[Dailydrool] Violeta's mooing- what do I do? Is she sick?

[Marie Campbell]

Hello Virginia,
    Please forgive me if these issues have already been addressed.  I can tell from the medications that you said Violeta is on the she has congestive heart failure and this is very serious.  Dogs in congestive heart failure need to be kept cool and calm at all times.  Do not take her on lengthy walks. This is dangerous.  Let her determine how far she walks to relieve herself and then take her home and cool her down.  If she is having to climb as excessive amount of stairs this is also dangerous.  Dogs with congestive heart failure often die quite suddenly with little or no warning.  I have both Newfs and Bassets and I had a Newf diagnosed with congestive heart failure at 5 1/2 years old.  A dog that have gotten cardiology cleared at 2 years old.  Congestive heart failure can come on more quickly then you think and if your girl has lived beyond a few months post  diagnosis this is great!!!!  Usually, they died rather quickly post
 diagnosis--like a week or two later.
    Don't give her any drugs that her vet is unaware of because you may not know weather or not heart dogs can have them or if they counteract with her current meds.  Diarrhea can also be caused by the furosemide(sp)-which is a diuretic.  You can use canned pumpkins--a couple of tablespoons per meal--to firm up her stools.  This is safe and affective.
    The most important part of this advice is to keep her cool and keep her calm and quiet.  If possible, you may want to consider a window unit AC or swamp cooler if you are in a dry climate.  Her constant moaning is a concern because it signals either distress or discomfort.  
    Also dogs with congestive heart failure are often fearful and anxious--afraid to leave home or be out of sight of a loved one.  My girl, Tessa, was terrified to leave the house more then a few steps to relieve herself and got frantic if she couldn't see me.  The vet's office was such an ordeal to her that I had the vet come to the house.  This was a dog who we called "The Politician" because she never met a stranger and she loved to travel.  After her diagnosis, she would have a nervous breakdown if we tried to get her to leave the house.
    Good Luck and let us know how Violeta is doing!
    Marie

Man Plans ~ God Laughs 
 

________________________________
 From: VIRGINIA OLIVEIRA <duda.tuppence at shaw.ca>
To: "dailydrool at lists.dailydrool.org" <dailydrool at lists.dailydrool.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 10:58 PM
Subject: [Dailydrool] Violeta's mooing- what do I do? Is she sick?
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.dailydrool.org/pipermail/dailydrool-dailydrool.org/attachments/20130822/af3c21aa/attachment-0002.htm>