DCM DOGS

Diamond grew up as a normal playful puppy with nothing that appeared to indicate there was anything wrong with her. When Diamond was 16 months old, it was discovered that one of her litter mates had died suddenly at 15 months old and the likely cause was Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Diamond got an appointment to see a heart specialist to get a Echocardiogram to determine if she had DCM. On September 7, 2018 the diagnosis was that on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the best and 10 being the worst, Diamond was a level 5, she had a moderate case of DCM!

Her resting heart rate was high at 80 beats per minute (BPM), with a very irregular heart beat, also a very weak pulse in both rear legs and she would get hot easier than the other dogs she would play with. These 4 things were all symptoms of DCM.

1st Echocardiogram on 9-7-2018 showed the following:

E-Point to Septal Separation (EPSS) at 10.7 mm

Ejection Fraction (EF) at 50% 

Fractional Shortening (FS) at 25%

Left Atrium had mild Left atrial dilation.

Wisp of Tricuspid regurgitation (TR).

Recommendations were:

1) Pimobendan (Vetmedin)

2) Enalapril (ACE inhibitor)

3) Measure blood taurine levels

Diamond was told, these would not reverse or cure DCM.

Oh no, DCM!

NOT me, said Diamond!

Diamond and I then decided DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy) 

was only going to mean one thing.  Don’t Count Me  (DCM)!

Deciding NOT to use medications, a more natural process was started.

9-10-2018 * Cut hair short to keep her cooler and reduce overheating.

9-10-2018 * Give filtered drinking water.

9-14-2018 * Reduce weight from 43 pounds toward 38 pounds.

9-14-2018 * Change Dog Food to Honest Kitchen dehydrated Whole Grain Turkey.

9-18-2019 * Taurine Blood results were in the reference range.

           Serum  79 nmol/ml  (reference range 60-120)

           Whole blood 274 nmol/ml  (reference range 200-350)

Suggests enough taurine in the blood, but the heart might not be absorbing it.

After over 200 plus hours of research,

Diamond started taking supplements to help her heart.

9-18-2018 * Add items added to dog food:

1) Hawthorne Berry Powder * very important to strengthen the heart

2)  Taurine * required for good heart health

3) L-Carnitine * helps heart muscle receive energy

4) Barley Grass, Alfalfa & Wheat Grass * vitamins & amino acids 

5) Organic heart meat * natural source of Taurine

6) Brewers Yeast for Vitamin B’s * helps the heart absorb taurine

7) Hemp Hearts have Omega 3 * for good heart health

10-3-2018 * Hair Analysis was done,  showed high level of Aluminum.  

Aluminum may cause Cardiomyopathy, lower glutathione production, function & inhibits Crucial Anti-Oxidant

Cilantro and Chlorella * help remove heavy metals and toxins.

Hair analysis showed LOW Adrenal, Pituitary & Thyroid Gland levels.

Feeding Glandulars to RAISE Adrenal, Pituitary and Thyroid Glands levels.

Canine/Dog Hair Analysis  helps check for heavy metals and essential minerals.

Heavy Metals: Aluminum, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury & Uranium.

Essential Minerals:  Calcium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium,  Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium, Sulfur & Zinc.

10-20-2018 * Only 35 days to get resting Heart rate 55 BPM

10-20-2018 * Only 35 days to get very SOLID heartbeat,  irregularity is GONE

11-19-2018 * Good solid pulse in rear legs

11-25-2018 * Vitamin C  to help amino acid metabolism.

12-1-2018 * Weight 38 pounds  (5 pounds less than starting weight of 43 pounds)

12-6-2018 * L-Arginine widens blood vessels for blood flow

1-5-2019 * 2nd Hair Analysis results showed overall improvement

Improvement - Lower level of Aluminum 

Improvement to Normal Pituitary Gland

Improvement Adrenal Gland

12-24-2018  *  2nd Echocardiogram  overall improvement

04-12-2019  *  3rd Echocardiogram  overall continued improvement

09-06-2019  *  4th Echocardiogram showed the following improvements:

E-Point to Septal Separation (EPSS) at 5.3 mm  vs  10.7 mm  (lower is improvement)

Ejection Fraction (EF) at 56%  vs  45%  (higher is improvement)

Fractional Shortening (FS) at 29%  vs  22%  (higher is improvement)

Left Atrium there is LESS Atrial dilation.

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) NONE seen on Doppler.

DCM for Diamond was NOT the end,

but just the beginning for her GREAT accomplishments!

These are Diamond's achievements:

2018  -  1 year old

JWD  (2nd attempt)

Knows  35 words and  29 hand signals 

2019  -  2 years old

AWD  (1st attempt)

WWD, WWD2, WWDX  (1st attempts) 

2020  -  3 years old

CWD, CWD2, CWDX

4 MWD qualifying passes  (Youngest dog to achieve this)

Named our Lake after her * Diamond Lake

2021  -  4 years old

MWD1  *  Youngest Dog to get Master Water Dog title

MWD2  *  Youngest & 2nd Female dog to get this title

MWD3  *  1st Female & Youngest dog to get this title

1st Dog to get 3 MWD titles in the same year. MWD1, MWD2, MWD3

Fastest MWD qualifying time 4 minutes 53 seconds (13 minutes allowed)

TKN  *  Trick Dog Novice * Video

TKI  *  Trick Dog Intermediate * Video

TKA  *  Trick Dog Advanced * Video

SBN  *  Scent Dog Novice Buried

SCN  *  Scent Dog Novice Container

SEN  *  Scent Dog Novice Exterior

SIN  *  Scent Dog Novice Interior

SWN  *  Scent Dog Novice Title  (2nd Event attended)

2022  -  5 years old

MWD4  *  1st Female & Youngest dog to get this title
MWD5  *  1st Female & Youngest dog to get this title

SEA  *  Scent Dog Advanced Exterior  (3rd Event attended)

SIA  *  Scent Dog Advanced Interior  (3rd Event attended)

Watch MWD4 video

2023  -  6 years old

MWD6  *  1st Female & Youngest dog to get this title
MWD7  *  1st Female & Youngest dog to get this title

LI1  *  Lost Item  (1st attempt)

SD1  *  Shed Dog  (1st attempt)

TL1  *  Trailing & Locating  (1st attempt)

UD1  *  Urban Locating  (1st attempt)