[Faith G]

I’ve started him with one tiny chicken heart a day minced and mixed in with his dry food. He usually gets boiled chicken a few times a month, as well as a cooked egg.

I just started the chicken heart so I don’t know how well it’s working or if it even is. But he seemed to like it, and hasn’t had any stomach issues yet.

[Faith G]

I’ve had him at lease 8-9 months now, I work as a pet sitter and he used to be a client, his old owner asked if I could find him a home because she could no longer take care of him. I said yes because he was the best dog I’ve ever pet sat, I ended up keeping him. The only thing she had was an old rabies vaccine tag and she knew nothing else about him. So as soon as I got him I got his shots taken care of (they monitored his heart rate, can’t remember if they listened with a stehescope. If they did, they made no effort to tell me if they heard anything unusual) now I’ve gotten him neutered and micro tagged. The old owner was basically no help in telling me his age or the date he was born or any vaccines or allergies he’s had. I contacted the vet from the old rabies tag and all they had was that he came in for a rabies vaccine. He very well could have a congenital heart defect but I couldn’t find any information from previous owners and vets.

Basically all I’m asking for is advice to make sure his murmur stays the way it is or goes away.

[Faith G]

Hi Losul,

Would beef hearts be better than chicken? and how much would you feed a 60lb dog daily?
also krill oil isn’t the only one I am interested in, natural salmon oils are supposed to be good also, it’s hard to search for oils when so many companies are selling it, I can’t just go on a website that is promoting their oils or supplements, when of course they are going to swear by it. I am pretty skeptical of people like ceasar millon and dr mercola, because of course they are going to say it works, everyone has an endgame: money.

[Faith G]

No, he just decided to go for an echo. This is why I am getting a second opinion, the echo is around $300+ (which is fine). But if it is only used to confirm a murmur, I would like to try other less expensive options, especially if they aren’t going to treat it with any medication. He said that the murmur causes extra blood to build up into the lungs making it harder to breath. I would rather do a heart and lung x-ray first, going to talk with the vet I’m getting a second opinion from about it.

Although my dog is young and the murmur is most likely nothing too serious, it’s still something I am worried about, as this is my first dog as an adult, and the bond is unlike anything else. I’m just being a worried mom! 🙂

[Faith G]

The vet who heard the murmur isn’t a cardiac specialist, I took him to get neutered and that’s when they heard it. The doctor who is doing the echo in a week is a specialist. I am going to get a second opinion, although I have no doubt he has a murmur, he is very mucus-y sounding in his breathing every once in a while, and has a hard time taking full deep breaths. I have no issue with waiting until the echo before giving him supplements, it is only a week. I just don’t have a lot of experience with vitamins, or raw food, I am just doing some personal research to see if there is anything more I can do besides giving him heavy medication that they will probably prescribe after the echo. I have already spoke with my vet about CoQ10 and fish oils, he said I can try them, although he told me to be careful with coq10 because he didn’t know the recommended doses.

[Faith G]

Thank you guys, I appreciate it. He’s not on medication yet because he hasn’t gotten an echo on his heart. I have that scheduled for the next week. I’m not that sold on raw diets, mostly because I’d feel like their never getting enough nutrients or something. Either way, I would be stupid to not try whatever I can to help my boy. I’ve heard CoQ10 helps with heart health, and talked to my vet about it and he’s iffy on it. Anyone ever used CoQ10 and had any negative effects or positive ones?

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