Earlier this month I wrote about our beagle Cricket going back to the vet because her cough, which is caused by an enlarged heart, had gotten worse (“Looking on the Bright Side”). Our vet decided to put her on a new medication and I was of course worried about how she would tolerate the new medicine and whether or not it would help.
I’m happy to report that, thankfully, she is tolerating the new medicine (Enalapril) well – we’ve seen no sign of side effects – and her cough has eased up a lot. While she does still cough, she no longer coughs when playing or when she gets a little excited, which had been the new symptom she had developed with the cough recently, and why we headed to the vet with her. Her cough will never go away completely.
When we visited the vet for her follow-up appointment, she heard no crackling in Cricket’s lungs, meaning the fluid was gone – great news! She also noted that Cricket’s heart murmur had lessened as well!
That’s the good news. The bad news is that her heart is larger than it was when we had x-rays done back in the fall, so her disease is progressing (not unexpectedly). While at the vet, I wanted to discuss her long-term prognosis (her heart will never get better, the best we can do is slow things down), whether there would be any more we could do when she does worsen, and whether or not it was really wise to let her continue to play fetch (her favorite activity). Could a dog die of a heart attack when overexerting, like a human could?
The short answer to the final question is “not likely” for Cricket, however, over-exertion could lead to life-threatening breathing difficulties, so we do need to be careful. We discussed keeping her play times shorter, not throwing the ball as far, and generally trying to get her to slow down (this beagle does not have a slow speed, except for when you’re waiting for her!). Hubby and I had already discussed this when she was first diagnosed; taking ball playing away from her completely is not something we want to do. We want her to be happy for as long as possible.
Chances are that in time she’ll tolerate exercising less and less anyway, so if she still feels like it we want to let her. At times she will stop herself, but we’re going to try to keep play sessions shorter. When the weather cooperates, we should be able to walk more and get out a couple of times per day for short sessions too.
If/when Cricket worsens, there will not be a lot more we can do. She’s pretty much at maximum dosage of two of her meds, though it could be possible to increase the newest one after some tests to be sure she could tolerate that.
The life expectancy for dogs with her condition is from 6 months – 2 years, depending on where you read. Our vet originally said she thought a year for Cricket, though didn’t want to commit to that, and said 6 months – a year (from now). It’s already been close to 6 months since she was first diagnosed, but it seems promising to me that she hasn’t shown other symptoms such as exercise intolerance, shortness of breath, or fainting. There have been occasions that her appetite isn’t great, and there is the weight loss she had. I’ve weighed her here at home now and I think she’s put a little bit back on (though I don’t know for sure how our scale compares to the vet’s).
We know the drill, just as everyone who has senior pets does. Whether they have a chronic illness like Cricket, or the cancer that Sheba had, or they’re just aging; it’s all about living each day to the fullest. We will enjoy every day that Cricket is feeling well and hope those days last for a long time.
We want to balance her happiness with having her with us for as long as possible and feeling well for that time. Obviously quality of life is the goal, and for Cricket that includes playing ball. It’s always been her passion. She’s had times before when she was hurt that we couldn’t play, and we always tried to make up for that with a little bit of other types of play if we could. The other day, we stopped the game before she was ready to, and she just came in the house, laid down on her bed and chewed on her ball for a while. She knows how to find balance too.
I’m glad the meds are helping. Cricket has such a happy face, I’m glad she still has lots of fun.
As long as she is still happy and having fun, we try not to worry too much.
Sounds like things are going pretty well for Cricket right now. Letting them safely enjoy life to the fullest is a wise approach. When Bentley was in his last year, we modified fetch to throw the ball directly to him so he didn’t have to go anywhere. He still loved it.
We’re struggling to get Raven healthy, but hopefully we’ll get all the pieces of the puzzle put together and she’ll be feeling better soon.
What a great idea you had for Bentley. Thank you for sharing that….I actually did that with Cricket a little bit the other day! She wanted to continue playing outside, but I knew she was getting tired. So she brought the ball in and onto the couch, and I tossed it to her right there a few times! That really made her happy.
We sure do hope you get things figured out with Raven soon….thinking of you. ♥
Here’s to keeping Cricket happy with ball time for as long as possible!! Her smile IS adorable! I just found out that Missy has an enlarged heart as well :/
🙁 So sorry Missy has yet another thing to deal with. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.
It’s so unfair we can’t keep our furbabies for a lifetime. Thinking about Bear being 12 and what that means keeps me up at night. I imagine playing ball is one of the things that makes Cricket love life … despite the practical implications, that can’t be wrong!
Thank you for saying that, and helping to assure me we are doing the right thing. It is so tough when they get older, but Bear is a healthy guy, so I have a feeling he’ll be with you for a long time to come! 🙂
I’m glad the meds seem to be working with no side effects. I hope she can enjoy playing ball for a while longer.
Thank you, Edie!!
We’re glad the new medicine is helping Cricket. We hope she has many more months of playing ball. 🙂
Thank you!!
Love that Cricket, such sweet pics of her-and her brother! You and she enjoying every day, that’s it, that’s what it’s about and comes down to, great job as always making that as possible as can be.
I am so happy that Crickett is doing well on medicine.
Sounds like you are doing all you can to ensure Cricket is enjoying every day!!
I’m so thankful the new meds are helping. I think all hounds slow down when we are waiting on them!
I wonder if they do it on purpose just to be contrary? LOL
I’m glad Cricket is feeling better. Roxy has had a cough for over a year now. I worry so much about it. Last time she was at the vet though, he didn’t seem worried. I’m taking her in again when we get to Utah.
Oh no, I hope Roxy is OK! It’s definitely something you should get to the bottom of though. It could just be an allergy, that’s what they thought with Cricket at first.
We are glad sweet Cricket is doing well on that new medicine and she sure looks super happy!
She’s always been such a happy dog, and she shares that joy with us!
I’m so glad the new med is working so well! I’m praying that Cricket will defy the odds and keep that beautiful smile shining even longer. One of the blessings of being a dog, I think, is that they don’t worry about things like long-term prognoses and such – they just know “Hey, I don’t feel good, I better lie down” or “Let’s play ball, I’m having a puppy day!” 🙂 And I think they’re better off than we are in that regard!
I think you are totally right about that! And as much as it’s still difficult for us, I’m so glad that it is that way for them.
It’s great that the new med is working for her. I think the most important thing for any of us is to spend whatever time we have living life to the fullest, and with those who mean the most to us. 🙂
We could not agree more!
Oh that sweet smile!! I’m glad the new med is helping your sweet girl, and without side effects! Your line about Cricket not having a slow speed except when you’re waiting for her made me smile because that describes Ducky to a “tee”. I have a feeling Cricket is going to outlive the vet’s expectations, just like Sheba did. After all, she has both Sheba and my Callie watching over her. ❤️❤️
I absolutely think you are right about that!! ♥
I hope this smile will stay with er and with you for a long time… it’s great that the meds worked and it’s super great that there are no siedeffects… hugs and potp to you
Thank you so much! ♥
Sweet little Cricket! Any issues are scary, but the heart seems especially scary. My gramma has heart issues, and Katie had the heart tumor. Not fun stuff, but we are happy to hear you seem to be doing well. Enjoy every day, and don’t ever give up your ball. If you give up your ball, that would be a bad sign.
Even if it’s only for 5 minutes….as long as she wants to play we’ll know her quality of life is still good!