Heart failure is a condition in which the heart does not pump well enough.
This affects many old dogs, but it can also be inherited.
Since it only gets worse if left untreated, you should be well informed about the cause and the therapy.
In this article, we explain what it means that the dog drinks a lot with heart failure.
My Dog Has Heart Failure And Drinks A Lot: Why?
A consequence of heart failure is the water retention in the tissueespecially on the legs.
This edema occurs because the reduced blood pressure causes water to build up in the vessels and is forced out of them into the tissue.
Therefore, water tablets are always part of the treatment of heart failure.
They ensure that your dog urinates a lot and loses this water before it can store up.
So your dog has too much more thirst. But that’s okay and wanted.
Important:
A common myth is not to let the dog drink as much to avoid water retention. But this is wrong and will damage your dog immensely.
Sufficient water intake is important for its health. It also has no effect on water retention, so you should always let your dog quench his thirst.
My Dog Drinks A Lot – A Symptom Of Heart Failure?
Great thirst is a result of the medication, which are used in the treatment of cardiac insufficiency. It has no other connection to heart failure.
Therefore, increased thirst or frequent drinking does not indicate heart disease.
In many places you still hear that a dog drinks a lot because of water retention and that this is therefore considered a symptom of insufficiency.
However, this is incorrectbecause there is no connection between the underlying disease and frequent drinking.
Heart failure in dogs: symptoms
fatigue
A weak heart also lowers the dog’s energy level. Since he already needs a lot of strength for his circulation, your dog works tired and knocked off.
restlessness
Your dog usually notices for himself that his health is not in order.
So many will restless and indicate that there is a problem.
In addition, heart failure often leads to a higher pulse or blood pressure, as the heart tries to make up for insufficient pumping by pumping more frequently.
Increased respiratory rate, panting
The main task of the circulatory system is to supply the whole body with oxygen.
This suffers from the reduced performance of the heart. However, the body only registers the undersupply, even though there is enough oxygen in the blood.
He tries to enrich the blood with more oxygen in order to restore an adequate supply. To do this, the brain instructs the respiratory center to breathe more and faster.
water retention
Edema is water retention in the tissue. You can recognize them by their swollen legs and pressure test.
In the pressure test, you press your thumb lightly into an edema. If this stays white for longer than 3 seconds or if the imprint even remains, there is a problem.
Pains
The heart itself rarely produces pain when it fails.
But the backed-up water can reach back to the liver and there in the less elastic vessels large ones pressure pain cause.
When the time comes, the disease is usually very serious and can only rarely be cured.
Treatment of heart failure in dogs
The most important part of the treatment of heart failure are so-called diuretics drainage tablets.
The active ingredient in the tablets is usually furosemide, which is also given to people for dehydration.
The stimulates urinationso does your dog want to drink more and will urinate more and more.
Furosemide is very few side effects. However, it should not be prescribed if your dog already has liver problems or is potassium or sodium deficient.
Your veterinarian will prescribe for the heart disease itself ACE inhibitorswhich expand the vessels and thus promote blood circulation, and drugs that strengthen heartbeat.
You yourself should make sure that you give your dog high-quality, suitable food and make sure that he always has enough to drink.
also is regular exercisethat doesn’t overwhelm your dog is very important. This helps the circulation and against edema.
Conclusion
Many older dogs eventually develop heart failure. That doesn’t have to limit their lives very much, however.
It can be treated well if it is diagnosed and treated early enough. But it is not curable.
Have you already had experience with a dog with heart failure? Have you been told why your dog drinks so much? Tell us how your story went in the comments!