My new Malamute puppy (born 10/27/08) was diagnosed by my vet with heart murmur grade 1 i got a second opinion and they had the same conclusion. My vet said no weight pulls for him and no high impact actvity and suggested hundreds of dollars worth of tests before she would neuter him. Time to find a new vet or should i trust her. ( i know this is a chessie site but havent found a good malamute site yet sorry )

Megan,
1st, don't 'be sorry'. Any dog IS still a dog!! Worthy of our love & respect!! Besides, not every dog gets to be a chessie
(tehehe).

You said you went to TWO vets (opinions) and the determination was the same.
Different practices or two vets in same practice/office?
Was examination based on merely listening to heart with a stethoscope or was an EKG done?
Or an ultrasound of the heart (valves) to show severity?

Since your Malamute is only 4 months old, I would be 'concerned'. If the heart has a congential defect, the mere normal growth of the puppy could exerasperate the situation. The heart (and valves) may grow/form inconsistently at such an young age.

I would contact the breeder (or where you got the dog) and find out if there are ANY heart problems found in the line and breeding. Ask for atleast 3-5 generations of both sides of the pedigree. Esp to determine if multiple heart problems (or types/conditions) existed.

Any 'blood work' done? CPK enzyme (with some others) would be elevated and provide a clue to how severe the condition.

Sorry to hear this. Any of our beloved animals who suffer a premature illness/disease is tradgic. Esp a pup.

In my Prayers,
Best Wishes for All,
Charlie

I took him to two differnt offices for basic exams. I guess the next step is testing. I only wish i could afford to have his heart repaired so he can fufill his sled pulling needs. He is a big boy 14 weeks and 44 pounds.

How old is he? I've heard that a heart murmur diagnosed in a young pup can disappear with maturity.

That said, I've also heard of heart murmurs that were diagnosed and non-existent when the dog was examined by a specialst.

I have a CBR who was tenatively diagnosed with a heart murmur, but I also had reason to suspect a problem based on her intolerence to strenuous activity so I took her in to my vet. He diagnosed a heart murmur with his stethescope, but also did an EKG which indicated there was a problem and sent her to the heart specialist for an ultrasound and further confirmation. The ultra sound indicated she has sub-aortic stenosis. Total cost of all the tests was about $500 but was worth it to know that there really was a problem. She is, however, 4 years old and this was last year.

Sometimes with something like this it's necessary to go the extra mile to make sure.

As someone else indicated, talk to your breeder first.

Kathy Miller

Megan, Kathy is correct. An accurate accessment of if there is a problem, esp at such a young age, is prudent.

However, contact the breeder first. The info you can gather will determine how you should proceed.
It there is heart problems in the pedigree (either side), you will gain insight on how severe and how prevalent it is.
Also, if congenital or heredity, the heart may or may not be repairable, just controlable by limiting activity.
Also, you may find No Heart Problems reported, which may be indicative of either just your pup or a "stage" situation where
the heart is not growing at the same rate as the body - esp since 44 lbs at 14 weeks. This could "balance itself out" as the dog matures.

It could be "strenuous activity" is straining the heart due to the weight compared to age.

-Charlie

I would listen to kathy. I have been told the same that as they get older it can disappear. Plus I have heard it is very difficult to hear a heart murmur. Kathy gave good advice.

Megan,

I concur with the advice given so far. In addition, I would add that heart defects may or may not be debilitating, depending on the type and severity. My pick of the litter from a previous breeding was diagnosed at about six months of age with a grade 1 heart murmur. The defect was subsequently confirmed at about 18 months by ultrasound. I will not use this dog for breeding nor did I train it for field trial competition, but I can tell you that he is highly active, exhibits the normal degree of stamina, and is apparently unaffected by the defect. I think that as an owner of such a dog you must be responsible in what you ask of the animal. The trial training program involves the use of "forcing" methods to encourage the dog to work as hard as it can. I could not with a clear concious force a dog that I did not think was 100% healty. On the other hand, if you pay attention the animal will let you know what he/she can handle. The dog is question is now five and he is a great companion and an avid retriever of anything that he can get ahold of.

Thanks Everyone.. I have really been torn on what to do. He is not fat just to clarify hes actually a bit thinner than his littermates(we all have puppy class together) Since i know he has a murmur i have been not keeping him plump ( he was when we got him) His parents arent fat and they are each about 100 pounds. these Are supposedly Giants because she specifically breed the biggest she could find. So i knew Some health problem might be in store how ever i thought it would be further down the road. my mom used to be a vet. tech and is currently a nurse she sadi she can deffinatly hear it but she wouldnt say it was grade 1 this was after playing for 30 minutes with her pups and my other 3 dogs. guess i will get the echo and see what comes of that and try to keep him as long as i can as healthy as i can.( my stepson offered to quit his meds so the dog could get them if needed what a sweet heart) what a bummer deal for my lover boy Kobuk.

quote:

Posted Wed February 18 2009 12:45 PM Hide Post
Megan,

I concur with the advice given so far. In addition, I would add that heart defects may or may not be debilitating, depending on the type and severity. My pick of the litter from a previous breeding was diagnosed at about six months of age with a grade 1 heart murmur. The defect was subsequently confirmed at about 18 months by ultrasound. I will not use this dog for breeding nor did I train it for field trial competition, but I can tell you that he is highly active, exhibits the normal degree of stamina, and is apparently unaffected by the defect. I think that as an owner of such a dog you must be responsible in what you ask of the animal. The trial training program involves the use of "forcing" methods to encourage the dog to work as hard as it can. I could not with a clear concious force a dog that I did not think was 100% healty. On the other hand, if you pay attention the animal will let you know what he/she can handle. The dog is question is now five and he is a great companion and an avid retriever of anything that he can get ahold of.

Well said. I realized Halley had a problem when I started doing field work with her. She can't be bred either or do field work with her, but she is an awesome companion and I can still do obedience with her and agility if we watch for signs of stress. So I had her spayed and am continuing with her training.

Kathy Miller

Here's a good article on Heart Murmurs.

http://www.veterinarypartner.c...x?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2488

Puppis may present with a grade I murmur that they may or maynot grow out of. I would give your puppy sometime to "grow up" and if the murmur is still present at his one year check up testing to find out what the cause is maybe in order. I wouldn't rush into testing right now unless he is showing signs of a problem. Testing would include radiographs, bloodwork, ekg and a echocardiogram usually done by a board certified cardiologist.

Contrary to what people think if your Veterinarian is any good at all they will be able to pick up the quitest murmurs. A cardiologist would be the one to seek if going to check out the murmur, ordianary vets usually don't know how to interpert(sp) echo's. They just don't do enough to be good at them.

Good luck and I would continue normal activity.

I wanted to let everyone know that i had kobuks chest xray done (which determined nothing really) and then an echo. then he was nuetered. I guess he sounds like he might be getting better on his own. The vet said his heart looks ok and keep doing what i am doing. Becuase all my dogs look great. :-) what a relief I was so happy to have him back home. He is a sweet boy and good with the kids!!

Glad to hear everything checked out ok.

quote:

if you pay attention the animal will let you know what he/she can handle

.

Good advice. Misty had a grade 1 heart murmur and it didn't slow her down at all. Our vet suggested just to run her and watch for problems. She ran field trials until she died of torsion at age 9. The only possible effect that we were ever able to see was an enlarged heart, which had a vet used to working with lap dogs all atwitter, but our vet said, "Hell, that's just the heart of an athlete." As your pup gets older and stronger, he may well be able to handle full exertion, don't give up the ship yet.