According to The Dog Health Guide, heart failure is a common disease found in canines, effecting approximately 10% of all dogs. Unlike their human counterparts, dogs don't experience heart attacks. Instead, their heart goes into failure due to an inability to pump blood effectively though their body. Some heart failure is congenital; it is apparent at birth and caused by a defect. Most heart failure in dogs however, is due to the aging process. You can make changes to your dog's diet to decrease the amount of stress to its heart and other systems and help them maintain a good quality of life for as long as possible.
Things You'll Need
- Variety of meats, fish, eggs
- Frozen or fresh vegetables
- Canine calcium supplement
Instructions
DogAware recommends that you feed your dog at least half of his diet in the form of meat, eggs or fish, either very lightly cooked or raw. The advantage to feeding a homemade diet to a dog with heart failure is that you have control over the amount of sodium in their diet. Sodium causes water retention and also puts a strain on both the heart and kidneys. Try to rotate the kinds of meat or fish you give your dog daily, so that it has a wide variety of nutrients available. Serve liver only in very small amounts. Don't worry about the fat in the meat, dogs don't accumulate fat or cholesterol in their arteries as humans do.
Feed your dog the other half of its diet in the form of whole grains and vegetables. If your dog has grain allergies, they can be eliminated, because dogs don't require carbohydrates in their diet. Include cooked vegetables, which will provide nutrients and some carbohydrates without stirring up allergies. Never give canned vegetables to a dog with heart failure, the sodium content is dangerously high.
Add a calcium supplement to your dog's food. Calcium, besides being a nutrient is also a slight muscle relaxant which can help your dog's heart work less strenuously. Use supplemental calcium or add washed ground eggshells for calcium. If you are giving your dog other supplements, don't use one that provides vitamin D because it will cause absorption of too much calcium. Ideally, your dog should get 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily but check with your vet for the right dosage based on your dog's weight.
Maintain your dog at a healthy weight for his breed, age and size. Talk to your vet to find out what your dog should weigh. Excess weight places a strain on your dog's heart.