Heart Failure Can't stop peeing

ihatewinter

I had to bring my dog Poppy to the vets this evening. She has been off form for the last 2-3 days and very bad today. I had to carry her outside to go to the toilet. Parents said she had a turn around 3 and became unsteady on her legs and fell down. The vet said she has the symptoms of suffering from a stroke and her heart beat is slow and laborious. The vet said signs of heart failure. Poppy got two injections, dunno what they are because I was in shock and tablets to act as a diuretic as she has water retention. I can't believe it. I started sobbing the minute she said it could be the end. I had her since I was 10. She's literally part of me.

Have her home now and she obviously can't hold her bladder anymore. I have a plastic sheet on her bed but is there anything else I can do. I'm going to give her the weekend and if she doesn't improve by Monday it will be decision time.
:(

nala2012

Could be the diuretics. Bruce is on them and can't hold it as long. He peed the last day when he sneezed! He does tell me when he needs to go out though and doesn't pee where he sleeps when he does have accidents

ShaShaBear

So sorry to hear about Poppy My partner's last family dog suffered a stroke and he found it very difficult to manage his toileting as well. He was having accidents in his crate at night as he slept and there was nothing they could do bar lift him out and remove the sheets as it happened.
It's awful to say, but I suppose the best you can do is keep a close eye on her and make her as comfortable as possible and hope for the best

mymo

The diuretic is doing its job, she may have had a lot of fluid to drain. Lots of old towels to soak up pee, and try and keep her comfy.
Hopefully this will ease as fluid reduces, it's awful to see them like this I know, I hope she improves.

aonb

Poor Poppy, poor you
Its a truly horrible time, looking at your beloved pet, not knowing if its time to let go.
We were in this situation last year with our elderly dog, but thankfully the decision was taken out of our hands when he deteriorated suddelnly and quickly. The bladder problem was going to become a real issue. We had newspapers everywhere, took up the rugs, and kept him contained onto the tiled floors, with a bucket of disinfectant water in the corner - not nice.

Having said that, the bladder problem did start to improve at one stage, for quite a while too, so hopefully the meds will help sort Poppy too.

One thing I would say - because we went through it with our two dogs last year - if you think there is no option but to put her to sleep, DONT delay, and keep her any longer than you should - we put off the dreaded decision for one of our dogs for 3 days, and it tortures me now to think of him dragging on like that for 3 days. The other dog, had a stroke at the end, when we should have brought him to the vet a few days before, but couldnt bear to.

DBB

I'd like to echo what aonb says.. So bloody hard but you need to try to be objective (as much as you can be under the circumstances), give the meds the few days to kick in, and if no improvement... Well... You need to decide if pushing her for extra time is fair. But it sounds like you're coming to terms with having to do what you have to do depending on what Monday-ish brings.
However, I didn't post to say this, rather to make a small suggestion re the incontinence... Puppy pee pads or kid's bed-wetting pads are great. They soak up a lot of pee without soaking the dog or bedding, and keep smells at bay.
Good luck op. Keep us posted.

nala2012

Bruce has started to leak 😞 can you put a nappy on dogs or is that cruel?

DBB

You can get incontinence pants for dogs, I've seen them both online and in larger pet shops. They have Velcro straps so they can adjust to fit the dog.

nala2012

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow. He's supposed to come off the tablets after Christmas so might see if I can stop them now. He doesn't wet his bed but is peeing while walking to the door!

ihatewinter

Well she's still here. I don't know how she managed to pull through. She was literally dead on Friday and now is starting to get back to herself. She's no longer incontinent and can manage her bladder so I'm delighted. Back to the vet on Monday for a check up but who knows how long she has left. :D:D:D

aonb

GREAT news - have a lovely weekend of spoiling and lots of TLC and hugs! My elderly dog came back from the brink at least twice - it made the 'borrowed time' so precious! We had him for more than a year after his last serious illness, all rules out the window, he was spoiled rotten and revelled in it! I hope you are so lucky too!

Gael23

aonb wrote: »

GREAT news - have a lovely weekend of spoiling and lots of TLC and hugs! My elderly dog came back from the brink at least twice - it made the 'borrowed time' so precious! We had him for more than a year after his last serious illness, all rules out the window, he was spoiled rotten and revelled in it! I hope you are so lucky too!

It really does make that extra time so valuable. But when your luck eventually does run out it still hits you like a truck.