The doctor will give you the best advice, but your walks don't have to be long. Walk awhile, sit awhile, then walk again. Maybe you can confuse his ritual by taking shorter walks or changing the route so he won't notice that the walks are shorter. When you get home possibly sit together on a porch or patio, or under a tree, and just talk.

Good luck to you, and keep us posted on what the doctor says.

Sammy

I had an old dog who, in addition to about 3 other main issues, also had a hm. Her cough wasn't that severe though and she wasn't on meds.

Tara loved to walk. I have two other dogs, and she always insisted on going with them, even in 90 degree heat. I decided as long as she wanted to go, I would let her.

On occasion, especially on weekends and when ever I had time, we went on "special walks.". Tara loved to explore new areas of the neighborhood or visit old haunts that she had not been to for a while. Special walks let her go where ever she wanted, pulling me gently along. Sometimes we went no more than about 15-30 minutes away and came back, sometimes if the weather was nice, we went further. I never knew where we would end up. One special day, we were gone for well over an hour, but she enjoyed it so much. We found a large grassy area with no one around and I let her loose to roam as she pleased.

Since I lost Tara last year, I have very fond memories of those and other days.

SG

Sammy and SG - thank you for your advice. I played hooky from work yesterday and stayed home with him and we spent some "cool" time together. I took him for his walk early before it got too hot out. Then I put the window AC on for a while. He doesn't cough too much, but just the fact that it's more than usual upsets me. I got an appt with the specialist for next Thursday (5/24) - do you think I can wait that long? I may call the office back to make sure. I'm wondering if he has gone into congestive heart failure so fast. I'm driving myself crazy with this and crying all the time I'm so worried about him. Thanks for caring and listening.

(((((finnie and Henry)))) Please let us know how the vet visit went, I am praying for the best.

It is possible that your dog is in congestive heart failure. You should take him to a vet ASAP. In the meantime, I wouldn't walk him at all.

My 10 year old miniature poodle has a heart murmur as well. Out of 5 stages according to our vet's assessment she is a stage 3. She's my baby, but I still take her on walks...one night she just sat down in the road and I had to carry her home (what a sight we must have been!) I continue to take her and she loves her walks. I am one who values quality of life...seeing her prance and her tail wiggle when I get the leash out leaves no doubt in my mind that even if she were to keel over during our walk she would go happy :) I don't mean to sound cold-hearted and I will mourn her terribly when she's gone...but I think keeping active helps her mentally and physically.

Thank you all. I called the Vet's office last night and left a msg - the heart specialist is supposed to call me. I would imagine I will be taking Henry in for a chest x-ray. I took him for a little walk last night and sure enough when he got back in the house - he started to cough...but then again, so did I. I actually couldn't stop coughing, I felt like I had something in my throat. Maybe it's the pollen, but I'm not taking any chances with him, I didn't sleep all night and I'm dragging in work this morning. Please keep Henry in your prayers - thank you.

Hi Finnie, Sorry to hear that Henry is having such a rough time of it. I was thinking about this last night before I went to sleep and thought if it does not matter to Henry if he actually walks on the walks maybe one of those puppy strollers would work. He could get out of the house and not have to suffer the exertion. Good luck, your in our thoughts.
Lorie

I have an appt on Monday afternoon. The Specialist is so busy, that's the soonest he can get him in. I probably make myself worse by "googling" his symptoms, but something else came up that I didn'realize was important. Henry has hada "shaking" leg recently. It looks as though he's trembling, but it's just his leg - I wonder if I'm looking at possible Cushing's disease. He is drinking more water also. I did mention this to the Dr - so we'll see what he thinks on Monday. I think I better stop looking stuff up, I'm making myself miserable! Henry is just such a sweetheart - he's got a disposition like no other dog I've ever known - he's an angel for sure! Thank you for your support and your special thoughts for us.

I had a sweet Cocker Spaniel many years back who had a heart murmur and an enlarged heart. He lived to be 15 years and 3 months.

The cough is due to excessive fluid accumulation into the lungs and swelling (edema) of the body caused by heart failure. The vet prescribed Lasix to keep excessive fluid from backing up into the lungs.

I would try for shorter walks because long walks increases the heart rhythm and puts further strain on his heart.

My recent Cocker has Cushings. He's 14 and has been on med's for about 5 years now. One one of his annual visits to the vet the doctor noticed Eirn's belly was swollen. The vet asked if Eirn was drinking, peeing, eating more than usual and I answered yes to everything. A simple procedure should diagnose Cushings. If your dog has Cushings med's are very expensive. I highly recommend getting them at Costco where I pay half the price than any other pharmacy.

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me :-)

Best wishes for you and Henry.

Edna

Thank you Edna. I guess I'll see what the Dr has to say on Monday. Henry had a great evening last night. It was cool and dry and after his (short) walk, no coughing at all. He was his old self - I wish it could stay cool and dry all summer. If he has gone into congestive heart failure I know the humidity definitely plays a factor in how he's feeling. I'll let everyone know how we make out on Monday and I really appreciate your thoughts of us!

Well we went to the Specialist yesterday - and not so good news. :( Henry's heart is quite enlarged, enought so it may be touching the trachea and causing him to cough. At this point I bust out crying and was barely able to talk. He didn't have any fluid - yet - but I gather that will happen soon enough and he will go into congestive heart failure. When I started asking about times - he said "Well he could have 2-3 years of a relativley good life, or something can happen in 6 mos - I just can't tell you." I have a strong feeling it will be shorter than longer - just by the way he said "I'm sorry." He put him on a trial of Enalapril - 1 a day for 4 weeks - to see if he gets more energy. But when Henry woke up this morning, he coughed, which he has never done except after his walks. So if he is coughing by this evening, I will notify the Dr since that is one of the things to watch out for. I am just sick over this - even though I had a feeling things were getting bad. I think 9 yrs old is just too young - he just loves life too much! Has anyone had any dealings with this medication? I know have to take it one day at a time and make sure he enjoys every day - and I will, he deserves it. Thanks for listening and for your prayers for Henry.

Dog heart murmur is the abnormal blood flow inside the heart. This site give really good info on dog heart murmur symptoms. So you should read it. ^_^

Here is a link that might be useful: dog heart murmur symptoms

I took my 13 year old Shihtzu, Hooch, to the vet today along with my 11 year old Bassett Hound. After asking the vet to check Hooch because he seemed to be trying to cough up something for a day or two. He found a heart murmur and wants to send him to a specialist. My formerly overweight Bassett was rapidly losing weight and I assumed it was the treatment given her for incontenience. He did bloodwork and believes she is going into kidney failure. I took two of my best friends in to get their nails cut this morning and came out not knowing how much longer I would have these loyal and precious friends. Any additional info any can share about their experiences with heart murmur and congestive heart failure would be thankfully received.