robbie

Jake has had a recent heart failure but back home. He was settling in fine but occasionally trembled. We re-visited the vet and they advised us that his potassium was low, not dangerously low, but low

What can we do to increase this??

We have tried banana, no chance, banana mixed in milk, no chance....

Any ideas would be great as we are a little worried

Reds

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dobebug

robbie,

low potassium levels are not uncommon in dogs who are taking certain medications. diuretics can cause this & are commonly used in treating some heart conditions like congestive heart failure.

before you start trying to alter electrolyte balance i strongly recommend that you check with your dogs cardiologist about what to use or if you should be using anything to increase the blood potassium levels.

generally in the case of a dog with a cardiac issue the vet/cardiologist would have put the dog on a potassium suppliment if the level was low enough to be necessary.

also i would NOT be giving a dog milk period. they don't have the ability to process milk & you can almost count on it giving them a nice case of diarrhea.

robbie

He is on diueretics, Moduretic and Frusimide.

The vet did say we could give him some milk but not large quantities, also yogurts too

dobebug

giving him bananas (food source high in potassium) won't do him any harm--but without checking w/the vet don't give any of the potassium "pills"--it's very easy to wack out electrolyte levels doing that.

yogurt would probably be a better choice of a dairy product for a dog than milk. it's partially processed as is cottage cheese. whole milk, even though some dogs & cats like it very much has about the same effect as dairy products do on a lactose intolerant person.

robbie

Thanks Dobebug

We are gonna see how he is and have a chat with the vet tomorrow

dobebug

good, robbie...good luck to you & jake.

sheezbusy

If he is on diuretics, and he needs K+, the best bet would be for your vet to tell you how much to give him. Potassium is excreted through the kidney so the more pee, the more K+ is lost. Potassium is very important for cardiac function so it is important, however, the therapeutic index is very narrow. This means potassium levels do not have alot of fluxuation to be normal. Too low potassium as well as too high can effect the heart.
Good luck

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Lisa & Lexie

Liberty's Give Me Justice
12/30/07

reddobes

I agree w/ dobebug, talk to your vet/cardiologist prior to giving any oral potassium tablets or other supplements.
It may be that adjusting his furosemide dose may help or potentially adding oral potassium (tumil-k). If the levels are only slightly low, it may be something that is just monitored. Too much potassium is equally detrimental to the heart.

prophecy

try unflavored pedeolyte,mix it with drinking water 25% ped/75% water.its also useful for dehydration, and after prolonged fluid loss from vomiting/loose bowels,and in diabetic urination issues.(pee out all of the electrolytes- just watch the ratio on diabetics due to glucose ) but i would ask the vet the reccomendations for this before hand.also nutri-cal senior me thinks has the potassium in.dont quote me there.good luck

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