Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Signs of Congestive Heart Failure

My 11 year old female black lab, Stella, may be showing signs of congestive heart failure I'm afraid. For the past couple of weeks she has been gagging at night a few times and seems to be low on energy. She also doesn't have the desire to eat her food immediately as she once did. I've noticed her groaning and grumbling when she lays down and moves.

Until last night I just attributed it to old age finally catching up, but I was reading about the gagging and many were saying it was a sign of CHF. I plan on taking her today to see the vet to get his opinion but I didn't know if any of you guys had any experience with it in your dogs. She's been a great hunting buddy through the years and is great with my 2 year old son. I don't want to se her in unnecessary pain and I'm hoping some meds can at least comfort her.

If that's what it is, I think there is treatment available.

I took her to the vet yesterday and he said she likely has the beginning stages of CHF. He could hear a murmur and said that all signs pointed to CHF. He put her on Lasix to remove fluid, Vetmedin the strengthen the heart and enalapril to help the heart pump blood easier. The vet and all the techs there said it should make a dramatic difference in how she feels and her energy level so I hope it works.

Yea, had a nearly identical situation with a previous dog in his late 11's. He made it to 14. He was on Lasix and something else. Around the 13 mark his stamina dropped off drastically and the murmur got so bad you could hear it at night if the house was real quiet.

I don't think there's any real pain involved with CHF. Their circulation just goes to hell and they get tired really quick, but the poor buggers still want to go, go, go. The meds will definitely help, but her hunting days are probably numbered.

There is treatment, that will work to make her comfortable. I lost my Maggie girl to DCM a couple of years ago.

She is a fine looking lady, best of luck to you both.

It sucks watching your dogs get old.

Best of luck with your lab.. My Peach is 10 this year and plenty active, but I hate to see the white hair growing on her muzzle..

Another symptom of CHF is panting at rest.

Relatively young dog, coughing, low-energy, low-appetite - sounds more like worms.

Sounds as if her mitral valve is starting to wear out.....CHF is a "collect all" term; it can be caused by a number of factors: heart attack (dead cardiac muscle), poor valve, inflammation of the heart muscle, etc. There are varying degrees of mitral regurge (the valve fails and allows blood back into the Left ventricle), and the heart has to pump harder to meet the needs of the rest of the body, the result is fatigue, listlessness, frothy cough, etc.
Sounds as if it was caught early, but I'd keep an eye on the old gal and wouldn't hunt her too hard like you might have when she was younger.