What's the best heart-healthy food for my senior dog with a murmur?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While this would be a good short term diet, this lacks some key nutrients, vitamins and minerals. For that reason, a more complete commercial diet such as any of the Purina Pro Plan or Science Diet foods would be more appropriate. Good luck!

Omega 3 fatty acids for pets can help with heart health. Royal Canin makes a diet for dogs with heart disease. Lastly, it is not fully understood, but there appears to be a link between grain free dog food and heart enlargement. If you are feeding a grain free diet, you may talk with your veterinarian about a diet change. I hope this helps.

Many OTC wet dog foods can be high in salt content, which should be avoided in dogs with heart disease. If you would prefer that Champ be on a wet dog food, then you may want to discuss a prescription heart diet with your vet. If your vet does not have concerns about salt content at this stage of heart disease, then you can choose a diet based on your budget and dietary preferences for Champ. I feed my dogs Purina ProPlan because I like their quality of ingredients and the diet fits in my budget.

This is a great question, and thanks for taking such good care of Chloe! Salt is added to most dog food to improve the flavor, and it is not common to have variable amounts depending on the food. We do not recommend salt restricted foods unless a dog is already in Congestive Heart Failure, at the recommendation of your veterinarian. What is most important for Chloe is that you are feeding a high quality diet that helps her have a healthy coat and normal, formed feces. Hope this helps!

Electrolyte abnormalities are a known side affect of heart medications. It's important to make sure she's eating a good-quality balanced dog food so that's she taking in the proper electrolytes. It is also wise to periodically check her blood work to test the electrolyte levels and see where she is. If there are some that are either high or low, your veterinarian may recommend supplementation. There are also heart diets on the market that may be beneficial to her. Hill's and Royal Canin both make cardiac prescription diets. Here are a couple of links for additional information about what you can feed her. I hope this helps! http://vet.tufts.edu/heartsmart/diet/ http://www.vermontveterinarycardiology.com/index.php/for-clients/feeding-the-cardiac-patient

If Rosie will not eat her regular diet anymore you can try to offer her different types or canned dog food to see if any of these are appetizing to her. If she will not eat any prepared dog food you can still home cook for her but you will need to use a website like www.balanceit.com or consult with a veterinarian nutritionist to create a well balanced recipe. If Rosie is on just chicken, carrots, and broccoli she will eventually develop a nutritional deficiency so a balanced recipe is needed.

A hydrolyzed therapeutic diet might be the best option for a dog with food allergies and potential heart disease. Hills makes a version called z/d, Royal Canin makes HP and Purina makes HA. Your vet would know more details however and might make a different recommendation based on Champ’s history so you should contact them before changing the diet.