# Elderly dog



## Jodi1 (Mar 25, 2010)

I took our 12 year old dog, Jodi, to the vets last Tuesday as she almost collapsed on a walk when we were away. Over the past few months I had noticed that she has been panting more after even small amounts of activity and her breathing had become noisy at times. The vet thought she might have a problem with her larynx, but would need to examine her whilst anesthetized and she was booked in for this Tuesday (today). After scaring myself silly by reading up about Laryngeal Paralysis, which he thought was the problem, I went to pick her up this afternoon and to get the results from the vet (and pay the bill :shock: ) Her larynx is ok, but her heart is enlarged and is pressing against the windpipe, hence the noisy breathing and excessive panting, and her lungs are a bit squashed which was why she almost collapsed. She has DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy) which although is serious, the outlook is fairly good if caught in time and treated. The symptoms are usually missed (as they appear just to be elderly dog problems) and it was due to this hot weather that bought on the feinting fit that I fully appreciated something was wrong. So she has been started on blood pressure reducing pills to see if this helps and apparently there are plenty of further treatments to try. Just as well she is insured as this is not cheap. 
You wouldn't know there was anything wrong with her as she charged out of the vets nearly pulling the nurse over, and she has been bouncing around ever since and knocked back her food like I had starved her for weeks She had her first pill this evening. The vet suggested giving the pills in the evening as they would probably make her drowsy, no way Hosay :lol: I'm to keep her on a lead when walked and return for a follow up visit to the vets next week to see if there is any improvement. He said not to try and keep her quiet all the time and let her dictate the pace when out. She seems to understand her limits and will go and lie down in a shady spot if she feels a bit tired. 
I hope she will be around for a while longer, this one has really stolen my heart


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

So sorry to hear about Jodi's health problems. It is very worrying when they are ill isn't it?
I think I would rather be ill myself than have my dog or cat ill  

As you say, thank goodness she is insured. That takes one worry out of the equation.

One thing to take comfort from is that Jodi has no idea that she has an enlarged heart and so cannot worry about it! It will also help her if you try to keep things as normal as possible and not fuss over her more than you would usually  

I expect the vet mentioned that carrying excess pounds does not help in these cases so you will have to watch the old food intake. This would be especially true if she is being exercised on lead as she will not burn off the calories.
One trick is to feed her in a smaller bowl :lol: If she has tit bits then take a similar amount out of her daily food ration to compensate. Lots of dogs like carrots for tit bits.

Hope Jodi feels better soon.


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## Jodi1 (Mar 25, 2010)

Thanks for your good wishes. Carrots are very popular with both our dogs and we have substituted some of there meal ration for chunks of carrot already. She weighs 27.5 kgs which is slightly below average for a female golden retriever, but she is smaller then average. Your're right, she doesn't know what is wrong with her so will live her life to the full. I'll be glad when its a bit cooler as this warm weather does affect her more.


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

We had a golden retriever some years ago and if we had another dog we would only ever have that breed now. Ross started to come out of his puppy stage at about 12 years and due to tummy problems was at the vets very regularly. However, he had not read the book so did not know large dogs have shorter life spans than smaller breeds. He was lively and enjoyed his food (and anyone elses if he could get it) until his last days at 15 years and a bit.

He was on regular medication and we treated it like a "treat" so he sat and waited for his pills. Typical retriever - wrapped in a bit of food it didn't touch the sides and he thought it was great!

So the chances are that Jodi has lots of living to do yet and lots more walking for you to supervise  

Sue


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Sorry to hear about Jodi's problems. Dog insurance was one of the things we *didn't* cut back on.

Our GR is finding the weather a bit too much at the moment. Although she's still to reach her 2nd birthday, you'd think she was 22 to see her pad around and panting. Strangely, she seems to be all right and forget about the heat when she sees one of her mates out and about :roll: Then she looks at us, as if to say "why did you let me run around like that?" :evil:

Ours is a little bit podgy, with quite a large body, although with stumpy legs, she doesn't seem that big. When we (eventually) managed to weigh her at the vets in France recently, she was 34kg.

She's a great companion for us, and she has 'one of those faces' that makes everyone smile when they see her. I hope she's our companion for many years to come.

Gerald


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

Sorry to read of Jodi's health issues. Glad to know it is treatable and Jodi is doing ok.

It is amazing how they cope. We were very worried about Jabulile over Christmas with her pancreatitis and then a stroke in April, but she is doing very well.

Jodi will no doubt go on for many more years.


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