Last Thursday evening Frankie seemed a bit "off". He was unusually quiet and seemed to panting a lot. Both boys sleep with us in our bed and he did not want to get up on the bed so he went to his own bed. During the night he had diarrhea and by 7 am his breathing was labored, wet and raspy. He was having a very hard time to get his breath.
I threw on some clothes and raced to the vets which is only 5 min away. She diganosed him with congestive heart failure and he may have even had a heart attach overnight. I was beside myself just hearing "heart failure".
She immediately gave him a shot of lasix and within 2 minutes he was breathing fine. They did x-rays and I could see all the fluid. She prescribed lasix tablets and Enalapril twice a day. Well all weekend he has had explosive diarrhea constantly. His appetite is fine, he constantly drinks and pees (lasix). Honestly he acts normal except for the runny poos.
He also needs to lose 2 lbs. We are thinking of stopping Ziwipeak because it is so rich and calorie dense. His LP surgery has been postponed till Dec. 7.

I know I am rambling but I am looking for advice. Has anyone had experience with Lasix and Enalapril? Congestive Heart Failure?? I am off to call vet about the diarrhea. Thanks for listening...........

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I can't offer any advice, but i wanted to say how sorry I am that your lovely boy is going through this, and that my thoughts are with you.

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So sorry to hear about Frankie. How old is Frankie? He is beautiful.
I hope he will be alright.

Awwww, thank you Cindy. Frankie will be 5 yrs old on Nov. 30th. This was so sudden, we are still in shock.

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Oh Pam, this breaks my heart. So sorry to hear this about sweet Frankie. One of my favorites here as you know.

It does sound like you are doing everything right. Reducing his weight will help quite a bit. The lasix will work great for him, but yes, it will make him pee. A lot. As the heart failure becomes more managed, his peeing will decrease and his breathing will improve. It is a manageable disease.

As for his food.... I would hate to see him go off the ZP since its such a great food. Which one does he eat? I would guess that the venison would be leaner and less rich than the lamb. They are also supposed to be coming out with a rabbit version. You might be able to do the green bean diet with him with NO sodium green beans. I know a lot of people have had success with it.

I'm not much help but want you to know that I am thinking of you guys and praying that Frankie will do fine.

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"Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way.....
but you can never say again that you did not know." William Wilberforce 1759-1833

Oh Tracy thank you so much. I know, I know, I want to keep on the ZP too. It is the 28% fat that vet is so opposed to. Yes, they eat the lamb. The venison is lighter. Just for the heck of it I am going to give him 1/2 amount of the ZP this morning and throw in a few green beans ( I will thaw some frozen ) and see if he goes for it. But vet is adamant that the ZP is high calorie..... erg...........

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I am so sorry to hear this. I hope you guys are able to manage it. I am no help, but I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you and Frankie.

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I am so sorry to hear this, just getting to know all of you and you all seem like one big family, so I know Frankie will get some prayers to get his health back.

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Ike born Aug 15 2012