December 15th, 2009 
admin My dog was wheezing and hacking, especially when excited, more in the last few weeks.He was happy though – good appetite, long walks, good attitude.
I took him to the vet – xray showed enlarged heart and fluid around lungs.He Rx’d lasix and theodur.Now he’s unhappy, won’t eat, takes short walks.He’s worse off than before the vet visit. I want to treat the heart, but can’t stand the unhappiness. I stopped the theodur (vet said ok) and only on lasix now, but still unhappy.What do I do?
BTW, I blame much of it on my choice of diet for him. I won’t be giving him bad quality food that is marketed as good for them (ie, hills, eukanuba, beneful), even vet recommended ones aren’t good (vets don’t know it all)-cause a host of ailments & allergy. Pls all doggie parents,feed your doggies well. I’m switching to Wellness brand(all natural)-what you can buy at Whole Foods is much better.See this post on better things for doggie: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080622143114AA9YZ5E
http://www.cavalierhealth.org/mitral_valve_disease.htm
Time for a crash course on chf and a new vet.Lasix treats the chf but does nothing to help with the heart disease it self.
When the dog feels better his behavior will reflect it,he may never be up for long walks again.Limiting exercise is called for in advanced heart disease but he can still play.
Heart disease is mainly due to genetics but a good diet and good management of the heart disease will add years to his life.
Related posts:
Posted in 
thats horrible.. i hope your dog is ok. theres really nothing you can do but wait.
if you answer my question and read some of the answers you may feel better
Hope This Helps!
References :
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080715132209AAtqGzL&r=w
Talk to your vet about alternatives to Lasix. As with all medications, some just aren’t well tolerated by some individuals. There are other drugs that can be used to treat it, maybe another would be a better choice for your specific dog.
References :
second opinion ,,and not with anyone in the same vet place i had a 12 year old dog that could hardly move its neck took him to the vet that i always took him to he said hernia disc in neck 3 times we seen him he was in more pain , and he was drugged up, and i asked about x-rays and vet said no he was a vet for 33 years and he knows what was wrong with are dog, well wen to a difference he had x-rays and he had neck cancer and it went to his lynoids and it travel fast yes we had to have him put down, please seek a second opinion
References :
http://www.cavalierhealth.org/mitral_valve_disease.htm
Time for a crash course on chf and a new vet.Lasix treats the chf but does nothing to help with the heart disease it self.
When the dog feels better his behavior will reflect it,he may never be up for long walks again.Limiting exercise is called for in advanced heart disease but he can still play.
Heart disease is mainly due to genetics but a good diet and good management of the heart disease will add years to his life.
References :