sweetstars
New member
Just reposting from the r/ Vets sub to see if I can get more eyes on this or hear different experiences:
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer
Gender: Female
Age: 9 (Turning 10 this year)
Neuter Status: Spayed
Weight: 14 lbs (don't remember specifically)
Past History: Heart Murmur diagnosis a few years ago
Vaccinations: All done (they'e a year overdue but pet places have told me it's not a huge deal)
Environment: House-raised, never really mingled with other dogs; non-smoking home
Habits: Eats rabbit poo and random stuff in our yard sometimes
My dog started heaving on/off since yesterday, coughing but with nothing coming out -- she puked out saliva a few times but that was it. I grew concerned and took her to a vet this morning. I am aware that she has a heart murmur and was told a few years ago it was maybe a 3 on a scale of 6 for severity, but was told today after an x-ray that my dog is at 4/5 out of 6. The vet who had made the initial diagnosis had said it wasn't something to stress or worry too much about (but to monitor for signs of worsening), but the vet today told me my dog's murmur has enlarged her heart valves and unfortunately, has now brought on mitral valve disease. She said the heaving my dog was doing was likely due to the disease. We were given 4 medications for her to now take, 3 of which she will have to take for life, one of which is a doxycycline for a week just to kill any bacteria that may be inside.
There's no guarantee this medicine will stop the heaving my dog's been doing. But I've just been so broken, having to hear and see her heave like that and cough with no solution to it. She has never heaved like this before, but the vet said this just may have been something that developed over time and just surfaced in terms of symptoms. She said dogs don't heave like this out of nowhere for an overnight reason, and usually do so due to something chronic. The vet confirmed my dog had nothing stuck in her trachea or lungs.
The vet did a comprehensive blood panel today, the results for which I am waiting on. It was done just to check for other possible issues, but also because my dog pooed out gooey red discharge randomly last Monday, and the week prior to that, had unexplained diarrhea and vomited a few times. The vet said the bloodwork can maybe see if there are any infections.
I was told the medicine obviously cannot stop her murmur or fully make this heaving go away, but I just don't know what I should do. I read that dogs with heart murmurs (esp with age) are at high risk for sudden death too. I know my dog is old (miniature schnauzers apparently at most live till 12-14 years), but...I'm just broken and starting to ramble.
Is there any more sensible advice or help from anyone? Has anyone had a dog with this disease before?
About My Dog
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer
Gender: Female
Age: 9 (Turning 10 this year)
Neuter Status: Spayed
Weight: 14 lbs (don't remember specifically)
Past History: Heart Murmur diagnosis a few years ago
Vaccinations: All done (they'e a year overdue but pet places have told me it's not a huge deal)
Environment: House-raised, never really mingled with other dogs; non-smoking home
Habits: Eats rabbit poo and random stuff in our yard sometimes
My dog started heaving on/off since yesterday, coughing but with nothing coming out -- she puked out saliva a few times but that was it. I grew concerned and took her to a vet this morning. I am aware that she has a heart murmur and was told a few years ago it was maybe a 3 on a scale of 6 for severity, but was told today after an x-ray that my dog is at 4/5 out of 6. The vet who had made the initial diagnosis had said it wasn't something to stress or worry too much about (but to monitor for signs of worsening), but the vet today told me my dog's murmur has enlarged her heart valves and unfortunately, has now brought on mitral valve disease. She said the heaving my dog was doing was likely due to the disease. We were given 4 medications for her to now take, 3 of which she will have to take for life, one of which is a doxycycline for a week just to kill any bacteria that may be inside.
There's no guarantee this medicine will stop the heaving my dog's been doing. But I've just been so broken, having to hear and see her heave like that and cough with no solution to it. She has never heaved like this before, but the vet said this just may have been something that developed over time and just surfaced in terms of symptoms. She said dogs don't heave like this out of nowhere for an overnight reason, and usually do so due to something chronic. The vet confirmed my dog had nothing stuck in her trachea or lungs.
The vet did a comprehensive blood panel today, the results for which I am waiting on. It was done just to check for other possible issues, but also because my dog pooed out gooey red discharge randomly last Monday, and the week prior to that, had unexplained diarrhea and vomited a few times. The vet said the bloodwork can maybe see if there are any infections.
I was told the medicine obviously cannot stop her murmur or fully make this heaving go away, but I just don't know what I should do. I read that dogs with heart murmurs (esp with age) are at high risk for sudden death too. I know my dog is old (miniature schnauzers apparently at most live till 12-14 years), but...I'm just broken and starting to ramble.
Is there any more sensible advice or help from anyone? Has anyone had a dog with this disease before?