I am just wondering if anyone has any experience of this condition. My 11 month old lurcher has been very lethargic for a few months. He has had blood tests and faecal tests but nothing was found so i requested a referral to a specialist. He has now been diagnosed with the above and is currently on vetmedin and gomega and he has to go back next week to have his bloood pressure checked to see if it has increased enough for him to be able to tolerate an ACE inhibitor. I am still awaiting blood results to see if he has a thyroid or taurine issue in which case it may be reversible but the specialist thinks it is unlilkely and it is going to be idiopathic in origin. Does anyone have any experience they can share with me please. I undestand he is an unusual breed to have it and very young to have it but any experience is welcome. Thank you

So sorry. Have you spoken to his breeder to see if any of his siblings are having the same problem? It would also give them a heads up re repeating such a pairing in the future.

Yes I have told his breeder. Unfortunately he was less than interested and said I must have done something to cause it as he has both mum and dad and kept 3 of the litter and they are all fine.

So sorry to hear this.  DCM is an evil disease, I've lost one dog to it and may well lose Paige to it as well.  It's very unusual to see it in a dog so young too.  His breeder cannot categorically state that the other dogs have it unless they each have an echo scan - often it does not show symptoms until it is quite advanced and the only way to definitively say whether or not a dog has it is by echo.  A shameful response from the breeder I must say, DCM can be hereditary :-(

Just a note re. the thyroid - whatever you do, get a copy of the figures - far, FAR too often thyroid problems are ignored because the numbers are still in range when it is actually a problem.  If anything is in the bottom 25% of its range (and you should be getting a full panel - free T4, free T3, total T4, total T3, TSH, TgAA antibodies - as anything less is not really sufficient for diagnosis), send the figures along with his breed type, age and weight over to Dr Jean Dodds (of Hemopet), she has a wealth of information on breed-specific ranges and optimal levels and is IMO the foremost thyroid expert worldwide.

All that said, if it is simply DCM; vetmedin is an excellent drug, and can make a massive difference to lifespan.  You'll need to keep a check on his heart rate and rhythm, and breathing rate, ideally weekly so you can spot any changes quickly.  Keeping your dog fit and healthy is very important too, although I'm sure you know that :-)

I'm not sure what else to say really - the dog I lost was a dobe, and they are hit far worse than any other breed with this disease so she's not really a good comparison.

My last dog had DCM although she didn't develop it until she was twelve years, but I have suspicions that she may have had it far longer. It wasn't until her heart was very large that it became an issue. She was on Frusimide as well as Vetmedin and did extremely well after the drug regime was started and lasted another three years, which was pretty good considering she was a large breed and was over the breed average. I let her go at her own pace, on vets advice, and didn't mollycoddle her and she was happy and content. Her main problem was if it was very warm weather and I found a cool coat very effective, or a dip in a nice cool stream. Good luck with your dog and I hope the drugs help and his condition improves.