I had a dog with MVD. I would not give my personal history of it as I believe every case could differ. Some dogs go on for years on meds, others don't.

Mine had diuretics to stop fluid build up but the minimum possible because they can cause problems with continued use.

I don't understand about not feeding wet food. Dogs fed dry food drink more dogs feeld wet food drink less.

What do you mean by heart disease? There are quite a lot of things can go wrong with a heart, I used to have a dog who had a grade 4 heart mumur, leaking mitral valve and enlarged heart.

I don't understand why your vet says a food has too much water content, water is essential to life and if a dog gets dehydrated they can die. My vets told me that dogs that are fed dry food, Kibble, are usually dehydrated. I used to soak Joe's kibble for a few hours before feeding it to him.

Dogs are usually fine with rice, doesn't matter if it is white or brown, it is different to cereals and can be digested much easier.

I have a cardiac consultant at my vets so Joe used to see him every time he went in, gradually his heart did deteriated but he had a very good quality of life, he still played and ran about, I didn't try to restrict him because quality of life is more important that the length of it.

Sorry but heart disease isn't curable, you can slow it down so it has virtually stopped but once damaged a heart cannot repair itself. There are cases were it looked like a heart problem but turned out to be something else, these often can be cured.

I have AF, my heart cannot be cured but it can be helped to stop it deteriating any more, I am on statins which Enalapril seems to be and will be taking it for the rest of my life with another that helps regulate my heart as well as Warfarin. I have to have a hip replaced and am not worried about my heart and how it copes.

Modern anaesthesia is a lot better than it used to be but you can help your dog's teeth by giving her raw bones, raw chicken wings, raw lamb or pork ribs etc. I had to use a hammer on them when I first started my small dog but she can do it all herself now. My oldest dog is 9 years old and her teeth are lovely and white with no tartar.

Mattie, Enalapril is not a statin. It is an ACE inhibitor [Angiotensin Converting Enzyme] which is used in the treatment of hypertension and some types of chronic heart failure.

That is what I thought but when I looked it up it was with aspirin and statins but I can't find that one now. I have found one that says not to use aspirin with Enalapril. I only looked on one site, normally I look on several to compare them.

Raw bones might be good for keeping their teeth healthy but they won't help teeth that are already decayed.

- Enalapril

I didn't say raw bones would help decayed teeth, they will help remove the tartar from the teeth.

Sorry. And I know they do say it helps tremendously but I've had dogs who didn't have any bones and whose teeth were really good until they died. Also had (little) dog who developed a lot of build up on the stupid little front teeth little dogs have and who didn't have any bones.

And now have Bella who has raw bones EVERY day and who has developed tartar build up on the inside of those silly little front teeth anyway (and doesn't look any better than on the one who didn't ever have bones and it has developed EARLIER in her life!)

I am guessing that this could be because they don't really USE those tiny front teeth for chewing or biting down? So even if they are chewing raw bones they are not chewing them with all those top and bottom tiny front ones?

I intend to ask my vet about it next time I am there just in case she develops any problems like my Cavvy did with hers and whether it is recommended to have them cleaned.

Must say my Cavvy didn't suffer from having to have them all removed and didn't miss them either and was eating as normal and crunching biscuits etc. the day after coming out of the hospital. I was very glad it was only her very front top and bottom ones affected as I've seen a few Cavvies who've had to have side teeth removed and it results in their tongue lolling out to one side (not a look I love - even if quite comical!)

Hello. That is not true. PetSmart has a line of "fresh" dog foods. They have Bil Jac brand and a few other brands. I know this because I go there a lot. I don't (and cannot afford to) feed my large dogs this food, but it might work for you. You can ask the employees as they are very helpful.

http://www.petsmart.com/search/index...nds%7CFreshpet

Someone I used to know fed the "Vital" brand fresh dog foods to her tiny dog and she was very happy about the quality. Her dog had kidney problems, and she fed something with cranberry in it, I think... and she said her dog did very well on it for quite some time.

The food is very expensive and would be an issue for many people having to feed it to large dogs, but small dogs probably isn't a problem. You could try it... or like I said, at least research it. Good luck!!

There are several different brands and flavors, take a look in Petsmart and Petco.... you might find something suitable. Also, there are many good canned foods available there, as well.