodate it. Some dogs improve a bit that way, but it depends how severely affected they are. Good luck.

Nothing constructive to add. Only to say that my thoughts are with you. We lost our 14 year old border collie on Saturday after a long illness so I know what you are going through.

oh Woodrose I am sorry for your loss