Posted By Katie (Northport, Ny) on 06/16/2015
"Hi Stephanie,
I'm sorry to hear about your dog's condition. If I read your post correctly, your dog has a grade 4 murmur and is most likely approaching CHF?
If it were me, I would probably do the following:
#1 Find a Good Holistic Vet immediately. You need a good holistic vet to work with you in treating your dog. Because CHF is a very serious condition, I don't think that trying to figure this out alone is a good idea, as this condition can slip into full blown CHF overnight, like it did with my dog. A good holistic vet should be able to guide and support you, while hopefully helping you to stabilize your dog and get her out of the danger zone.
Where to find a holistic vet? Here are the websites of some holistic practitioners. You may want to have a short conversation (or a short interview) with any prospective vet to determine if they will be a good fit for you and your animal.
(i) American Holistic Veterinary Association. Link: http://www.ahvma.org/find-a-holistic-veterinarian/
(ii) Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy . Link: http://theavh.org Homeopathy can be very effective if you have a good homeopath. I use this in conjunction with other healing methods.
(iii) Consider working with a Chinese herbal medicine doctor. Traditional Chinese Medicine ("TCM") understands the body better than our conventional medical system does. Herbs are more of a food than most supplements, and they are more bioavailable. If you go into the American Holistic Veterinary Association link which I posted above, you will find links to TCM practitioners. Also, if you go to the http://cavalierhealth.org website, you will see that some of the natural diuretics and natural ace inhibitors they speak of on their website are Chinese herbal remedies, but they need to be prescribed by a vet who is trained in TCM.
Right now, I am working with a China-trained TCM vet for a recently diagnosed eye condition in my dog called progressive retinal degeneration. (In Chinese medicine they recognize the connection between all the organs in the body and how energy imbalances in one organ can affect other organs in the body). So, in my dog's case, his bad liver (which he's had since he was a puppy), is now affecting his eyes.) The people I've spoken to refer to this vet and his system of healing as a miracle worker. He only prescribes herbs for my dog but will use acupuncture on a patient if he feels it is necessary. If TCM is something you decide to look into, I would also ask whether acupuncture would also be helpful for the MVD, because I think that it might be.
#2 If you want to start your dog on supplements prior to your visit to the holistic vet, I would probably purchase the following supplements and then advise your vet so you can have a comprehensive treatment plan going forward: (i) CardioPlus, and (ii) CoQ-10 (ubiquinol), and (iii) one of the following herbal heart tinctures. Either Pet Wellbeing's heart tincture called "Young at Heart" or NHV's heart tincture called "Hearty Heart." The main ingredient in both is Hawthorne, although the formulations are different. I don't know which is better. I've read the reviews and they seem promising. Most are written by people whose dogs have serious heart problems like CHF or close to it. Here are their websites: Young at Heart: http://www.petwellbeing.com/products/dog-heart-disease; Hearty Heart: http://www.nhvnaturalpetproducts.com/Products/HEARTY-HEART-for-heart-disease-in-dogs.aspx
Note: I have heard from some people whose dogs have more advanced heart conditions, like yours, that it was sometimes difficult to give them any supplements at all, including the CardioPlus, because it seemed to increase their symptoms (coughing, etc.). I don't know why this would happen - maybe their arteries are so stiff at this point? So, my suggestion would be to only give a half dose of any supplement at first, and watch for any increase in symptoms. If there is an increase in symptoms, you should probably stop and consult your vet. If all is okay though, you can probably work up to the full dose in time. I've read that it can take a couple of weeks for the tincture to start working so I would order it asap. Also, only give 1 supplement at a time until the body can safely adjust to it. In your case, I think you should start your dog on one of the heart tinctures first as they seem to be more attuned to addressing CHF symptoms, but I would also order the CardioPlus so I could start giving that as soon as possible to start strengthening the heart. Give the CoQ-10 with meals, it's best absorbed with a meal.
Additional Note: When a dog is on meds, most manufacturers say that herbal formulas are contraindicated. I'm not sure that this is entirely true though, because many of the reviewers mention that they are giving the herbals while their dogs are on meds. But, I would work with your vet to figure this out. It may be that once the supplements start working, less of the heart meds are necessary so the meds will need to be decreased. If they aren't, the animal can be "overdosed".
Also, speak with your holistic vet about whether EFAs would help you dog (they are anti-inflammatory and were recommended by my cardiologist) or whether something like Dimethylglycine HC1 (e.g., Vetri-Science DMG) may be helpful in this condition or whether an antioxidant formula recommended by the cavalier website might be helpful (such as Antiox-Ultra 5000 by Sogeval Laboratories). I'm starting to think that an antioxidant might be necessary to deal with the lesions that develop on the valves in this condition. I believe the lesions are caused by a bacteria or virus that need to be kept in check. I'm also wondering about whether I should just add natural Vitamin C back into my dog's regime because it is an antioxidant and good for so much. And, if you've read any of Linus Pauling or Mathias Rath's work on heart disease and Vitamin C and how it repairs arteries, I think that it is just a good thing to do.
#3 Have an echo done by a cardiologist, not a regular vet. You will need a baseline to see what her actual condition is and which valves are affected, and the size or enlargement of her heart. The mitral valve is typically affected (which affects the left side of the heart), but in my dog's case, it also started to affect the tricuspid valve (which affects the right side of the heart) which then led to his heart failure. This is when his stomach got bloated.
#4 If you have your dog on kibble, switch her to home cooked meals. Raw food is probably not a good idea for a dog in your condition.
I wish the best for you and your dog."
