hi,
hoping someone can give some good advice.
we collected our 8 week old puppy from the breeder just a few days ago.
on the vet visit on friday the vet is very concerned about the pups health.
they want to do a ultersound and tests on his heart.
    really worried the vet reccomends returning him to the breeder.
    advice needed

      thanks

        leanne

Leanne,

If you are unsure of your vets advice,then ask for a second opinion,but personally if a vet recommends you return your puppy to the breeder it is for a good reason,maybe all the pups in the litter have similar health 'defects' or maybe the dam or sire has similar problems and people need to be aware.

If you had a good breeder,then certain health checks would have been carried out on both parents and on the litter?
I think it best to do as your vet suggests for the health of your puppy and if it comes to the worst and the puppy has to be returned then sooner is better than later,it can only become harder for yourselves and the puppy the longer you delay.

I do hope it turns out to be nothing serious and the checks come back as o.k.
regards,Jacqueline.

I can only ditto what has been said. If the vet is that concerend about the puppy at this stage to suggest it be returned then I would do so. Better a bit of heart ache now than lots later on. Let us know how you get on.

Jesse

Depends on what the vet is worried about? I think you need to join and tell us more. also have you contacted the breeder to let them know about the vet's concerns.

I had a Boxer that was diagnosed with heart problems as an older pup so I was already attached and kept him. Breeder couldn't have been more helpful and concerned this was years ago in early days of heart issues in Boxers. If I had found out after a few days don't know what I would have done.

I think you need to find out more to make an informed decision
                                                             Good Luck
                                                                     Anne

Hi Leanne, I'm hoping you bought your puppy from a reputable breeder that does health tests appropriate to the breed.If you did, the breeder will want to know what has happened, and will want to help sort it out. Please get in touch with him/her and put them in the picture.
Getting back to the vet check, it is not that unusual for puppies to have heart murmurs at 8 weeks old. So unless your pup has a severe problem then I wouldn't worry, they out grow the mild murmurs in a matter of weeks. You don't say exactly what the problem is so I'm guessing murmur as it's so common. I hope this gets sorted out quickly for you but do get your breeder onside as some vets do over react. Also you might register with Champdogs (it's free) and you'll be able to come back and chat again, we'll be interested to find out what happens.
All the best, Dawn R.

Apart from saying I am sorry you should contact the breeder straight away and tell them what the vet has said, don't leave it because the longer you do the more difficult it becomes. If you are not sure about the advice you have been given then take the pup to another vet but do it now and tell the breeder what you are going to do.

Also if you join and tell us the breed and a bit more about the circumstances, the more we know the more we may be able to help.

hello again,
managed to join.
thank you all for your replies.
my puppy is a ckcs boy. the vet was vague really. he could not say exactly what the problem is but i did ask about puppy murmurs as i have read a lot on these. he said unfortunately it appears a bit more serious than that and needs to do the tests to grade the problem.
  i have just phoned the breeder who naturally is really upset to hear this and wants her own vet to give a second opinion.
  so tomorrow ' max' goes back. my kids are broken hearted as they fear they wont see him again. we hope deep down he can be returned to us
   but i only want whats best for him.

   leanne

Did you check to ensure that both parents were heart checked and what their scores were?

Jesse

Welcome to the board Leanne, I'm glad your breeder is with you on this, she sounds a good sort. Good luck for the future. Do please let us know how things progress, and ask any questions you like, that's what we're here for, to support eachother.
Dawn R.

Unfortunately a lot of vets see a cavalier & imediately diagnose a heart murmur even when there isn't one because they assume(wrongly)that all cavaliers have heart problems

I've been very careful with my dogs & they come from lines with good heart records. However when I took my youngest for his puppy jabs a locum tried to tell me he had a dreadful murmur. I insisted on seeing the senior vet on duty who could hear nothing. He's 21 months old now & no problem. Non of my other dogs have heart problems either

Puppies can have a slight murmur which disappears after a few weeks

The advantage of seeing your breeder's vet is that they will probably be more used to ckcs, especially if your breeder has a few.

Hope all goes well

Try not to panic too much yet, a lot of pups have what sounds like a murmur at this age, but grow out of it (especially Cavaliers) a vet experienced in the breed will be able to differentiate between a slightly suspect sound and the real thing.
bye

Gwen

Maybe the theory that vets automatically think they have murmours has some truth, when we took our 16yr old CKCS to the vets to be put down he decided that to keep him alive 16 years we must have had LOADS od problems with his heart but in truth the only times hed ever been to the vets were for his vaccinations.

I hope everything go's ok and that the second opinion is more cheerful

Hi glad you joined, hope all goes well for you. It is true most pups seem to have a murmur that goes after a few weeks. The fact that your breed is known to have problems with the heart it is likely your vet did not want to say "bring him back at 4 month and we will see what he is like then" in case it was a heart condition, guess he did not want to commit himself and would rather pass the buck.

Hope everything goes well and you soon have your baby back home with you.