WWYD - dog going into heart failure

[AprilBlossom]

Got a little chihuahua - 12yrs old, always been a stress head, lives for going mental at the postman/a pigeon outside/a friend he’s forgotten he knows... and has always had a heart murmur.

hes been slowing down a lot over the past few weeks and started coughing, but bright and active enough, just starting to feel his age a bit I guess.
He’s now looking like his breathing is fairly laboured at all times (high real rate) and he’ll still wag his tail a little but won’t get up off his sofa to see you when you come in, he’s reluctant to jump up or come upstairs (he used to sprint up at any opportunity) and I can just tell life is getting difficult for him.
Went to vets last night which exacerbated his symptoms and saw a vet I’ve never met before - she doesn’t know him and his crabby ways - who told me I should have him at overnight out of hours vet for intensive care treatment or put him down.
I took him home and he’s as comfortable as can be. My plan today that I’m agonising over is to try and get a vet out to come pts at home.

heart failure isn’t fixable; am I awful to be letting him go before I’ve tried dragging him through sedation and x rays and all sorts of being in a cage at a vets practice (without his family) to prolong him a few weeks potentially?

just after some honest opinions I suppose. Worrying I’m being callous to let him go potentially ‘a little early’ but then thinking the day too soon rather than day too late mindset, and that he would be at home with everyone around. Not dragged to the vets and all stressed up.
I’m very sad about it all

 

[meleeka]

You sound like a caring owner who knows what the right thing to do is. I can’t see any benefit to your dog in prolonging things. It would only be to buy you more time, if that was even possible.

Listen to your gut and prevent further stress and suffering to your dog. I think that’s the final gift we can give them.

 

[AmyMay]

Sensible, caring words from meleeka xx

 

[fankino04]

Approx 4 years ago my cat started having laboured breathing and I had to take him to out of hours at 2am, they put him in an oxygen tank type thing overnight to stabilise him and he was good enough the next day to go to our own vets, they said he has heart failure and a grade 4 murmur, put him on meds and gave him 6-12 months, he's absolutely fine on the meds, no breathing probs, can jump over the garden fence again and sadly up onto the kitchen counter. Although pts is absolutely the right answer to prevent suffering when nothing can be done I wonder if the vet thought your boy was worse than he actually was due to his stress at being in the vets and is it worth speaking to them about trialing some meds without doing anything too invasive with pts as the plan if no improvement after 7 - 10 days?

 

[AprilBlossom]

My gut says call it, let him go at home quietly and before he gets too bad he is miserable the whole time. The way he keeps looking at me is like he’s telling me he is done. Our other dog seems like she knows too; it’s strange, they both seem at peace with it. I know that sounds silly but when you know your dog, you kind of know what they’re saying without words right?

I managed to get her to give some meds to clear fluid last night; they did as they should and made him wee a lot but hasn’t made much difference to his breathing/heart rate. Had a chat with our horsey vet too on the phone who was very pragmatic and said long term effects of heart meds can then impact on other organs and it’s all knock on...

he’s working really hard just sat on the sofa. Just rang vets, they said they can come out if needs be today. Receptionist was lovely actually, after my horrid experience with an unknown vet yesterday.

thank you all for replies x

 

[Ranyhyn]

We had a similar situation with our goldie.

We let him stay in the vets.

They stressed him out so badly they called us in to make the decision and we put him down gasping for breath outside the vets unable to even tell we were there.

Let your pupper go at home, calm and safe and stress free. All in love in the world to you at this hard time x

 

[oldie48]

My lovely MIL aged 101 is in heart failure. She is so so tired, her breathing can become very rapid and I have a morphine syrup to give her when it gets very bad as it causes real anxiety and stress unfortunately the syrup has unpleasant side effects. If I could have her PTS, I would, dying from heart failure is horrible. I would not put your little dog through treatment unless I was confident it was a treatable condition with a high possibility of a good outcome.

 

[gunnergundog]

I think you've made the decision in your heart of hearts.

I personally always prefer to act early in such situations and have a planned, calm PTS, rather than an emergency situation, possibly out of hours and with personnel unknown to the dog.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Friends had a dog in heart failure and kept him on far too long with meds and I found it very hard to watch, I think by the sounds of it you know what is right for your own dog.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

My gut says call it, let him go at home quietly and before he gets too bad he is miserable the whole time. The way he keeps looking at me is like he’s telling me he is done. Our other dog seems like she knows too; it’s strange, they both seem at peace with it. I know that sounds silly but when you know your dog, you kind of know what they’re saying without words right?

I managed to get her to give some meds to clear fluid last night; they did as they should and made him wee a lot but hasn’t made much difference to his breathing/heart rate. Had a chat with our horsey vet too on the phone who was very pragmatic and said long term effects of heart meds can then impact on other organs and it’s all knock on...

he’s working really hard just sat on the sofa. Just rang vets, they said they can come out if needs be today. Receptionist was lovely actually, after my horrid experience with an unknown vet yesterday.

thank you all for replies x

You know him best, go with your gut. Fwiw, I would make the same decision in your position. It sounds as if the vet visits associated with any possible treatment would cause him great stress and make matters worse.
Your solution is the kindest for him. Thinking of you.

 

[misst]

Having just made a decision all I can say is go with how you feel but in your heart you know anyway. I knew - but I needed to process it and came on here where people were so lovely and supportive.
On Monday we let her go at home. I am so sad but in all honesty it is also a relief at not keep humming and haaing over the decision - it's done - I'm lost without her but she's at peace and out of discomfort. It's a trite saying but true - better a day too soon than a moment too late x hugs x

 

[meleeka]

Having just made a decision all I can say is go with how you feel but in your heart you know anyway. I knew - but I needed to process it and came on here where people were so lovely and supportive.
On Monday we let her go at home. I am so sad but in all honesty it is also a relief at not keep humming and haaing over the decision - it's done - I'm lost without her but she's at peace and out of discomfort. It's a trite saying but true - better a day too soon than a moment too late x hugs x

I think it’s sounds unfeeling when I say I was relieved, but the worst thing wasn’t letting my dog go with dignity it was the sleepless nights beforehand when I agonised over what to do. I was proud of myself that I did know when the time was right and that I’d been brave enough to put my dog first. I was relieved I didn’t have to worry about It anymore.

 

[AprilBlossom]

Made my husband drive back first thing this morning from London to be there with us when the vet comes.
Bloody dog has perked up no end apparently, so much so we took him to the vet appointment (not for X-rays etc) and she’s suggested trying the heart medication for a week or so as she thought he wasn’t suffering (he had a good old romp around the practice and was adored by everyone) and it’d be worth a try.

As a couple of you have said, it’s actually the agonising over making the right decision that’s the hardest thing. I’m not going to hold my breath for this to work, and I know his time is now limited but because he was suddenly so bright and happy again, I feel now I should give him this chance and make the most of every second now!

 

[meleeka]

Made my husband drive back first thing this morning from London to be there with us when the vet comes.
Bloody dog has perked up no end apparently, so much so we took him to the vet appointment (not for X-rays etc) and she’s suggested trying the heart medication for a week or so as she thought he wasn’t suffering (he had a good old romp around the practice and was adored by everyone) and it’d be worth a try.

As a couple of you have said, it’s actually the agonising over making the right decision that’s the hardest thing. I’m not going to hold my breath for this to work, and I know his time is now limited but because he was suddenly so bright and happy again, I feel now I should give him this chance and make the most of every second now!

Good call. If he’s currently ok then at least you know you’ve tried everything possible x

 

[fankino04]

I felt the same as you with the umming and aahing and sleepless nights over my boy, we put him back on meds over the weekend and he showed a big improvement on them on the Saturday so I was hopeful that he could be treated but he declined again on the Sunday so the vet came out on the Monday morning to put him out of his misery, I was pleased that we knew we had tried everything and that it was the right time when we did it, there was definitely a sense of relief afterwards which I felt so guilty over...

 

[skinnydipper]

Heart meds are definitely worth a try.

I had an older large dog on Vetmedin which enabled her to enjoy her last few years. Her heart improved on this medication and remained stable. She was PTS for something unrelated to her heart.

 

[{97702}]

I lost my little greyhound with heart failure in April - she was diagnosed with a heart murmur for the first time in February (she was 12), she had a stroke on 1st April and I had her PTS 2 weeks later. I did try her on Vetmedin but the vet was clear that I’d see an improvement very quickly if it was going to work - there was no improvement, so no indecision for me personally as she was existing but not living. It was awful for me but the kindest thing for her ☹️

 

[splashgirl45]

one of the dogs i have looked after for 10 years had this problem, she was left at the vets for the day to have scans and when her owner went to pick her up they said the only way to mend her was a heart transplant which isnt available for dogs anyway, so PTS was the only option. her owner was heartbroken and bought her home with heart meds which made her more comfortable so the vet could come to the house to PTS and both her and her husband would be there. i went to say goodbye (very difficult) and she was PTS at home with her family around her. she was 13 and a medium size dog. so i would say let him go before his is really struggling to breathe and gets frightened.. for the dog i looked after it was the right time to let her go but really hard for all of us because i am counted as family too.... hope you get a few good days but please dont feel bad for making the last call for him. hugs xxx

 

[Cortez]

Our dearly beloved Irish Wolfhound had heart failure and we tried the meds. Worked absolutely fabulously for about 4-5 days and then she deteriorated so badly I had to rush her in to the vets, terrified and struggling for breath. I wish we had made the decision to put her down in the first instance and spared her the agonising set back, it wasn't worth it for the short respite. She was only 6.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I hope he improves at least a little so he can be comfortable.
You know how the saying goes, better a week early than a day late xxxx

 

[Stiff Knees]

Whatever your decision, you'll find comforting words and support on this forum. They're a great group of people. 🐾🙂

 

[AprilBlossom]

Well here’s the little toad having given us all a horrible scare back to his chirpy self - for now it seems he has bounced back (and I think what the hell, I almost put you down the other night you were so bad) but will see how he goes.

F*ing princess. I love him so much, my useless little ratbag!

 

[AmyMay]

💕 💕 💕

 

[splashgirl45]

fingers crossed for him

 

[Nudibranch]

Fingers crossed...we had our dachshund pts in July and I agonised over it. We tried different meds over a few months, he would rally and then relapse and finally had one last try of a cocktail of drugs we hadn't used before. Much like Cortez's dog he then went downhill very rapidly over about 4 days - it was a real shock. He didn't even make it to the 7 day review. With hindsight, once he had the diagnosis I should have pts. It's definitely so much harder making the decision with dogs. My only comfort is I did spare him from the very end stage. My BIL's dad died from heart failure recently and it is truly unpleasant and distressing for them. At least with our animals we can take that away.

 

[fankino04]

Any update? Hope its going well on the meds x

 

[AprilBlossom]

Any update? Hope its going well on the meds x

hes doing ok for now - bouncing around the house and happy in himself but you can tell his little body is working harder than it should at times.
But happy in himself and most definitely joyous to be hanging around for now! I’m well aware we’re just buying time but until he gives the nod that he’s ready to go, we’ll keep him going. Trying to wean off Frusemide now gradually... fingers crossed!x

 

[Goldenstar]

My lovely Killi had six years of vetmedin and died from something else .

 

[fankino04]

I'm so pleased the meds seem to be working, our cat took a few weeks to adjust to them properly and sometimes he seemed to be almost struggling a bit again but the vet said to just give him an extra dose on those days, he's still only on one 8th of his possible dose now and has not declined at all so hopefully you will get many more years with yours x

 

[Five&Two]

Sorry but when my 14 yo Bichon was diagnosed with heart failure and was displaying the symptos you first describe, she was let go. Which I believe was right and no way would I have done anything differently