Why won't my dog with an enlarged heart lay down and is so tired?

In a dog Bailey's age, yes there is a chance it could be heart failure . You will need to take her into the vet now. The vet can do a physical exam and x-rays to see how her heart is working, and if she is in heart failure, the vet can prescribe medication to manage her symptoms. Best of luck.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Coughing and bringing up clear liquid could be coughing up stuff instead of vomiting. This is important to try to differentiate. Coughing up liquid is more consistent with heart disease. The x-rays are difficult to read as the image transfer through is of poor quality and to really assess the lungs you need good quality images, however the heart does look a bit enlarged and the lungs do look a bit 'white'. I cannot assess the liver on these radiographs as you cannot see them. An enlarged heart, white lungs (fluid in the lungs), and an enlarged liver is consistent with both right and left sided heart disease. I recommend you return either to your vet, or another vet, and get a specialist ultrasound of the heart (an 'echo') to determine if heart medications are required. Your vet can also listen to the heart to see if a murmur is present in the heart, or 'crackles' are heard on the lungs. Heart disease is very serious and needs medications to manage. Without these Lily unfortunately will essentially drown in her own lungs, if heart disease is the problem. I suggest a recheck as soon as possible to get this figured out. Best of luck with Lily, I hope she feels better soon.

Oh no, poor Sunny! Try sitting her up and making sure she is cool and comfortable. I would speak to your vet about medications if she isn't on them already. Those can help with the symptoms of heart disease from the enlarged heart. If she is already on medication, she may need additional ones or the dosages adjusted to help control her symptoms.

I certainly agree with your veterinarian that the symptoms you are mentioning do sound consistent with heart failure. If your veterinarian has not yet taken an x-ray of her chest, that would be the next thing I would recommend doing. It will confirm if there is fluid in her lungs. There are a number of medications that can be used for heart failure. A diuretic is only one of them and diuretic doses do have to be adjusted to each patient. I am attaching a handout below with more information on heart failure and medications for you. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1968 Another option would be to have a consultation with a cardiologist who can do an ultrasound of Roxie's heart (an echocardiogram) and will be able to help decide on the best medications for her based on that information. You can find a cardiologist near you here. http://find.vetspecialists.com Good luck! I hope that was helfpul. Thanks for using PetCoach.

It's not necessarily true. In pets with heart disease, more concerning is when they can't lay down or put their heads down because it makes it harder to breath. But if this is a new behavior, it is worth having Oliver checked out by his regular vet.

Heart disease is tough. This is true for humans or animals. Pets can quickly go from ok to not ok in minutes. Most forms of heart disease are progressive which means they get worse over time. Signs of worsening heart disease can be increased heart rate and respiratory rate, collapse, exercise intolerance, or coughing. There are many medications that can help improve quality of life. Please see your vet ASAP for an exam and possibly more tests or meds. Hope Boomer feels better!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Hugo! If Hugo is having trouble breathing this is an emergency and he should be evaluated by a Vet as soon as possible. When dogs can not breathe they tend to not relax and lie down. Or when they lie down they extend their necks and/or abduct their elbows. Causes of trouble breathing: congestive heart failure, anemia (bleeding some where), pneumonia, upper respiratory tract infection, fluid around the lungs or heart, pain, or cancer. I am glad Hugo is eating and drinking. I would call your Vet to have him examined and X-rays of his chest to make sure everything is ok. I hope this helps and I wish Hugo a speedy recovery!