Little Changes We Made at Home After My Dog Was Diagnosed with Heart Disease

When Freya was diagnosed with heart disease, I knew some things were obviously going to change. She’d need medication. We’d have to keep a closer eye on her breathing and activity. There would be more vet appointments, more monitoring, and a whole new list of things for me to worry about at 2 AM. What I didn’t really think about at first was how many little changes we’d end up making around the house. None of them are particularly dramatic. We didn’t turn our house into a canine cardiac care unit. Most of the changes were cheap, and a few cost us absolutely nothing. But together, they’ve made it easier for Freya to live her normal life while also helping us manage her heart disease. And that’s really been our goal. Freya is still Freya. She still wants to patrol her yard, investigate suspicious noises, keep tabs on every chipmunk within a five-mile radius, and occasionally lose her mind over something that absolutely does not require that level of enthusiasm. We’re not trying to stop her from being a dog. We’re just trying to make it a little easier for her to be one without overdoing it. 1. We Gave Her a “Little Yard” This has probably been the biggest change we’ve made. We have a...