Heart murmur in Pup

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by yellowrose of Texas on 19 August 2009 - 17:08

How many of you have ever had a pup with a heart murmur?? WHat course of action did you have to take..? How long did pup live ? DId the pup outgrow the heart murmur, like human children sometimes do or what was the outcome?

How old did the heart murmur show up as a pup or older? Pup friend is asking about is 5 mos old. Female

Friend called me and ask my opinion and I do not know anything about heart murmurs in the german shepherd/ Would like some feed back , please

Thanks

YR

by Horse Man on 19 August 2009 - 17:08

USUALLY A heart murmur shows up in a PUPPY AROUND 6 OR 7 WEEKS OF AGE AND A LOT OF TIMES IT'S FINE by the time THE PUP IS 10 WEEKS OF AGE. BUT A PUPPY WHO IS BETWEEN 5 TO 8 MONTHS OF AGE IS A VERY CRITICAL TIME BECAUSE i HAD HEARD FROM FRIENDS THAT they had PUPPIES THAT THEY HAD GIVING AWAY WITH HEART MURMURS, that died DURING THAT TIME FRAME. I KNOW ONE DOG THAT ACTUALLY WAS STILL A LIVE AT 7 YEARS OF AGE WITH A HEAT MURMUR.

by Ryanhaus on 19 August 2009 - 21:08

Heart murmur can range from 1 to 10

10 being the worst, what was the range or degree that was diagnosed from the vet?

by wuzzup on 19 August 2009 - 22:08

Some times if you put the pup up to your ear you can hear the swish swish of a heart murmur. I know of one GSD that lived atleast 5 years with one ,then I lost track of the dog and the owner .So after 5 I have no Idea how the dog made out . It was quickly heard at the pups six week check up .

by yellowrose of Texas on 19 August 2009 - 22:08

She did not say...the man at the vet just said the vet said she can hear it pretty well....he was nasty and wanted to start trouble.. with her...she has no guarantee on a pet companion dog except hips if they are diagnosed before a year and with an ofa decision...due to the dog or pup being crippled by it.. and with proper documentation...

Pup is healthy and showed no signs of anything ...first time it has been to vet for rabies shot , I think.

..I have a friend in Houston with a gsd that is 4 with one...it was a 3 at 9 weeks old...another on died at 4 ...just fell dead with no warning but led a great healthy and active life...one day in pasture she was standing by the fence and she fell dead....owner was aware if could happen but the best female she ever had till that day.....

by ocoey on 19 August 2009 - 23:08

My sister's Mal was diagnosed with a severe murmur at 6 weeks...you could hear the swich but had to listen closely. It did decrease with age. Dog lived to be 10 and played flyball for many years of her life (crazy, crazy sport that is!). No particular treatment but she was kept very lean and was of course spaded. She was placed with my sister because the breeder knew there was a good chance of issues. Dog could have dropped at any time...or might have to be PST depending how things worked out. Thankfully it worked out well.

by rugerdoggie247 on 19 August 2009 - 23:08

Heart murmurs in dogs are graded on a scale of 1 to 6 with 1 being a mild murmur that is barely audible with the stethoscope, and a 6 is severe and is audible in a quiet room with out the use of a stethoscope. The murmur is actually an abnormal sound usually caused by an abnormal or diseased heart valve. A very young puppy with a heart murmur can grow out of this, but if the puppy is already 5 months old then she is not going to grow out of this.
Dogs can live completely normal lives as pets with a mild murmur and have no symptoms. In more severe cases they can suffer from excercise intolerance due to inablility to pump the oxygenated blood through the body. Eventually in severe cases they can develop chf ( congestive heart failure)
If your friend purchased the dog for a competition/ sport dog, then I would recommend taking her back and getting another puppy.
If the dog is just a pet and the murmur is low grade (1-2) then she can keep the dog if she is already attached to her. If she wants to find out more specifics about exactly what is causing the murmur, she can have the heart ultrasounded by a veterinary cardiologist and they can pinpoint exactly what is causing the murmur, and if any treatment is needed.

by Prager on 20 August 2009 - 00:08

1. I have a dog with severe heart murmur. He is a great dog. 7+ years and he still kicks butt in protection and in every day life. He is constantly happy.
2. I would not breed him but my vet swears that it is not genetic problem.
3. Keep in mind that if you return the pup to the breeder for replacement, then he may put her down.
4. I would do what my vet has said once to this problem when I asked him if I should treat the dog differently then other as far as exercise goes. He said: "Let him be a dog and do with him what ever you would with healthy dog. He may live long life or drop dead next minute. I would shield him from excessive heat, extreme exercises, and from getting over weight."
I would add:
Keep in mind that if you spay her she has very high chance that she will get overweight subsequent to estrogen and thyroid problems.
5. Thus; I would not spay her.
6. If you spend money on vet, (sometimes alot), all you will find out is what is the problem. And then they send you home. And now what ? There is nothing you can do about it anyway; except now you are out of bunch of money.:)
7. LOVE HER THE SAME AS DOG WITH HEALTHY HEART!
Prager(Hans)
http://www.alpinek9.com

by Sunsilver on 20 August 2009 - 00:08

The most common cause of a heart murmur is an atrial septal defect. There is a 'window' in the heart between the left and right atria that is part of the fetal blood circulation when the pup is in the womb. Most of the time, this opening closes at birth or shortly after. If it does not close, it causes a heart murmur. Oxygenated blood passes from the left side of the heart to the right, reducing the dog's ability to do aerobic activities without running short of breath. Its tolerance of heat will also be less.

As said above, everything depends on the severity of the murmur. I have this exact conditon, and other than reducing my ability to do aerobic exercise, it doesn't affect me. (I was never a track star, anyway, though I did play soccer, baseball, squash and tennis....) A fairly large percentage of the human population has this condition, and most aren't even aware of it.

Other causes of heart murmurs are mitral valve regurgitation, or ventricular septal defects (much more serious).

I'd suggest taking the dog to a veterinary cardiologist for a detailed evaluation.

by dogshome9 on 20 August 2009 - 01:08

Last year when I took a litter of 7 puppies for vaccination the vet found a bi-lateral heart murmur in one puppy, she handed me the stethoscope and it was very clear that this was a serious problem and the vet said that it was not a good idea to vaccinate him but I could not make a decision at that time, so I took him home with a promise to decide over the weekend

Over the next couple of days I did keep a very close eye on him. Why didn't I notice before? He would often sit alone, I just thought that he was the quiet one, no, that was not it, he simply could not keep up with the other puppies, not enough energy.

Even though it broke my heart I had to have him PTS.

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