Doe's anyone have any experience of heart murmers with their dog?
I have a six year old bitch who supposedly as this condition,one vet says yes another says no?
She is not on any medication she is fit and well goe's for a run twice a day, and there is no coughing or signs of stress when she's out running and chasing the voles in the hedge rows. I would have liked to have had one last litter with her to have kept a couple of puppies for show but now I'm not sure what to do?

thanks

a friend of mine has a lurcher (bedlington/greyhound) this dog was diagnosed as a youngster with a HM .my friend thought well he could still work the dog and see how it went from there and this dog was worked HARD.he was such a good dog with such stamina my friend thought there must be a mistake but he kept getting checks and the HM was still there sometimes slightly better sometimes a litltle worse than the original diagnosis .well the dog has now been retired and living the good life at 10 years old now and still as fit as a fiddle and his heart is still missing the odd beat.i am almost sure it is not hereditary as this dog has no offspring with the condition,i hope it isn't anyway as my brother has a HM and has just had a son (well his missus has).

Go for a vet that specialises in Cardiology.
You can have proper tests done such as Doppler, ECG etc.
My breed (Boxer) does suffer with heart-murmers, something which most reputable breeders are trying to eradicate. There is a heart-testing scheme and then tested bitches and dogs are placed on a heart-tested clear list. (for dogs that have been scored zero or grade 1) Our gradings go from zero (best) to 6(worst) and only dogs graded zeros or ones are considered clear for breeding purposes. There are a panel of vets that do the recognised stethoscope testing and then referral if the grading is severe for doppler etc.
Kind Regards
Kirstine

I would ask for a referal to a veterianary cardioligist. they will be abole to advise if the murmer is significant.

Heart Murmurs

I think it depends on the degree of the murmur. I have a 7 year old GSP with a murmur that was diagnosed at 3 years of age. I was told that he would need tests to determine the extent of the problem and that he would need to be on medication for the rest of his life. We opted for neither. He is an extremely active dog and lives his life at a hectic pace. We couldn't slow him down even if we wanted too :-) Yes, he does cough on waking and sometimes if he has really been acting like a loony which is most of the time :rolleyes: I tend to keep his weight in check and keep him fit and so far so good. I was worried that he would have a heart attack but my vet assured me that a heart murmur in dogs is not the same as in humans. He did tell me that my dog would not make old bones, but he is now 7 and still going strong. If your vets can't agree if your dog has one or not then I would hazard a guess that it can not be that severe. I know it is a shock being told that your dog has a heart murmur, but in my case, it has made no difference to my dog at all. He has a great life and it hasn't stopped him from enjoying it :-)

Personally, I would not breed from an animal with this defect.

Good Luck with your dog.