hi all, i have a problem, my SBT is only 5yrs old, when she was 2 she developed a severe cough, we got her into the vets on an emergency appt, she was in an oxygen tent and was given various meds to help her, thankfully she was well again after 24hours, then nearly a year after she got ill again with the same symptoms so we vetted her and she was given more meds, they ran tests both times for lung worm, she didn't have them, now since she was 3 she has been on and off with this cough and breathing difficulty, so we have had more tests, xrays scans ect.... (£££££)..... nothing found apart from the exray looks like she has cotton wool in her lungs, so as i type this she is breathing heavy, she cant get up without starting to breath funny, if she gets excited she starts, sometimes she gets into a nasty cough, her ribs area is swollen, her stomach is always bloated, we have just finished a course of steroids a week ago, but made no improvement, she also has an inhalor, which i think has made her worse, but i just did some research myself, and i typed in chronic lung disease which the vets now think it is, but i read this little article about common causes for lung problems and DCM came up, now looking at her symptoms it looks like this could be it, i mean the swelling of her stomach is one, also drinking lots of water, which she does, then the general, breathing and coughing problems too, it says that restriction of the blood flow causes fluid to leak into the lungs, it only seems to be since she had her litter, she had a bad dose of eclampsia which im about to hopefully connect with the loss of nitrogen which can contribute to this problem, BOTTOM LINE is,,,,,, has anyone had this problem or any relation to my story, i have nala an appointment on friday if we can wait that long, i have told this particular vet i need this sorting out, i dont want her put through any more tests if they are just gonna test her for lung worm, thanks for reading, xxx sami xxx

Ask for referral to a specialist practice (cardiology/internal medicine).hope she is well soon

My 7 year old Flattie has developed DCM in the last month. He was immediately referred to the local(ish) Vet college after our own Vet removed 2.5 ltrs of fluid from around his lungs. He has been given weeks or if we are lucky months on a variety of meds. He is stable at the moment and being his normal self albeit a lot more tired.
If your bitch has had these symptoms for so many years and not had any heart meds I would doubt if this is what is wrong with her, although I agree the symptoms fit. My boy has never had a cough though he just started panting and heavy breathing more than normal and that is why I suspected something was amiss.
Hope you get to the bottom of it though and it is something less life threatening and can be treated.

Copied this from the GWP Website if anyone is interested.
CANINE HEALTH SEMINAR: DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY (DCM)
The GWPC is holding a health seminar covering DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy) with leading canine cardiologist Joanna Dukes- McEwan.

The seminar will be held on Saturday 24th September at Middlewich Community Centre, CW10 9BX. Meet at 12.30 with a buffet lunch, seminar and then questions and answers.

Cost is £15 a head which includes food and drinks, please make all bookings via Sharon Pinkerton or telephone 01469 532991/07860 292020.

This seminar will be of interest to all breeds but has been organised to focuse on giving GWP enthusiasts, breeders and owners the opportunity to understand more about DCM.

Referral ASAP.  Her symptoms do sound like DCM although it has been going on for a long time for the visible stages of it - but dogs can be surprising.  My oldest dobe has it and has just had her latest checkup today, 9 months after diagnosis - technically she should be long gone by now but she's not even near heart failure (being a dobe, the breed that gets hit by DCM the worst, she has been unbelieveable and remarkable today because of how well she's doing) so they certainly don't always follow the textbooks ;-)

The seminar Star mentions is worth a visit too if ti does turn out to be DCM - I can vouch for Jo's expertise, she is Soli's cardiologist and knows DCM inside out (I believe she studied it for her PHD).  Definitely a european authority on it at least.  I went to a seminar on dobermann health in Feb which she spoke at, it was excellent.

Referral would be a necessity for me though - fluid can be drained and treated and there are various meds that can help.  I am concerned that (if I read your post right) your vet hasn't investigated her heart though...

DCM is best diagnosed by echo (ultrasound), and ECG and in some cases a holter (24 hour portable ECG monitor) can also be useful but it depends on the condition.  Echo would be a must for me.

I would thoroughly endose what has been said: there is no-one better than Jo so the seminar should be very useful to you. She did do her Phd on DCM in Newfs and my dog was one of the pilot study.My girl had some early symptoms of DCM but lived a further 10 years (to 12) without ever developing it, thanks to the suppliments Jo recommended. She is very approachable, too.

Newfs, that was it!  Couldn't think what breed it was.

That's brilliant about your girl :-)