I was just wondering how these were picked up? My friend has just came back from the vets to have her rescue dog checked over (clean bill of health) but was explaining to her that a lot of cavaliers have to be on medication as they get older,Is it picked up on routine visits for booster injections or are there symptoms?.Also can you tell by just listening to there hearts or is there a special test?.I am not worried about this now but I should really know it for the future.

Heart murmurs should be checked for yearly in Cavaliers & it can be done by your GP vet Dogs do not have the same heart rthymn as a human so if you listen yourself it will not sound like a human heart even if there is nothing wrong with the dogs heart

I give my oldest boy Co-Enzyme Q10 & vit E for his heart & Essential Fish oils for his joints. He does have a grade 2-3 murmur but he doesn't cough or get distressed however his younger brother died a few weeks go when his heart which was enlarged gave out

My other two are in good health even though the youngest has SHM(syringohydromyelia)

BTW I do not booster my dogs following the death of our first cavalier three weeks after his booster & the PM showed it was vaccinosis that killed him

T hank you Moonmaiden, Do you know the percentages of the likelyhood of developing a murmur?.My oldest boy is unfortunately from a puppy farm but my puppy came from a proper breeder who tested and in his pedigree seems to have lots of Leelyn dogs dotted about in it which seems a very good line.I was not aware of SHM until I joined champdogs .How common is this ?.Can you recommend any good books on ckcs I have the book on them published by T.F.H but it is very general apart from the first 2 chapters.Thank you again.