# Stage 5 heart murmur



## jgcable

Hello, this is my first post. I didn't put a post up yet introducing myself and I will do that sometime today but for now I have a couple of questions and some tough suggestions are needed. 

I have had Chihuahua's my entire life. Currently we have 2. One is 12 and the other is 14. Our 14 year old is an 8lb tri color named Paco. He is our baby. He has been the best trouble free dog anyone could ever hope to have. About 10 days ago, out of the blue he had a very minor seizure. It lasted about a minute and he was back to normal. 5 days later he had another very minor seizure. We thought that it could be diet related because he shares food with our other chi who tends to eat most of the food. We switched Paco to Beniful and we feed him seperately and he has been fine. Because he had these 2 minor seizures we took him to the vet for a checkup. 
The vet immediately checked his heart with a stethoscope and asked us if we knew that our little baby has a stage 5 heart murmur. Of course we didn't. He told us that he would have to do an echocardiogram and a chest X-Ray to see whats wrong but the person that does the echocardiogram comes in once a month and its going to cost $430.00 for the echo and $100.00 for the X-Ray. He didn't elaborate at all regarding the symptoms or what type of medication or the prognosis or anything. My wife was crying and I am very sad too. I went home and scanned the internet for similar stories and found a ton of them. Most of the stories I read and the info that I got online regarding heart murmurs all listed the stages and the symptoms related to those stages. At a stage 5 they list severe regurgitation, coffing, shortness of breath etc. Paco has none of these symptoms. If you looked at him you would think he is a happy healthy little dog. 
I just don't know what to do. Back when I was younger we had a Chi that started having seizures at around 15 and the vet put him on some medications. These medications transformed our loving dog into a dog that was confined to a playpen and all he did was walk around in circles and deficate on himself. Sure, he lived until he was almost 17 but at such a cost!
We aren't rich, and I have the money for the tests for Paco but its money that I have saved just incase we need car repairs or another emergency arises. Its our emergency fund. There are 2 nurses at the vet. We know one of them really well. She told us that she wouldn't get the tests done. The other nurse told us that she would treat the symptoms as they arise and since there aren't any currently we should put Paco on a low sodium diet and enjoy our little baby for as long as we have him. 
This is probably a very common story on this forum and I apologize for the long post but I just don't know what to do. 
Thanks..


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## michele

Please try not to worry,my last Chi had a H/m for ten years and lived till he was 17 and that's not what killed him,he was put on medication and was fine,i hope yours will be the same.Welcome to Cp i'm sure you will get some more stories from people who have experienced the same as you


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## Brodysmom

Ok, if this dog were mine I'd do a couple of things. First I would get both of your Chi's off the Beneful. It's truly one of the worst dog foods you could possibly feed. There have actually been seizures and chronic diseases (kidney and liver disease) linked to it. Why is it still on the market? Because it is backed by the huge pet food conglomerates. And guess what - they really don't care. They are in the business of selling dog food. If you google "beneful problems" or a similar search string, you will find a TON of information on how this food has hurt pets.

You can go to dogfoodanalysis.com and look for better alternatives. That would be my first mode of action. If you are on a strict budget, you can feed Taste of the Wild or 4Health which are available at tractor supply (TSC) or feed stores and they are worlds better than anything you could get in the grocery store. But DEFINITELY ditch the Beneful, even if you do nothing else.

Secondly, I would find the $$$ to see the specialist and find out what's going on. That is just me, but I would definitely want to know what I was dealing with. Once you know, then you can formulate a plan. At that point you can make a decision on how aggressive you want to be. But you will have the information to make that decision. I take it that a board certified canine cardiologist comes to the clinic once a month? Get an appt. with him and then be up front. Tell him that you want to know exactly what is going on but you may want to be conservative with treatment. They will work with you. But I truly feel like you owe your dog this - knowing what is going on and not just ignoring it. 

Only you can make the decision on how to treat this dog. But I would make the best decision I could based on the information available! If you don't have the tests, you don't know what you are dealing with. You can't make an informed decision based on what your vet heard with a stethoscope. I think further testing is warranted and then you can go from there.


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## Yoshismom

Very good advice given here. Just wanted to say hi and welcome to the board


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## jgcable

Brodysmom said:


> Ok, if this dog were mine I'd do a couple of things. First I would get both of your Chi's off the Beneful. It's truly one of the worst dog foods you could possibly feed. There have actually been seizures and chronic diseases (kidney and liver disease) linked to it. Why is it still on the market? Because it is backed by the huge pet food conglomerates. And guess what - they really don't care. They are in the business of selling dog food. If you google "beneful problems" or a similar search string, you will find a TON of information on how this food has hurt pets.
> 
> You can go to dogfoodanalysis.com and look for better alternatives. That would be my first mode of action. If you are on a strict budget, you can feed Taste of the Wild or 4Health which are available at tractor supply (TSC) or feed stores and they are worlds better than anything you could get in the grocery store. But DEFINITELY ditch the Beneful, even if you do nothing else.
> 
> Secondly, I would find the $$$ to see the specialist and find out what's going on. That is just me, but I would definitely want to know what I was dealing with. Once you know, then you can formulate a plan. At that point you can make a decision on how aggressive you want to be. But you will have the information to make that decision. I take it that a board certified canine cardiologist comes to the clinic once a month? Get an appt. with him and then be up front. Tell him that you want to know exactly what is going on but you may want to be conservative with treatment. They will work with you. But I truly feel like you owe your dog this - knowing what is going on and not just ignoring it.
> 
> Only you can make the decision on how to treat this dog. But I would make the best decision I could based on the information available! If you don't have the tests, you don't know what you are dealing with. You can't make an informed decision based on what your vet heard with a stethoscope. I think further testing is warranted and then you can go from there.


We have been feeding our chihuahua's inexpensive dry kibble type generic dog food since they were puppies with no issues at all. We figured that "stepping up" to an "expensive" brand like Beniful would be a good thing. 
Neither of our dogs eat any table food but they do love their doggie treats. 
We put Paco on a low sodium diet to help out. I will tell my wife about the Beniful. Thanks. 
I talked to the vet again this morning and he suggested to start off with a chest x-ray. He said pending the results he would probably start him off on a drug called Alipril? He then would give us his advice on the echocardiogram and what to do next. I scheduled the x-ray for this Friday. We already feel alot better. He is such a good dog and a great companion. He deserves it.


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## flippedstars

I have to second that Beneful is really bad. I had a co-worker that used to feed it, and it was giving her bichon seizures. There is not a SINGLE good thing about the food it is utter crap.

Everyone else has already said everything I might say so I just wanted to say hope your little one is out of the woods sooner than later


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## Zippy

Zippy has a Level 3 heart murmur. The vet prescribed the medications Enalapril and Furosemide which he takes daily. We too are on a pretty tight budget but the good news is that both are available as $4 generic prescriptions at Target. You might want to ask your vet about these.


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## ExoticChis

is Beneful really that bad? My cousin buys that for her dogs. I will have to let her know 
Welcome to the forum JGCable, I really hope your little one is going to be ok. Please let us know what happens. Nothing worse then having to go through what your going through.


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## jgcable

He had another minor siezure last night. Its so scarey. He lets out the saddest little whine and then stiffens out a little. He also urinated on himself. The siezure lasted about 40 seconds and he then was a little disoriented for about a minute. 1 minute later he was wagging his tail and as happy as a clam. 
When we went to the vet he told us he didn't know if the siezures were related to the heart murmur. Because he has no other symptoms I have to think they are related in some way. I thought the vet said he had a stage 5 murmur but my wife told me he actually said he has a stage 4 or 5 murmur. We are bringing him in for an X-Ray on Friday and they might start him on Aprasil. We are not feeding him Beniful anymore. My wife bought some dry Immes dog food at the pet store. She also bought him some salt free treats.


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## mrfiero

I can relate to your situation with the heart murmurs. Back in the late 1990's I purchased 3 long hair chihuahuas. Mon, dad and daughter. It turned out they all had issues with heart murmurs (genetically). They lived 11,12 and 14 years. I went through this with each dog. I am also a pharmacist an can give you advice about the medications. 

A few observations. It is possible that your dog is not having seizures. The vet expalined to me that more than likely the dog passes out because the heart is not able to pump enough blood to the brain. My dogs would do this after they ran up the steps. They would be out cold. 5 minutes later, you would never know that there was a problem.

Normally they start the enalapril once a day every day for the rest of the dogs life. If the dog contiues to have more frequent problems, they bump the enalapril up to twice a day. This is a heart med that reduces the preload pressure on the heart. It will slow the progression of the murmor. It also somewhat helps the heart pump more effiently.

The furosemide is a diuretic (water pill) that helps remove any fluid build up in the lungs. Because of the poor circulation, fluid can build up in the lungs. If your dog has coughing or gasping spells the furosemide will help, but it can be hard on the kidneys. In early stages of heart murmurs you use the furosemide on an as needed basis for a few days after an episode. As the disease progress you use it daily every day and sometimes twice a day. Your dog will pee much more often when on this drug.

There are two other drugs that can be used. They sometimes use digoxin, another heart med that improves heart function. It is normally only used in the later stages. None of my 3 dogs had this. There is also a drug that until recently we could only get it in Canada, but now is available in the US. The name escapes me at the moment. It is very expensive, but does show results. My last dog had this one.

I would do the x-ray but not the echo. X-ray will show how enlarged the heart has become due the murmur. My dogs all had very large hearts in the end. The hearts were so large thay it would pinch the breathing and eating tubes.

Reba (the daughter) only lived for 3 months after 1st symptoms. She was healthy as could be then one day she had an episode. She was gone 3 monthls later.

Chico (the dad) lived for about 6 month after 1st symptoms.

Carmel (the mom) did the best. She lived for 15 month after she showed symptoms.


I rather doubt you are in stage 5 with the symptoms you are having, but the x-ray will help determine the stage and medications to use.

With proper care, you dog can live along time. Please post back with any more info.


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## mrfiero

also fish oil and co-enzyme q10 are good natural agents that help with heart murmurs.


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## Zippy

mrfiero said:


> There is also a drug that until recently we could only get it in Canada, but now is available in the US. The name escapes me at the moment. It is very expensive, but does show results. My last dog had this one.


Vetmedin?

Vetmedin - New Treatment for Dogs with Congestive Heart Failure - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com


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## Brodysmom

Thank you MrFiero for that excellent and informative post!!


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## mrfiero

Yes Zippy that is the one! 

It can be useful when all other measures have been tried. It is expensive, but our little dogs are worth it. The give us 
unconditional love for their entire lives and it's now are turn when they need
medical attention.


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## jgcable

mrfiero said:


> I can relate to your situation with the heart murmurs. Back in the late 1990's I purchased 3 long hair chihuahuas. Mon, dad and daughter. It turned out they all had issues with heart murmurs (genetically). They lived 11,12 and 14 years. I went through this with each dog. I am also a pharmacist an can give you advice about the medications.
> 
> A few observations. It is possible that your dog is not having seizures. The vet expalined to me that more than likely the dog passes out because the heart is not able to pump enough blood to the brain. My dogs would do this after they ran up the steps. They would be out cold. 5 minutes later, you would never know that there was a problem.
> 
> Normally they start the enalapril once a day every day for the rest of the dogs life. If the dog contiues to have more frequent problems, they bump the enalapril up to twice a day. This is a heart med that reduces the preload pressure on the heart. It will slow the progression of the murmor. It also somewhat helps the heart pump more effiently.
> 
> The furosemide is a diuretic (water pill) that helps remove any fluid build up in the lungs. Because of the poor circulation, fluid can build up in the lungs. If your dog has coughing or gasping spells the furosemide will help, but it can be hard on the kidneys. In early stages of heart murmurs you use the furosemide on an as needed basis for a few days after an episode. As the disease progress you use it daily every day and sometimes twice a day. Your dog will pee much more often when on this drug.
> 
> There are two other drugs that can be used. They sometimes use digoxin, another heart med that improves heart function. It is normally only used in the later stages. None of my 3 dogs had this. There is also a drug that until recently we could only get it in Canada, but now is available in the US. The name escapes me at the moment. It is very expensive, but does show results. My last dog had this one.
> 
> I would do the x-ray but not the echo. X-ray will show how enlarged the heart has become due the murmur. My dogs all had very large hearts in the end. The hearts were so large thay it would pinch the breathing and eating tubes.
> 
> Reba (the daughter) only lived for 3 months after 1st symptoms. She was healthy as could be then one day she had an episode. She was gone 3 monthls later.
> 
> Chico (the dad) lived for about 6 month after 1st symptoms.
> 
> Carmel (the mom) did the best. She lived for 15 month after she showed symptoms.
> 
> 
> I rather doubt you are in stage 5 with the symptoms you are having, but the x-ray will help determine the stage and medications to use.
> 
> With proper care, you dog can live along time. Please post back with any more info.


Thanks for the response. I don't think Paco is passing out. He has always been laying down when he has one. Right before one starts he lets out a very loud very sad cry. Its the kind of cry you hear when you accidently step on one of a dogs paws.


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## KayC

Very good info. Thank you for sharing your experiences.



mrfiero said:


> I can relate to your situation with the heart murmurs. Back in the late 1990's I purchased 3 long hair chihuahuas. Mon, dad and daughter. It turned out they all had issues with heart murmurs (genetically). They lived 11,12 and 14 years. I went through this with each dog. I am also a pharmacist an can give you advice about the medications.
> 
> A few observations. It is possible that your dog is not having seizures. The vet expalined to me that more than likely the dog passes out because the heart is not able to pump enough blood to the brain. My dogs would do this after they ran up the steps. They would be out cold. 5 minutes later, you would never know that there was a problem.
> 
> Normally they start the enalapril once a day every day for the rest of the dogs life. If the dog contiues to have more frequent problems, they bump the enalapril up to twice a day. This is a heart med that reduces the preload pressure on the heart. It will slow the progression of the murmor. It also somewhat helps the heart pump more effiently.
> 
> The furosemide is a diuretic (water pill) that helps remove any fluid build up in the lungs. Because of the poor circulation, fluid can build up in the lungs. If your dog has coughing or gasping spells the furosemide will help, but it can be hard on the kidneys. In early stages of heart murmurs you use the furosemide on an as needed basis for a few days after an episode. As the disease progress you use it daily every day and sometimes twice a day. Your dog will pee much more often when on this drug.
> 
> There are two other drugs that can be used. They sometimes use digoxin, another heart med that improves heart function. It is normally only used in the later stages. None of my 3 dogs had this. There is also a drug that until recently we could only get it in Canada, but now is available in the US. The name escapes me at the moment. It is very expensive, but does show results. My last dog had this one.
> 
> I would do the x-ray but not the echo. X-ray will show how enlarged the heart has become due the murmur. My dogs all had very large hearts in the end. The hearts were so large thay it would pinch the breathing and eating tubes.
> 
> Reba (the daughter) only lived for 3 months after 1st symptoms. She was healthy as could be then one day she had an episode. She was gone 3 monthls later.
> 
> Chico (the dad) lived for about 6 month after 1st symptoms.
> 
> Carmel (the mom) did the best. She lived for 15 month after she showed symptoms.
> 
> 
> I rather doubt you are in stage 5 with the symptoms you are having, but the x-ray will help determine the stage and medications to use.
> 
> With proper care, you dog can live along time. Please post back with any more info.


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## mrfiero

The vet explained to me that if the body is stiff during an episode that it is more than likely a seizure. If the body is limp, than the dog fainted. 
So it does sound like Paco is having a seizure.

Please keep us informed. I wish you luck.


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## jgcable

Thanks everybody. I was home all day becuase of the weather and we got to enjoy Paco all day. He is the happiest dog you could ever see. Running around the house, wagging his tail, barking at the snow outside, playing with our other chi Luckydog. 
Except for the 3 minor siezures he has had in the last 2 weeks he shows absolutely no signs of being sick or having any illness at all. Thats what makes it so sad and hard to deal with. His X-Ray is tomorrow and we are praying we don't get really bad news.


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## KayC

Please keeep us posted, Sending good vibes for good news.......


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## jgcable

We dropped him off at the vet this morning at 8:00am. No response from the vet yet but they told my wife that they would give him the X-Ray and then decide what medication to put him on. 
The think that I notice that I am doing is constantly watching Paco and listening to him because I am so worried that he is going to have another seizure. I am literally a nervous wreck. Hopefully the vet won't give us horrible news.


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## KayC

We will be waiting to hear how it goes and hoping for good news........XX


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## jgcable

My wife picked up our little boy. The technician told her that she has seen hearts that are much larger in pugs and other dogs and although his heart is larger than it should be it didn't look that bad. They can't tell if there are valve issues with his heart unless they do an EKG.They put him on Enalapril. Its a 2.5mg dosage per day. 1.25mg in the morning and 1.25mg at night (1/2 a pill 2 times a day). They want us to bring him back in 2 months and they will do bloodwork. How does that sound?


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## Brodysmom

I think that sounds like the best possible outcome! That sounds like a good plan. And hopefully he won't have any further seizures. If he does, he may need to go on some phenobarb or similar. But it sounds like they are going to try and control everything medically with minimal extra tests, so I think it sounds good. 

I'm relieved he is back home with you and you can put this behind you.


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## jgcable

Thanks. We are happy he is home. It seems like the vet is really working with us and taking things step by step.


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## Brodysmom

jgcable said:


> Thanks. We are happy he is home. It seems like the vet is really working with us and taking things step by step.


That is the best any of us can hope for in a vet! To be a partner in the health care of our pets. Sounds like you have a great vet and I'm positive that you guys are excellent parents to little Paco. I hope he continues to improve.


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## Lin

Oh my I just saw your post. I agree that at this point it sounds like the very best outcome. 

Welcome to CP and pls do keep us updated about how your baby is doing.


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## Zippy

jgcable said:


> They put him on Enalapril. Its a 2.5mg dosage per day. 1.25mg in the morning and 1.25mg at night (1/2 a pill 2 times a day).



This is exactly the dosage that Zippy is on. I don't recall if you are in the USA or not but if so you can get the Enalapril prescription filled as a $4 generic medication at many big chain pharmacies (Target, WalMart, Kroger, etc.). Good news for those of us on a budget!


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## KayC

That sounds like good news to me, that it can be controlled with a medication. Please keep us posted....


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## jgcable

Well, Paco has been the heart medication since Friday. Last night at about 12:00midnight he had another minor seizure in our bed. It lasted about 45 seconds. He stretched out a little, drooled a little, urinated on himself and suddently popped back up wagging his tail like nothing happened. 
The doctor didn't know if his heart problems had anything to do with his seizures. 
We can't afford to take him to the vet until his next appt in 2 months when they are going to do blood work. Is there anything we could give him? Does it take longer than a few days for the heart medication to start taking effect? 
Thanks.


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## mrfiero

That is a good low dose enalapril. It may take up to a week to build up to a steady state in the blood. Glad to hear that the heart was not to enlarged. That is really good news. The enalapril will help slow down the progression of the enlarging heart. The blood work will show the how the kidneys are functioning. 

It is also a good sign that they did not give you the furosamide (water pill) The x-ray obviously did not show any fluid build up and that is a very good thing.

Did they change the stage of heart murmor based on the size of heart on the x-ray?


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## jgcable

mrfiero said:


> That is a good low dose enalapril. It may take up to a week to build up to a steady state in the blood. Glad to hear that the heart was not to enlarged. That is really good news. The enalapril will help slow down the progression of the enlarging heart. The blood work will show the how the kidneys are functioning.
> 
> It is also a good sign that they did not give you the furosamide (water pill) The x-ray obviously did not show any fluid build up and that is a very good thing.
> 
> Did they change the stage of heart murmor based on the size of heart on the x-ray?



The vet said that his heart was enlarged a little but not that bad. He didn't give us another diagnosis on the stage.


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## Brodysmom

I don't know if the seizures and his heart problems are connected. I would guess probably not. So I don't think the enalapril is going to suppress his seizures at all. That would just be to stabilize his heart problems.

There is an animo acid called Taurine that you could use as a supplement that MIGHT help his seizures. Obviously it's a supplement and not a medication, but there have been some very good successes with its use.

Taurine

You can get it at a vitamin store, or a place like Whole Foods, or online. It's not expensive. The standard dosage is 500mg per 25 pounds of dog twice a day, so you could give half that amount safely. Just open a capsule and sprinkle on his food or on a piece of cheese, etc.

There have been studies that have shown that dog foods containing rice can bind taurine, therefore causing a deficiency. This is another reason to be sure he is off 'grocery store brand' dog food and onto a grain free diet. Taste of the Wild can be found at Tractor Supply or other feed stores and it is comparable in price to Iams or similar lower cost foods. 

Again, it's not a cure for his seizures. It doesn't work the same way as an anti-seizure drug like phenobarbital does. But it has been proven to help in many instances and it is very safe. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be worth a try.


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## jgcable

I don't think the seizures are related to his heart issue either. The vet said he couldn't tell. 
We have been keeping a log. 
Paco has had 3 seizure so far in his 14 years of life (that we have witnessed) 
The first one was January 26th. He was laying in his bed when it happened. He let out a long cry and straighted out, drooled a little, his eyes were closed and he urinated on himself. It lasted about 45 seconds. He then popped up, wagging his tail, looked around and was back to normal a minute later. Same thing happened on Feb 2nd. He was in our bed. It was the same as the 1st one. 
This 3rd one occured last night Feb 7th in our bed again. It was less severe this time. He let out a high pitched but weak cry, stiffened out, drooled a little and urinated on himself. It lasted about 30 seconds and a minute later he was back to normal and curled up sleeping peacefully in our bed. 
Now here is where I need some advice. 
We took him to the vet a week after the first seizure. Of course, it wasn't cheap but we had the cash to pay for it. We took him in a week later for the X-Ray and that cost us another $155.00. We are tapped for at least a month. Since the vet already examined him and gave him an X-Ray and prescribed the heart medication do think its at all possible that he would prescribe him phenobarbitol considering (from what I have read online) without us bringing him in for a blood test considering that seems to be the #1 medication for controlling seizures in dogs. My wife thinks he won't. I told her to call and ask anyway.
I have read so many posts online where people who have limited income ask the same question. "If my dog is having seizures and 95% of vets prescribe Phenobarbitol in a dosage that is consistant with the dogs weight, why do I have to pay so much for blood work if I already know what the prescription and the dosage is going to be?" 
I understand that there are exceptions and not all seizures are caused by the same thing but I am talking about my 14 year old Chihuahua. If the vet didn't put him on Phenobarbitol what exactly would he put him on?


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## svdreamer

Sorry, can't help you, They did the blood test before they started Smoke on phenobarb. Being that Paco's seizures are so mild and far apart, they may decide not to medicate. My mom's shih tzu mix had seizures rarely and much more involved than your dog's and the vet decided that because they were not happening daily, she could get by fine without any meds. My Pekingese had a bad heart murmur and towards the end would do what you are discribing. It was not a seizure, it had to do with her heart.


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## jgcable

Brodysmom said:


> I don't know if the seizures and his heart problems are connected. I would guess probably not. So I don't think the enalapril is going to suppress his seizures at all. That would just be to stabilize his heart problems.
> 
> There is an animo acid called Taurine that you could use as a supplement that MIGHT help his seizures. Obviously it's a supplement and not a medication, but there have been some very good successes with its use.
> 
> Taurine
> 
> You can get it at a vitamin store, or a place like Whole Foods, or online. It's not expensive. The standard dosage is 500mg per 25 pounds of dog twice a day, so you could give half that amount safely. Just open a capsule and sprinkle on his food or on a piece of cheese, etc.
> 
> There have been studies that have shown that dog foods containing rice can bind taurine, therefore causing a deficiency. This is another reason to be sure he is off 'grocery store brand' dog food and onto a grain free diet. Taste of the Wild can be found at Tractor Supply or other feed stores and it is comparable in price to Iams or similar lower cost foods.
> 
> Again, it's not a cure for his seizures. It doesn't work the same way as an anti-seizure drug like phenobarbital does. But it has been proven to help in many instances and it is very safe. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be worth a try.


I am going to try the Taurine. Can't hurt. Thats for sure. 
So, for 8lb Paco, I'll take 1 500mg tablet and split it up and give him 250mg in the morning and 250mg in the evening. 
I take a fair amount of vitamins myself and am a firm believer in them.


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## mrfiero

I would start him out at a lower than standard dose for a few days. This will give his body a chance to adjust to it. Gradually increase the dose to the standard dose. 

I read the article in the link. It looks like the drug is metabolized in the kidneys. The blood test will tell you how well the kidneys are functioning. As in humans, as dogs age their kidney function decreases. Thus we have to reduce medications doses that are metabolized that way otherwise blood levels will increase. Looks like Taurine is simple amino acid and it should not be toxic. 

In the article (which is not chihuahua specific) there were several different doses given. I would do some research, but I think brodysmom nailed it.
*500mg per 25 pounds of dog twice a day would be 1/3 of the 500mg tablet twice a day (167mg for an 8 pound dog twice a day)*


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## jgcable

Here is an update. Paco started his heart medication on February 4th. He had a very minor seizure on February 6th. 
So far... from the 6th until today, no seizures! 
I guess the heart medication is working! We also have him on a sodium free diet and he is only eating really good dry dog food. 
We are very happy but we were pretty nervous the last few days because we were expecting another seizure.


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## svdreamer

That's so great that he hasn't had more seizures. I truly hope that he will continue to be seizure free. It looks like the heart medicine is doing good. Sending best wishes to you and Paco.


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## Zippy

This is great news!


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## Amandarose531

I know i'm late in here, and that you seem to be somewhat set on beneful but did I understand that you _*switched*_ from something _*to*_ beneful and now you're having seizure problems since?

I have also read the studies on that junk as I started out on beneful from my breeder and if this is starting since changing foods i'd start pointing fingers at the food.

I understand it's totally possible to live long happy lives on the junk, but there are much better alternatives

Also, great to hear about no seizures.


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## cherper

No they switched From beneful to Iams. While Iams is better than beneful Taste of the wild is better than iams. I buy it at our Tractor Supply. It has no grains and has bison, venison, lamb and chicken for the meat products and fruits and vegtables are your carb sources.
Taste of the Wild™ High Prairie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison Dog Food, 15 lb. - 5107629 | Tractor Supply Company
I pay $10 for a 5 lb. bag. A bag lasts a long time! 
For the iams lamb and rice a 7 lb bag is 12.59
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult Dog Food at PETCO
Which is comparable but the ingredients are full of unnecessary ingred. like Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Corn Grits, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Barley. Corn is hard to digest and can cause allergies, and by product meal is not a quality meat, it can be either necks, feet, intestines, under developed eggs, etc. 
I hope your little one continues with the lack of seizures. 
This website is a wealth of information Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble


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## Peanuts_Mom

Hi! I am very sorry to hear about your sweet Paco. It is true, there are lots of similar stories to yours out there. Mine is one of them also. One of our little girls, Peanut, was diagnosed with heart disease in October. We never would have known, had she not been scheduled for a dental cleaning. She has a 4 heart murmur, and an enlarged heart. She is nine years old. She doesn't show any outward signs of being sick -- she plays, eats normally, and is otherwise a very healthy girl.

She was immediately placed on Enalapril in October; she takes that medication once per day. This past Thursday, she saw a cardiologist which gave her an echogardiogram. I highly recommend doing this, simply so you will know exactly what shape Paco's heart is really in. It is very detailed, and can give your vet a much better perspective on how to go about properly treating him, and with what medications to give him. Since Peanut's echo., she is now also on Vetmedin, which does have a significant improval percentage and actually strenghtens the heart muscle. She is continuing to do very well, and still acts the same as she did when she was younger. I also keep a weekly health record of Peanut's activity levels, her food intake, her heart rate, etc -- I fill it out once per week. This helps me and my vet to see if Peanut is changing, or if we need to adjust her medication. 

Of course your little one may be completely different, and need a different course of action. At any rate, I would recommend seeing the cardiologist so your vet will know how to handle it. I know that caring for a sick baby can be very expensive and your way of going about choosing which direction to take depends on how far you are willing to go in the treatment process. But regardless, since he does have a 5 murmur I think it would be wise to really consider the echo.

I hope that Paco continues to live a symptom free life, and with proper medication you can give him the best life possible. I too felt (and still do on some days) very sad for my little one -- its extremely difficult and awakening to realize that your dog is sick or has an illness, especially when it is one involving a major organ. It is normal to be upset, just remember to continue to do all you can to help Paco, and most of all to love him. 

You and your wife will be in my thoughts throughout this trying process.


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