Heart Murmur at 8 weeks

razoni

Hi,
Just wanting a little advice, I finally got my 8 week old Bedlington terrier on Saturday and took him for his first vaccinations today(monday). The vet checked his heart and said he had a heart murmur-she didn't seem overly concerned and said this will need checking next week when we go back for his next lot of vaccinations.

I have let the breeder know who advised he has only ever had one other puppy from this Mother/Father with a heart mumur which was one his daughter had. This went away by the second vaccinations.

Hopefully it will go away (touch wood) However I guess I wont be insured if it doesn't. Is this something I should be worried about? He has been so good the past couple of days and couldn't tell a thing is wrong with him.

Thanks.

Person_one

I don't know about heart murmurs in dogs, but its quite common for human babies to have them in the first few weeks and months and then they either go away, or they have absolutely no impact for the rest of that person's life.

More severe ones can need monitoring, and possibly treating, but I wouldn't be too worried at this stage.

Slinky

My cat had a heart murmur - he lived to 20 so it's not neccesarily life limiting or something to worry about.

ElusiveLucy

My cat has had one all her life and is now 13 and doing well, so not a major concern.

teddysmum

I have a breed (CKCS) which is prone to heart problems,mainly with the mitral valve causing murmurs, which get worse as the dog ages.


However,some puppies are born with a slight murmur and this disappears as the puppy matures.


There is also the possibility that your vet just thought they detected the murmur.


This happened with my Teddy, at about 4 years old, but the same vet, and others in the practice, have not heard one since and he's still heart clear at 12 years plus.

geordielass

When we took our new puppy for her vet check she detected a heart murmur. Breeder said her vets had not noticed anything wrong...she was a horrible person and not interested once she had sold puppy on. She told me if I didn't want her to take her back and she would get her put down. Of course we couldn't do that.

Puppy came with six weeks free KC insurance. We took her to a specialist vet who done scans and diagnosed a narrowed left ventricle. She could have had an op but we decided to leave it and see what happened. Insurance paid for the scans (£600) and I continued with the KC insurance for the first year. Price went up massively for the next year so I changed insurer and excluded heart condition. I have been paying an extra £30 into a bank account since we got her(six years) to cover any treatment which may arise from her heart condition and also continue with pet insurance which covers everything else.

She is fit and healthy and has had no problems whatsoever. Hopefully this will continue.

Sagz_2

It's not that unusal in pups, most murmurs cure themselves as the pup matures, so no need to worry just yet x

razoni

Hi thanks for your advice that's a good idea saving some extra cash just in case I think I will do that. Thank you.

razoni

Hi
Had his 2nd lot of injections today and vet couldn't hear a heart murmur so all is good thanks.

Sagz_2

Excellent news!

Any chance of a pic please?

geordielass

That's brilliant news. Have fun with your new additon to the family.