Hi All

I rescued Grace the sheltie 15 or so months ago knowing that she had a heart murmur.  Recently she started coughing and the vet said she should have a heart scan.  That was done today and she was diagnosed with an enlarged heart caused by a leaking valve. Now she is home with a lot of different meds to take starting an hour before food tonight.  They include Vetmedin tablets Furosemide tablets and Benazecare tablets.  I would like to hear from any of you who have dealt with similar problems and what sort of prognosis Grace may have.  Don't know her age but possibly 9 or 10.

She is a lovely girl with a nature to match and I am very fond of her.  I am worried about the cost of this treatment as we are on pensions and she is insured but not covered for this as the murmur was mentioned on her notes from the rescue centre.  She has to see the vet again in 2 weeks time.  I am hoping that at least the cough will go and that she will have more energy than recently.  She has always been a good eater so that has never been a problem.

I would love to hear from any of you who have been through this and how your dog/dogs responded.

Many thanks
Snowflake

My last GR developed an enlarged heart when she was about 11/12. She was prescribed vetmedin and frusimide and did well on them until she was about 14 when she started to show signs of early kidney failure so another heart drug was added (can’t remember the name but it began with V I think) which had been shown to benefit the kidneys, so the vet thought it would help her heart as well as the kidneys. She had another 6 months and then stopped eating and sort of gave up which was when we let her go.

The vet told me to not restrict her and let her do what she wanted, there were several times when she would belt off after a rabbit and I was convinced she would drop dead on the spot but she was fine.
She needed to be kept cool if it was a slightly warmer day so either had walks where she could regularly get into water or she wore a cool coat which worked very well in keeping her cooler. Also at night if it did go cold then she needed a little extra to keep her warm despite her own undercoat. Also keep the weight down as much as you can. Jodi was a smaller GR and was only 25 kgs most of her life.

Thank you Jodi,  that has set my mind at rest a little,  Grace my sheltie is cheerful, gets on well with my other dogs and eats well.  She does have arthritis though but enjoys her short walksxx

I have 3 dogs currently on Vetmedin.  And several previous oldies went for several years quite happily on the medication.  Not all needed diuretics, but I do currently have the worse affected dog on them.

I rate Vetmedin as fantastic!  Best meds ever.  They have given me so much more time with my gang.

Your vet sounds excellent, and well up on the needs of your girl. 

Good Luck
Jean

Vetmedin is good I agree, I was amazed how well Jodi was once she started on it, you wouldn’t know anything was wrong with her. When I was asked her age people were amazed as she was so lively and active. She didn’t have any arthritic problems common in ageing goldens. Possibly this was helped by keeping her weight down, I met a 16 year old golden today who was very slim and fit looking, all he had was the standard Youmove.

You can buy Vetmedin online for much less than the cost from the vet. However, it is a prescription drug, and your vet will make a charge for issuing the scrip. My prescriptions have always provided enough drug cover for six months, so it has been worth doing.

Thanks so much for your helpful replies.

Grace is still coughing but I she she has only been on the meds for a day or so.  The diuretics have made her wee a lot so she seems to have a permanent damp bottom at the moment.  I am having a job giving her the pills (usually I give pills with a bit of pate) as she is being rather resistant and trying to spit them out.  They are to be taken before food,  not with.  Are there any palatable sorts of  of treats that I could use I wonder.  It is important that she takes them obviously.  The vet phoned me yesterday to say that he felt that Grace should soon show an improvement and that she will eventually be able to cut down on some of the meds, he has asked me to phone him on Monday to let him know how she is.  He is seeing her again in 2 weeks.

Thanks for letting me know about the online prescription especially if I could get enough for six months!!

Onward and upward hopefullyxx

I have a cat with both cardiac and renal issues. He is on 3 meds per day and has been a nightmare to get the meds in him
Things I've tried
Soft cheese
Pate
Amy other food.iten that they  an be wrapped in
Pieces of prawn or.sardine
There is a sort of edible tasty putty available from vets to wrap them in
Pill pockets.  Not.cheap but available on line by greenies I think
All of.those . work once or.twice then rejected but then he is a cat !
I've tried both crushing and giving whole

Final solution for.us has been a.soft ended pill syringe the u push the pill in to then end and. Shoot into the mouth. Unfortunately  I then have to hold his.mouth shut amd massage his.throat
Followed in our case by dreamies as a treat
Liquids are easier as.they can be syringed In to his mouth.
I have to keep.reminding myself it is for his best interests  as so far he is doing well .

https://www.animeddirect.co.uk/vivitreats-pack-30.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw5p_8BRBUEiwAPpJO69PHoH4g1QROKOYoW0zF170BqOFgfVkGSFUZtXdFzkjKsBh4kN0FyhoCkzYQAvD_BwE
Similar to pill pockets

My friend's 12 year old Cavalier is on a similar cocktail of drugs & it took about 4 days for his body to adapt to the diuretics & stop flood peeing. He stopped coughing within a week when the Fortekor plus kicked in fully. Vetmedin & Fortekor plus are similar drugs

He's a dream to give tablets to as he's had homeopathic noscodes since he was a year old & learnt that tablets were followed by very high value treats & his meal. He was also given placebos in training. He actually asks for his tablets twice daily!

My first vet told me to put tablets in butter for my dogs to allow them to slip into the throat easier. Might be worth doing a bit of training giving treats the tablets can be hidden in