When Your Dog’s Heart Needs Extra Care

Static Hair After
Playing in the Blankets

The Saturday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Oliver started hacking and coughing out of the blue. Since that Saturday afternoon, he has continued to cough throughout the day. As reported in my January 18 post, he has had that awful sound happening. We took him to the vet twice the following week, had x-rays done, and he has been on medication since. He is currently taking three medications. He was diagnosed with a heart murmur and an enlarged heart.

Oliver will be 15 in June 2026. It is hard to believe, as I can still remember him as a little puppy and having to take him out in the middle of the night to do his bathroom duties. We have been fortunate that he has not had any major health issues. He did lose most of his teeth over the years, which is common in the Japanese Chin breed and in smaller dogs, but he has had no other major issues since we have had him.

It has been tough watching him struggle with breathing over the past few weeks. There is no cure for congestive heart disease, but the medication is supposed to help slow the progression. He sounds pitiful with his hacking, coughing, and the small whimpers he makes when he cannot breathe. If I put my head against his body, I can hear the heart murmur.

I am hopeful that we can get the coughing under control, and if we do, we may have more time with him. He continues to be interested in food, treats, and water, just as he has since this started. He keeps me up during the night, and in turn, he is up through the night as well. I know he is exhausted from the hacking and coughing. Some nights are better than others, where he, and we, are able to sleep most of the night.

The latest medication he was prescribed includes a syringe that we fill with liquid and give to him by mouth. He hates it. He snaps at us and actually got me pretty good on Saturday morning when I was giving him the medication. We give this one, along with another medication, every twelve hours. On Saturday night, I tried putting the liquid on a spoon, and he ate it with no problem. That will now be the new way we administer the liquid medication.

The average lifespan of a Japanese Chin is 12-14 years, so I know we are getting bonus time with a very special little guy. It is strange how this started so suddenly. My hope is that we are able to have him in our lives for another year. Other than the coughing and occasional shortness of breath, I do not believe he is in pain. When he is not having breathing issues, he wants to play, rub his head in the blankets, or run around in the backyard, even when it is freezing cold outside. We will rely on our vet to guide us and make sure he is not suffering.

We love him so much, and it pains us to watch him struggle to breathe. I am praying that the cough goes away and that we are able to keep him in our lives for a while longer.

Sunshine, Leaves, and a Little Dog Named Oliver

Our little Oliver has been loving the fall weather lately. Earlier this week, Carrie took him on a walk through the neighborhood. Although they couldn’t find a spot on the patio at Salute, he still enjoyed the outing. Trotting through the fallen leaves and soaking in the crisp air, he was the big dog on the block. A few times over the past couple of weeks, we’ve let him outside, and he just sits in the sun with a goofy look on his face, completely content and clearly enjoying life.

This is also the kind of weather where, on a typical weekend when I’m trying to watch football, Oliver insists on going in and out of the house a dozen times. Eventually, I just prop the door open so he can come and go as he pleases. Of course, he’d still prefer that one of us be outside with him to enjoy the weather together.

Seeing the leaves fall is a welcome sight as we hope for a long, beautiful autumn and an easy winter ahead.

Home Sweet Home: Oliver's Adventures While We Camped

I hope you had a good weekend. It was beautiful outside the whole weekend, so I hope you were able to get out and enjoy. Carrie and I were out camping and I will have pictures and update of our trip next week. Today is somewhat of a short post as we are both exhausted after being gone since Thursday. 

While we were away, we had Oliver staying with Joan and Eddie. We always love to get pictures of Oliver while we are away so we can see what he is doing. The first one to the left is of him in the bathroom sitting on a mat. Who knows what he is doing or maybe he wanted to find a quiet spot to wonder why we left him.

The next one is a video of Oliver barking at Lucky Dog. Granted, he barks at anything that looks like a dog on the TV which could include but is not limited to dogs, cats, and horses. Funny when he does it when not trying to nap, but he will startle you if trying to sleep and he starts barking at something on the television. Still, it is funny and he has done this since he was a little puppy.

We would have taken Oliver on our camping trip, but we attended the Washburn game at Missouri Western State University and it was best to leave him back in Topeka. More on our camping trip next week.

Like I said, it was going to be a short update for this week. About our dog Oliver and a hint of what we did this weekend that I will post an update for next week.

Until next week, have a great week!

Walks, Wuffes, and Woofs: Celebrating Oliver's 13th with a Tail-Wagging Adventure

Oliver Walking on his Birthday

Oliver turned 13 on June 5. It was his birthday, and we showered him with greetings throughout the day. But the true highlight was going on a walk. I have been taking him on a walk following my jogging. He is anxious while I am gone and watching for me to return. This time though when I got back, he whined three times wanting to get going on his walk. Poor guy, his birthday and he had to wait for me to get back from a jog so he could show off to the neighborhood that it was his birthday. He had a grand time walking through the neighborhood. We walked one mile and I think he could have kept going.

Action Shot While we Walk

I wanted to get a picture of us walking, so I put my phone down by a tree and captured us on our walk. Oliver was a little confused on what we were doing as I placed the phone, backtracked, and then walked forward again. We did this a few times and I think he thought I had lost my mind. Nope! Just trying to get a picture of us walking together, Oliver. 

We spotted a few other dogs on our walk. Oliver, even at 13, can still be a bit excitable around other dogs. So, I usually try to avoid other dogs as much as possible on our walks. If we start down a street and I see someone with a dog, we might change routes so we avoid the dog. Some people we meet with dogs do not understand and want to approach for our dogs to meet. He has gotten better, but still a bit of a nut when meeting other dogs. Rather embarrassing when he acts like a nut. 

Selfie with Oliver on our Walk

We had a good time on our walk. A lot of sniffing, finding spots, and looking over the lay of the land. Oliver gets so excited at the mention of "walk" so of course we spell it out and he is starting to recognize when we spell it out what we are talking about. I recently started running again and in turn started walking Oliver regularly. He loves it so much that I need to make sure to walk him through the week even if I am not running. He has a happy look on his face and of course he sleeps so well on the days we do our walks.

Oliver October 2011

It is hard to believe our little guy is thirteen years old. I still remember him as a little puppy with a lot of energy, playing with toys, wanting belly tickles, and have a grand time. Ok, well, he still does all of that at thirteen which is fantastic. 

A quick shout out to supplements that Carrie got for Oliver a few months ago and completely changed his energy and ability to run around or jump on the couch. She saw an ad on FaceBook for Wuffes. Prior to us giving Oliver Wuffes, he had joint pain, sometimes he could not jump on the couch, and he really had no energy to play. We have been giving him Wuffes for a few months and can see a difference in how he acts and the energy he has throughout the day. Carrie usually gives him his supplement at night after his super. All she says is "want your supplement" and he knows what is happening. Gets excited and waits for his supplement to be broken out to him.

Happy Birthday, Oliver. I hope you had a great day of celebration.