CARDIAC ISSUES

Please tell me about pugs and heart problems.

What are the signs of heart problems? Enlarged heart? Beside keeping the weight down are there other things to do? What if the pug is already over weight? Can they still go for walks to get exercise? What are some of the medications a vet might give? Do young pugs have heart problems or just seniors?

Thanks for any information and experiences.

Elaine, are you concerned about one of your's?

I don't have any personal experience, but it seems the things we deal with are mostly murmurs (any age) and congestive heart failure (older pugs) coughing can be a sign of CHF as fluid builds up around the heart because it is not beating efficiently. I know Pugs do very well on meds for CHF and can get a number of years of life with it. Joanne/Miss Pugg has had experience. Depending on the severity of the murmur they don't seem to give them too much trouble.

And keeping the weight down is helpful for any pug, but especially one experiencing health issues. I think for a Pug with heart problems exercise would have to be very carefully managed. Weight control should be easily managed with diet alone.


Hope this helps.

Mitral valve insufficiency is the most common (heart murmur) and they are graded from 1 (not serious) to 6 (very serious). Coughing, panting, sneezing are some of the symptoms of heart problems. And yes, weight is a BIG issue with heart problems. Just like with us, a fat dog is at risk for heart problems. Meds vary depending on the condition. Some dogs live long lives without heart meds--my shih tzu has a grad 4/5 heart murmur and doesn't need meds yet (he's 12), but may in the future. He goes to the park with everyone else. I just don't rush him and I'm extra careful in the hot weather.

A vet really is the one to diagnose and tell you what the heart condition is, if there is one, and what med is most effective.

MANY pugs get diagnosed with enlarged hearts by vets who don't know the breed well. Many don't have enlarged hearts medically. Make sure that your vet knows pugs and that an enlarged heart really exists.

Yes, I am somewhat concerned about my own pug, Ty. Exact age unknown but somewhere between 11-14. Ty gags/hacks a lot like something is going to come up but nothing does. He also pants very easlly even though it is not hot. Ty has also put on about 3 pounds since I got him. However, I thought he was on the thin side when I got him a year and a half ago. He is able to walk further now than when he first came to me as a foster. He does walk very slow but I like that as I can't walk very fast either. lol

Ty is due for some immunizations and has a vet check coming up in early April. His vet did mention an enlarged heart the first time I had Ty in to see him. A highly recommened clinic but I do not know for sure how many pugs they see.

I will have loads of questions when we go.

those are the symptoms I saw before Angel was diagnosed with CHF (congestive heart failure). she couldn't get a breath, gagged often, panted and coughed a lot.

not to panic you....

to diagnose we did an x-ray, and could see the fluid build up around the lungs and heart. Then we did a cardio-pet test (about $100) to look at her heart enzyme/function. It was much less expensive than going for a sonogram of the heart (upwards of $900), and the outcome/treatment would be the same.

The x-ray also showed some narrowing of her esophagus, but not bad enough to require surgery (not that I'd want to put her under at this stage anyway).

That was a year ago. She's been on a combination of furosemide (lasix) and steroid (TemarilP) since then, and is doing pretty well over all. We just did a big senior workup on her, and are pleased with where she is.

She's not really the active sort, so she doesn't go on walks. Just wanders out in the yard to do her business and then finds her way back (she's blind..).

Sending some good thoughts for you & Ty Elaine!

Gagging and panting could also be signs of a soft pallete issue or even laryngeal paralysis. It could also be signs of lung problems such as bronchitis or copd

Lulu Pug was diagnosed with an enlarged heart/congestive heart failure when she was about 13. I can't remember now the names of her medications but they are common medicines for CHF. She lived to be 17, kept in thin shape, walked as much as her elderly legs could take. Buffy is about 17 now & has the same problem. She's walking well now but last year she went with us in her stroller. She's also on two medications I can't recall at the moment. She was diagnosed about 2 years ago. She too is in 'thin' mode and walks about 8 to 12 blocks a day, will go back to the stroller when it gets warmer. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your imput. I am now more prepared for our trip to see Dr. Bob next week.

Ty does not hear, and has some PK and slightly cloudy eyes. He does get around just fine and barks when something moves outside the windows. He will do one or two steps but definitely barks for a ride up and down a flight of stairs.
He is a friendly happy pug who loves people and other dogs. He is also VERY lucky. He gets to sleep in our bed is totally spoiled. The big problem is that the DH gives him FAR to many table food treats. I am going to have to clamp down more and more on that one. Not an easy task!

pugmom wrote:
He is a friendly happy pug who loves people and other dogs. He is also VERY lucky. He gets to sleep in our bed is totally spoiled. The big problem is that the DH gives him FAR to many table food treats. I am going to have to clamp down more and more on that one. Not an easy task!

I'm ruthless about this one, Elaine. Our 12 year old shih tzu with a grade four heart murmur is my husband's dog and when I catch him sneaking Theo snacks I flat out say "Are you in a hurry to kill him? Let me know if you are cause then I can humanely euthanize him rather than watch you kill him slowly by feeding him". I tried all the "Please don't, honey" approaches, but finally had to get right now and dirty.

Fat is a killer in any dog, but it's a gun to the head for heart condition dogs.

I may have to resort to that tactic and see if it will work. You see DH did not want me to adopt Ty in the first place. I had to say I would give up fostering before he relented into my adopting Ty who was at the time a foster. Now after a year and a half I am hoping my sweet Ty has worked his way into DH's heart and he will want Ty to stay be with us for as long as possible. I plan to lower the boom next week after the vet visit. It will be tough on ALL three of us. Pugs are such convincing beggars!