My little dog started to show signed of congestive heart failure but at the time, I didn’t recognize what was causing his symptoms. Congestive heart failure is usually caused by an underlying heart condition. In my pets case, he was born with a heart defect that went undetected.

It is very difficult to detect congestive heart failure in your dog until it is too late. Sometimes vets stumble upon irregular heartbeat or abnormal cardiograms during routine checkup. Too often, there are no easily noticed signs. However, in the early stages of this condition, one side of the heart becomes more affected than the other and it’s  important to pay close attention to these symptoms.

Left side heart failure causes:

• Shortness of breath, especially during exercise or when lying down.
• Violent, unproductive coughing that occurs late at night or early in the morning due to excessive fluid buildup in the lungs.
• Fainting
• Anorexia
• Fatigue

Right side heart failure causes:

• Swollen abdomen or “pot-bellied appearance” due to fluid build-up.
• Anorexia
• Fatigue

Pay close attention to any of these symptoms and get your pet to a vet as soon as possible.

A special thanks to vetinfo.com for providing this valuable information.

Remember, your pet counts

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