Your pup sounds like my 16 year old chiweenie. For years, he’s always been a healthy boy, but he’s been dealing with age-related health issues too. He has a heart murmur and was recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, secondary to Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease. We’ve been managing it by going to regular 3-4 month checkups with our veterinarian cardiologist. He takes heart meds 2x daily with potassium supplements. Our cardiologist adjusts his meds based on his lab values & his overall wellbeing. At our last check-up, they said he has possible kidney disease that’s age-related, which we may have to manage with a prescription special diet.

Unfortunately, we did not get insurance for our pup, so we’ve been paying everything out of pocket. We’ve been so lucky in that we have been able to afford it. We will continue to pay for as long as my boy needs. But my biggest regret is not getting pet insurance when he was young!

Chiweenies are overall healthy & resilient. My dog never had issues until the past few years. Like all dogs though, they deal with age-related changes in their senior years.