Devastating news - my dog has Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Frigga_92

Hi there,

I just had to post this somewhere to get some advice, some support, some comfort.

I have a 4 year old male great dane, he will be 5 in October. He has always been the picture of health, great looking dog and always very healthy. Prior to having him at the vet twice in the past 2 weeks he had only been to the vet twice in his life.

He had a bad build up of fluid in his abdomen, it transpires there is about 2-3 litres of fluid in his stomach. He has been very weak and I can see a serious amount of lost muscle tissue in his back legs and loss of weight along his spine and his hips.
The vet scanned him this morning and it transpires that he has Dilated Cardiomyopathy and has only a year to live, if we're lucky. He said his heart looks very very bad. He said the problem is genetic, not from his parents but just a problem with large breeds in general. He put Henry on 3 different tablets, 2 are for his heart and 1 is diuretics for the fluid in his stomach.

He is very weak from his heart not working properly. He is falling from a standing position quite regularly. He is also lying down a lot and has 2 pressure sores on his back paws from this.
He is still alert, eating about a third less than normal, drinking about the same amount of water. He still wags his tail and looks for cuddles but i can just tell that he is sad.

I am absolutely devastated. Henry is my best friend in the world. I have had him since he was 12 weeks old and we are very attached to each other.
I am not coping well with the news and have been crying all morning. Henry also seems very down and he's not himself at all, which is understandable.

I am just looking for some advice and words of comfort on how to cope. How can I make this easier for Henry?

Just to add, he's on James Wellbeloved adult food. If anyone has a suggestion for a more suitable food for his condition i'd appreciate it. Thanks

SillyMangoX

So so sorry to hear about this it's awful to see such a majestic dog going down hill with something like this. The only advise I can give to you is don't wait until it's too late, even though it's hard to hear and a very hard decision to make it's kinder to let them go before they reach a point where they are suffering badly. If he only has a year left, make sure it's the best year he's ever had!

Frigga_92

Hi Sillymango, I do agree with you, I don't want him to have no quality of life. It'll be a tough decision but I hate to see him suffering, he's my best friend.

cocker5

26sdrawkcab wrote: »

Hi there,

I just had to post this somewhere to get some advice, some support, some comfort.

I have a 4 year old male great dane, he will be 5 in October. He has always been the picture of health, great looking dog and always very healthy. Prior to having him at the vet twice in the past 2 weeks he had only been to the vet twice in his life.

He had a bad build up of fluid in his abdomen, it transpires there is about 2-3 litres of fluid in his stomach. He has been very weak and I can see a serious amount of lost muscle tissue in his back legs and loss of weight along his spine and his hips.
The vet scanned him this morning and it transpires that he has Dilated Cardiomyopathy and has only a year to live, if we're lucky. He said his heart looks very very bad. He said the problem is genetic, not from his parents but just a problem with large breeds in general. He put Henry on 3 different tablets, 2 are for his heart and 1 is diuretics for the fluid in his stomach.

He is very weak from his heart not working properly. He is falling from a standing position quite regularly. He is also lying down a lot and has 2 pressure sores on his back paws from this.
He is still alert, eating about a third less than normal, drinking about the same amount of water. He still wags his tail and looks for cuddles but i can just tell that he is sad.

I am absolutely devastated. Henry is my best friend in the world. I have had him since he was 12 weeks old and we are very attached to each other.
I am not coping well with the news and have been crying all morning. Henry also seems very down and he's not himself at all, which is understandable.

I am just looking for some advice and words of comfort on how to cope. How can I make this easier for Henry?

Just to add, he's on James Wellbeloved adult food. If anyone has a suggestion for a more suitable food for his condition i'd appreciate it. Thanks

OP I am truely sorry to hear about poor Henry and what you are all going through... its a horrible situation, TBH i dread the day Im told something like that about my cocker I can only imagination how bad you are feeling etc.

With regard to his pressure sores... firstly I would have sure he has a massive soft bed, with lots of sponge etc big enough for him to strecth out full, even an old duvet so his limps arent resting on the floor, this will try and help with his pressures sores.

Also get some 100% Aleo Vera gel from the health food stores, its safe for dogs and will help stop cracking etc, even if he licks it it wont hurt him etc.

If the pressure sore do crack try some sudocream witha tiny drop of lavender mixed in, apply with a q-tip and put a small bandage on it.

Give him a little time for his meds to kick in, hopefully his mood will improve somewhat.... and like SillyMangoX said make it the best last year of his life...

DBB

I have no advice to offer OP, I just wanted to express my sadness for both you and Henry... Getting bad news like that is devastating, especially for such a young dog.
I'm also hoping that the drugs will give him some comfort and give you more time together.
Good luck OP :-(

Frigga_92

He has an orthopaedic bed in our kitchen but while his back paws are bandaged i'm keeping him in our bedroom, away from our other 2 dogs so they're not pulling at his bandages, so I've bought him a memory foam mattress topper and a double duvet to rest on. He already has another bed but I just wanted to get him something new because he's not well.

We have sudocrem and dressings for the pressure sores so hopefully that will clear them up.

Thanks for your replies.

Saracena

Sorry to hear about your dog. I agree with the earlier advice about giving the medications a chance to work. Sometimes with heart conditions dose adjustments are necessary along the way before the optimum one is achieved so keep updating your vet on his current response.

In addition, no vet has a crystal ball and in reality he may well outlive the current (time) prognosis with correct treatment. So having a vet who's experienced in treating this condition is a must. If it were me I'd have him referred to a veterinary cardiologist to give him the best chance or at least have your vet consult with one.

Finally, I would also read up on the condition yourself. Understanding it will help you greatly in terms of being in control of the situation - forearmed is forewarned etc

I hope Henry responds well to the medications! Good luck

tk123

Sorry about your dog OP I'd agree with what the others have said especially about letting the meds kick in and reading up on the condition - especially on great dane forums - i found breed specific forums very useful when my retriever was having some health issues last year.

I know you're heartbroken but you have time left with him to spoil him and show him how much you love him which a lot of owners don't get to have.
I love great danes but am way too short to have one lol! A vlog I watch on YouTube (shaytards) have a great dane and they're just so funny and majestic at the same time.

Millem

26sdrawkcab wrote: »

Hi there,

I just had to post this somewhere to get some advice, some support, some comfort.

I have a 4 year old male great dane, he will be 5 in October. He has always been the picture of health, great looking dog and always very healthy. Prior to having him at the vet twice in the past 2 weeks he had only been to the vet twice in his life.

He had a bad build up of fluid in his abdomen, it transpires there is about 2-3 litres of fluid in his stomach. He has been very weak and I can see a serious amount of lost muscle tissue in his back legs and loss of weight along his spine and his hips.
The vet scanned him this morning and it transpires that he has Dilated Cardiomyopathy and has only a year to live, if we're lucky. He said his heart looks very very bad. He said the problem is genetic, not from his parents but just a problem with large breeds in general. He put Henry on 3 different tablets, 2 are for his heart and 1 is diuretics for the fluid in his stomach.

He is very weak from his heart not working properly. He is falling from a standing position quite regularly. He is also lying down a lot and has 2 pressure sores on his back paws from this.
He is still alert, eating about a third less than normal, drinking about the same amount of water. He still wags his tail and looks for cuddles but i can just tell that he is sad.

I am absolutely devastated. Henry is my best friend in the world. I have had him since he was 12 weeks old and we are very attached to each other.
I am not coping well with the news and have been crying all morning. Henry also seems very down and he's not himself at all, which is understandable.

I am just looking for some advice and words of comfort on how to cope. How can I make this easier for Henry?

Just to add, he's on James Wellbeloved adult food. If anyone has a suggestion for a more suitable food for his condition i'd appreciate it. Thanks

One of my dogs was diagnosed with this we didn't think she would last the summer as it came on so rapidly and lost 10kgs (she is a lab). Anyway she spent the guts of a month in ucd loads and loads of tests, different meds etc she was on vetmedin and some other tablets that sent her mad as she had fluid on her lungs. She used to go and see a cardiologist once a month in ucd to get a heart ultrasound. After maybe 9 months there was no improvement but no dis improvement ucd wanted to go down a route we weren't happy with so we decided we would just stick with our own vet. 3 years on she is still going strong and has baffled the vets, they tell me her heart beats sooo slow and it is enlarged. we limit her excercise so she only gets walks maybe once or twice a week as she is so tired after them and she is only able for maybe 10 mins off the lead or else collapses (a stranger actually thought she was having a stroke in the dog park!) and she can't go under an anesthetic as it slows down the heart. she is so happy, everyone thinks she is a puppy as is so small (she hasn't regained the weight).

ferretone

Op, I am also so very sorry to hear your dog has this, and especially th poor prognosis for such a young dog.

I would reiterate the above comments, to have the most enjoyment you can with him for the time you have, and also not to assume it will be as bad or as quick as you fear.

I would also add another point, just a little piece of advice that may help, and that is to try switching the dog to raw food. I don't know what food he's been on, whether it's good or bad, but I'm betting it was probably dry. Even taking into account the genetic makeup of a dog, a lot of things can be optimised by a more appropriate diet.

I will give an example I've seen really close to me quite recently. This was a dog that was diagnosed with megacardia: not quite full-blown cardiomyopathy like your dog has, but shortly before he was diagnosed he was switched from crap, salty dry food to a raw diet - good quality wholesale human-grade food, which didn't end up much more expensive than the cheap dry food, as it was bought wholesale and frozen.

This dog was also on the Vetmedin, Although he didn't need the furosemide, as he didn't have fluid on the lungs. He was on the Vetmedin for around 8 months, while keeping him on his new, raw diet, and while we obviously don't know how much improvement is attributable to what intervention, the vet agrees that the healthier, fresh diet most likely contributed a great deal to his improvement.

While I can't project such a good result as this for a dog with full-blown cardiomyopathy, the heart of the dog in the above case is now normal, and he is off all meds.

All the best of luck with your dog in any case.

musicloverx3

Oh no i'am so sorry to read about this devastating news, I can't be much help to you I'm afraid as I'm only a dog enthusiastic. My cocker became sick at the start of September and I was so upset so I understand completely how you feel. Where as others might respond with 'just a dog'. Enjoy your time with him as much as you can with lots of photos and happy times just being with each other as this is such special memories at the moment. Henry will be in my thoughts tonight and I'm praying he gets better.

Lucyx

Hi OP

Sorry to hear the bad news about Henry but try not to be overwhelmed by the news. he is still with you and you never know what could happen. he could respond really well to treatment and he could improve over time like one of the dogs mentioned here.

I do think you should educate yourself on his condition. Seriously, become an expert on it and go to forums in other countries too as sometimes i feel like we're a third world country when it comes to pet care. Also maybe think about getting a second opinion. Do you have a great relationship with the vet and lots of trust? This is important as i did really like my vet and then she left and I kept going to the same practice but I do feel they didn't pick up on my dogs illness as quickly as they should have and this is something that I have to live with forever so really do your homework and ask all your questions and never feel silly or a pain in the backside. I'm telling you, peace of mind is invaluable. If the worst comes to the worst you want to know that you did everything you could.

Do try to be positive and keep an eye on Henrys moods and quality of life. You want to ensure hes not in pain and that hes comfortable at all times. Hes your best friend and I lost my best friend and I misss her so much everyday. Enjoy your time with him. Of course you're going to break down at times and feel dreadful. You're human. But get all the info you can and use the vet as much as you can. never have yourself in doubt and afraid to pester the vets. If they're good, they'll understand that you love Henry and want the best for him.

take care and give Henry a big hug from me xx

Frigga_92

Trying to type this with tears in my eyes.
Henry has shown no improvement since Tuesday. He hasn't eaten, he hasn't done a no. 2, he has just been lying there, the only time he has gotten up to go outside is for a wee and I think that's only because his bladder is forcing him to because of the Frusamide. He has developed a limp which goes through his 4 legs at random, he can barely walk now, when he does he staggers from side to side banging off things. The bones in his bum and hips are protruding. He looks like he is wasting away.
I think it's his time.
I am heartbroken to have to make this decision as I keep second guessing myself wondering what if he gets better but the Vet says it's not going to happen and I feel like I know in my heart it's not going to happen.
When my dog looks at me he looks tired, he looks like he has given up and that it's too much of a struggle for him.

I never thought I'd have to make this decision about my dog, let alone when he's only 4 years of age.

If anyone has any advice on the procedure that will be involved I'd appreciate it. I want to be with him for the whole thing, is this possible? He hates to be on his own

Nody

26sdrawkcab wrote: »

If anyone has any advice on the procedure that will be involved I'd appreciate it. I want to be with him for the whole thing, is this possible? He hates to be on his own

Usually they'd give him a final shot and you would be able to be with him through out.

SillyMangoX

Ah that's awful, poor Henry and poor you such a hard decision to make but no matter what you do, you're doing the right thing. As for the procedure itself, you of course can stay for the whole thing, vets have no problems with this. They will make an appointment for you, most likely at a quiet time of the day. They will discuss the options with you before bringing him in, so things like cremation or burial, and will take payment before they start in most cases so it's easier on you than having to do it after. You will be taken into the vets room, in some cases they will take the pet out for a few minutes to place a catheter in the leg, some don't depending on how quiet the dog is. You'll be given time to say goodbye, then the vet will inject the solution. It's an overdose of barbiturates so they just fall asleep. It's very very fast, I didn't realise how fast it happened until we had to do the same with my old cat, it's practically instantaneous. Not to put you off, but it's better to be prepared, after the dog has passed away they still may gasp for a minute, or may release their bladder or bowels. All completely normal part of the dying process, it's just the muscles relaxing but if you don't expect it, it can be quite frightening. But it is a very quick, very peaceful procedure. After it's happened the vet will usually give you some time to say your last goodbyes before either preparing for cremation or bringing him back to your car for you to bring home. It's really such a hard thing to decide but if your pet is suffering it is the ultimate act of kindness. I will be thinking of you both x

Frigga_92

Thanks Sillymango.
I'm just devastated at losing my best friend.