How much Potassium is to much for a small poodle?

[romo501]

Our vet has our little poodle on 2 mEq or (468 mg) tabs twice a day. DH and I only take 99 mg a day and Romeo's weight it 9.6 lb.
I was just wondering how much a little dog needs. He is also in congestive heart failure and on Lasix 10 mg twice a day. Hope someone might know this it just seems like a lot to me.

[Amanda]

Hello Romo501 and welcome to this forum. We are very fortunate and have a veterinarian here (Roger Welton) and since you have not received any replies to your question, perhaps you can send him a PM. Good luck and hope all goes well with your little "baby".

[romo501]

Thank you Amanda

Can you tell me where to locate Roger Welton? Yesterday was the first time I have posted and do not know my way around.
Thanks Romo501

[Amanda]

Hi Romo,

At the top of this page, there is a "members" button. Click on that and it should give you a page where all the members are listed. Look under the letter "R" for RWDVM. Once you find it, click on RWDVM, then from the "Profile for RWDVM" scroll down and locate the option to "Contact RWDVM". From there, you'll have the choice to either send him an email or a PM.

Roger has been a great help to a lot of people on this board, and we are so very lucky to have him as a member.

Good luck.

[originalfatc]

while you're in the process of getting a 2nd opinion, I would love to hear how your vet explains the dosage for my own sake.

I like to have both reasons to compare.

[romo501]

originalfatc

Our Vet said Lasix depletes the potassium in the body over time.
Romeo has been on Lasix for over a year now.
She (the vet) suggested we start him on Potassium and that was the dose she started him on.

[originalfatc]

Makes sense. Maybe such a high dose is necessary in the beginning to replenish lost potassium?

thanx

[romo501]

Since RWDVM never did answer me I called my vet just to double check and she seems to think he needs every bit of what he is being given. I even suggested that we (people) only got 99 mg. She had no problem with that. I am just going to assume every thing is in order.
Thank you for any and all help.

[RWDVM]

Hey romo:

As I stated in my private message, sorry it took so long for me to reply. I didn't know I had a private message box until today. For everyone elses benefit, I will restate my message. 2 mEQ is a reasonable potassium dose for a little dog. However, while it is true that over time, Lasix has the potential to deplete the body of potassium, it is not definate that this will occur. This is why I run a chemistry profile to assess the kidneys, electrolytes (and hence the potassium), and other parameters one month into Lasix treatment. I only begin potassium therapy if I find that the potassium is low.

Once potassium treatment is begun, I like to recheck the potassium at 1, 3, and 7 weeks to make sure I am not under or over dosing. It is unlikely, however, that the conservative dose that your dog is on will lead to overdosing.



Best of luck to you. From what you have written, your vet sounds like she is on the right track. Feel free to visit my veterinary advice and health management website at the url below.

Sincerely,

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Veterinarian, Webmaster http://www.askdvm.com