Elderly Dog with Liver and Heart Problems
Answered by: Kerry Hackett
Question from: Lindr
Posted on: July 24, 2008

My 14 lb little papillon has congestive heart failure and his liver is swollen. He is in the later stages of life at age 14-16 . The vet has him on lasix which I have always thought was a water pill, this is a little expensive for me at this time and would like to know if there is a herb that I can use?

I have used Urinary Maintenance by a private distributing company and it seemed to work but when I took him in for a cyst in his eye the vet said that the lasix had heart medication with in it. She thought that the herbal medication could maybe have caused the cyst in the eye which is now cured by antibiotics.

He also may have dry eyes as the one eye with the cyst still runs and she wants to put him on an expensive drying medicine. I haven’t returned to them as I thought I might still try the herbal meds and look for a vet that was more holistic.

Lasix (also known as furosemide) is a diuretic medication typically given to people and animals to treat oedema or fluid retention. This condition is often seen in cases of congestive heart failure, high blood pressure and disorders of the liver, kidney, and lung. The reason your vet said the lasix contained heart medication is because it lowers fluid retention (and thus is used in congestive heart failure) through urination.

The product "Urinary Maintenance contains the following ingredients: magnesium (amino acid chelate), potassium (citrate), asparagus stem (Asparagus officinalis), dandelion leaf (Taraxacum officinale), parsley leaves (Petroselinum crispum), cornsilk (Zea mays), watermelon seed (Citrullis vulgaris), dong quai root (Angelica sinensis), horsetail herb (Equisetum arvense), hydrangea root (Hydrangea arborescens), uva ursi leaves (Arctostaphylos uva ursi), eleuthero root (Eleutherococcus senticosus) and schizandra fruit (Schisandra chinensis). It is unlikely that this product had anything to do with the cyst that developed in your dog’s eye.

As for your dog’s general condition (congestive heart failure, liver inflammation, eye cyst), these are serious issues that really do need to be assessed and treated by a qualified practitioner in your area; ie: one who can examine the dog in person. If you are looking for a veterinarian who uses herbs in their practice I would suggest that you look for a practitioner via the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association (www.vbma.org)

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