heart murmurs in pups - Page 1

Hello all, i have a 3 month old female pup with a heart murmur. what is your experience in a situation like this? the puppy is very healthy otherwise. one vet suggests to watch her that he can hear a heart sound, another suggests an echo, and a third one feels euthanasia could be a humane alternative before she goes in heart failure... thank you all for advice and personal feedback, Max.

I'm in a tight bind situation... put her to sleep vs. working her murmur up with an echo, follow up, maybe surgery, possibly thousands of dollars.... any experience in the matter is appreciated. Does anyone know of grown shepherds that live with a murmur? Max.

I would never euthanize without an echo or consult with a cardiac specialist to see the extent of the heart murmur. unless of course the pup is already showing signs of heart failure (difficulty breathing, lethargy, hard time recovering after strenuous exercise, failure to thrive). Still, I would consult a specialist and at least get an ultrasound (at the least) to see if the heart murmur is "liveable" or not. MANY heart murmurs do not cause the dog any problem and they can live a full lifespan, just with caution when using anesthesia, sedation, or strenuous exercise. Some slight heart murmurs will go away as the pup grows, though 3 months might be past that window of "could grow out of the problem". molly

My vet and I were discussing after one of her other patients came in with a pup/murmur. To get a realistic view, you need an echo to determine accurately what grade it is. Grade 1 or 2, could easily correct itself, grade 4-6? possibly surgery, but typically shortened life. At 3 months, if it's a small grade 1 or 2, she could grow out of it, but you need to find out how bad it is, and that means an echo. To suggest euthanasia without knowing the severity is a little premature. Good luck.

Thank you Molly and thank you vomlandholz, two vets heard a 4-5/6 murmur; another heard the sounds with a murmur in the background. the pup is otherwise very healthy; pants but i don't think any differently from any other pup that is running and being a busy pup Max.

All puppies are born with a slight murmur, as the heart valves have not yet matured. How serious is this murmur at three (3) months? Only a proper test will determine that. And what happens later? I agree that euthanasia is a possibility, but one that should not be considered unless it is a last resort, as it is the last resort in itself. Will the puppy grow away from this? That is a possibility, and only time will tell. Bob-O

Get the echo and go from there.

I had a female puppy with a heart murmur, she was otherwise very healthy in appearance. She was shown, did alot of winning and lived until she was 14.

If the pup is still thriving I too would have to further consult with cardio specialist, and see the problem on UltraSound, even then if the pup continues to thrive and possibly could "grow out of it" then I would have give the pup that opportunity I think. Everyone has they're limits, This is going to be financially and emotionally draining for you I wish you the very best, But keep the optomism in play there is a very good chance she could come out of this, especially given that she continues to thrive, If that changed well then the whole plate changes. Good Luck to you and keep us posted.