heart murmer?

[shidea]

Hello everyone,I had Zues at the vet yesterday for his cough and I was told that he has an ear infection and a heart murmer. Now the vet told me that 1 in every 4 puppys have one and they just go away but with boxers there is a chance that it wont!! She also told me that I wont be able to know until he is 6 months. I am so upset and worried right now I was hoping someone might know something about this. thanks again

 

[matilda8255]

Puppy murmurs are usually not a big deal and most will go away. Did they tell you what grade murmer it was? My grandfather had a grade three murmur from the time he was born until he died this past year at 89. He never ever had a single problem from the murmur and died from cancer. Don't panic be patient it will probably go away.

 

[ssleighter]

I don't know about Boxer's but my little peke mix had a heart murmer from birth as well. It was a Grade 3 till she turned 13 then it got to be Grade 4-5. She was placed on meds at that point because her heart was also enlarged, but she lived happily until she was one month shy of 15 years!! Hammer sends good ~~~~vibes~~~~ to Zeus that he is OK for many years to come!

 

[Jan Aponte]

Hi, my Max had a heart murmor as a puppy and never out grew it.
The vet just kept an eye on him and it never got worse. When Max died in December it was his kidneys but probably caused by his heart (the vet did not say anything about the murmor). He was also 10 1/2 years old and had other problems too. He had prostate problems, hip displysia and alergies. So if the heart murmor stays with your baby and never gets any worse I would feel like you're okay. Only my opinion. Right now I am torn between neutering my new baby, Toby and leaving him alone. I just don't know what I should do, so if you have any suggestions or opinions feel free to give them to me. Oh, Toby is a Boxer also, and he is 11 month old.

Good Luck

 

[VTbxrFan]

I have a foster girl with a heart murmur, so I've recently learned more on this topic. A puppy heart murmur will often go away, so for now you probably should just wait and see what happens. If the murmur remains when your pup is an adult, additional testing should be done to determine the cause and severity of the murmur (by a cardiologist). That will help determine the prognosis and treatment options for you dog.

My girl recently had her testing done, and although their are no guarantees, the cardiologist does not believe that it will have any impact on the quality or length of her life, and he does not recommend any treatment or medication at this time. She's getting adopted this weekend by a wonderful family who will continue to monitor her condition and give her the care that she needs. They are a little nervous, but I'm so glad they are willing to give her a chance. She's 3 1/2 and a very spunky girl -- she shows no signs at all of being sick.

 

[matilda8255]

Jan Aponte, If you already had one dog with prostate problems why wouldn't you neuter Toby? If you are not breeding him please please neuter him. If you do a search here there are thousands of reasons to neuter and only one not to, breeding.

 

[Muttluvr]

Apollo was diagnosed with a grade 3 murmur on his first vet visit (8 weeks), on his 3rd visit (13 weeks) to the vet he said it was much better, more like a grade 2.

Last visit (15 weeks) he couldn't even hear it (but he said there still might be a grade 1 murmur, just too light to hear)

 

[dbjr77]

We just brought our second boxer boy Kahless home last Friday, after a wonderful bonding weekend (Tiberius LOVES him) we took him to our vet for a check up. Our vet found a heart murmur. She explained that he could grow out of it, or live with it forever and have no troubles. She is a holistic vet and reccomended a few supplements Carnatine, CoQ10 and Taurine. She also suggested feeding both of the boys raw beef or lamb hearts. Apparently there are nutrients that will help his heart grow and become stronger. We went to the butcher today and bought our first beef heart, tonight it was served and well received! They both LOVE IT! So we will just have to wait and see what happens. Kahless will go to a cardo doc when he is a bit older.
Good luck with your puppy!

 

[Muttluvr]

The heart is for the taurine. I fed Apollo extra taurine too. Not sure if it helped or not, but I feel better

 

[shidea]

well thank you everyone for your replies i feel so much better now. my boyfriend told me not to worry about it but.... i would just like to say that this place and all of you are GREAT!!!:D