Meeka17 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi Everyone, I have put a deposit down to purchase a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel from a registered breeder. I put a lot of research into selecting a breeder as I wanted a reputable breeder that is concerned with genetic problems i.e. Mitral Valve Disease. The breeder I am purchasing my Blenheim female from has 2 female Cavalier's which are sisters and she did a thorough history check of these Cavalier's and they come from champion bloodlines and appear to have no bad cases of MVD through the mother's side. The father also was properly selected and appeared to be clear to the owner of any genetic problems as there was also a history check done on the father. My breeder has never had any problems with any puppies in all previous litters she has bred and there has been no problems with other litters the father has bred. My puppy went for her 6 week health check yesterday and a Level 1 heart murmur was found in my puppy. Myself and the breeder are absolutely devastated! The vet seemed quite positive that this is an innocent murmur and she should grow out of it by 12 weeks of age. The breeder has a second litter to the same father and is getting them vet checked on Tuesday and is also taking my puppy back for a second opinion. If any of the puppies from the other litter have a murmur she wants to get her dam's desexed as she doesn't want to breed problematic puppies. Does anybody have any advice on puppy murmur's? What are the chances of this being a puppy murmur or the early onset of MVD? I'm finding it really difficult to make a decision whether the still purchase this puppy as I don't want to get her and then she dies at 2 years old but then I really have my heart set on her as I have become attached to her because I have been getting weekly photo updates from the breeder from 2 weeks of age! HELP! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! She is absolutely adorable! Attached is a photo at 6 weeks old. Regards, Tameka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue & crew Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 It's a hard call and I don't envy you. The general advice is to not take her and have a different puppy and that is probably the sensible thing to do. However, having said that I'm a soft touch and would still take her, albeit at a reduced price and monitor regularly. If as your vet says it will clear by 12 wks, all well and good, if it doesn't she still will need a home and a loving family and will most probably enjoy a normal life. I have a foster boy, 6mths old with a mild heart murmur at the moment and believe me he's not compromised in any way LoL At the end of the day, take into consideration what you want out of this puppy - are you wanting to show or do agility etc - and then go with your gut instinct and what feels right. That's probably not much help and is at the end of the day how I would feel and I'm not in your situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody2shoes Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Hi Tameeka, I really feel for you having to make such a tough decision but would recommend you wait and get that second opinion before deciding on anything. If you are really lucky, you won't have to make the tough decision at all but if you do, be guided by your instinct. It will serve you well. Cheers, and best of luck. w2s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cockerlover Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 omg how cute ,If she has won your heart, then imo shes the one for you!! I had a boy in one of my litters Who was diagnosed with a servere heart murmur rated ^6 which is very high !!all vets that i consolted advised to pts ! but i trusted & I gave him to a wonderfull couple who had purchased his litter bother (They fell In love with him & wanted to give him a chance in life ,knowing full well of his problem)& the fact that he may have only survived a matter of weeks let alone months, BUT here now some 18mnths down the track He is still going strong & on a par with his litter brother in all aspects !!!!! The new owners sought specialist advise recently ,because they wanted to desex & were concerned re heart condition ,he was given examination&the results of such were That he (Charlie Chance) is now rated 3#& expected to live a perfectly nomal life There is a very good chance your baby will out grow her murmur & #1 should not be a great problem ,I would be discussing with the breeder though Re payment ,If it were I <I would be placing her in yr care free of charge . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeka17 Posted December 7, 2008 Author Share Posted December 7, 2008 It's a hard call and I don't envy you. The general advice is to not take her and have a different puppy and that is probably the sensible thing to do.However, having said that I'm a soft touch and would still take her, albeit at a reduced price and monitor regularly. If as your vet says it will clear by 12 wks, all well and good, if it doesn't she still will need a home and a loving family and will most probably enjoy a normal life. I have a foster boy, 6mths old with a mild heart murmur at the moment and believe me he's not compromised in any way LoL At the end of the day, take into consideration what you want out of this puppy - are you wanting to show or do agility etc - and then go with your gut instinct and what feels right. That's probably not much help and is at the end of the day how I would feel and I'm not in your situation Hey, Thanks for your thoughts. I do agree with you that at the end of the day she will still need a home and if I didn't take her I will always be wondering what ever happened to her and if she ended up living a healthy life? The breeder is happy to give her to me at a reduced price if I still want to take her at 8 weeks otherwise she is happy to hold until 12 weeks to see how her health is then. If I wait I do miss out on 4 weeks of puppy which is sad for me because I have been on the count down until I get her and was looking forward to having new puppy at Christmas time! I don't think I will show the dog I really just want a companion that I can spoil. I just wish I had a crystal ball to predict the future but my instinct is telling me to get this puppy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeka17 Posted December 7, 2008 Author Share Posted December 7, 2008 omg how cute ,If she has won your heart, then imo shes the one for you!!I had a boy in one of my litters Who was diagnosed with a servere heart murmur rated ^6 which is very high !!all vets that i consolted advised to pts ! but i trusted & I gave him to a wonderfull couple who had purchased his litter bother (They fell In love with him & wanted to give him a chance in life ,knowing full well of his problem)& the fact that he may have only survived a matter of weeks let alone months, BUT here now some 18mnths down the track He is still going strong & on a par with his litter brother in all aspects !!!!! The new owners sought specialist advise recently ,because they wanted to desex & were concerned re heart condition ,he was given examination&the results of such were That he (Charlie Chance) is now rated 3#& expected to live a perfectly nomal life There is a very good chance your baby will out grow her murmur & #1 should not be a great problem ,I would be discussing with the breeder though Re payment ,If it were I <I would be placing her in yr care free of charge . That's a lovely story and I'm so glad it all worked out on the positive side! Hopefully considering my puppies murmur is only a #1 she will grow out of it and grow to be a happy and healthy dog. Thanks for your support. I appreciate the comments I am getting on here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Personally as a breeder if i breed a dog with a suspect condition it wouldnt be leaving until 12 weeks & over. We breed a puppy with a murmur.There,s not an issue in the breed but its was something we have never had.The pup stayed till 4 months when we where satisfied of its future & had regular checks during its advancement in activity level. If it was in its best interest to PTS we would have,if it could have lived a good quality but on mes we would have keeped it As heart meds are very expensive & something you need to factor into the equation. Being a loving owner many can do but paying out anywhere from $100 a month for meds is not something everyone can afforded. It went to a new home & is fine .The murmur went away but it wasnt a breed like cavies known for there issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavandra Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 The puppy needs to stay with the breeder until it is cleared of any health problem. It is most likely an innocent murmur, benign murmurs dissappear between 12-15 weeks of age. It will not be MVD..... It might be patent ductus...if it is PDA then the dog will die in the first year of life usually if not surgically corrected....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeka17 Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 Hi Everyone, Just thought I thank the people that have given me advice about the heart murmur detected in my puppy. She went for another check at the vets yesterday and was examined by 2 different vets and both of the vets could barely hear her murmur. It is barely even a Level 1 murmur. The vets tell me it is very unlikey that the murmur is related to Mitral Valve Disease as this condition is usually diagnosed when the dog is nearly an adult. The murmur is not continuous either which is a good sign that the murmur is not Patent Ductus Arteriosis as the murmur should be continuous if the puppy has this condition. The vet told me if she was in my shoes she would still go ahead with the purchase so that is what I am doing. I feel very reassured considering the vets are so positive. There are no guarantees that she will develop Mitral Valve Disease later on in life but that is the risk that needs to be taken when purchasing a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as that condition is prevalent in the breed. The vet also did say that it is common for 10% of puppies to have innocent murmurs that clear up. Hopefully everything works out okay and I'm very excited to be picking up my Blenheim girl this Sunday. Thanks, Tameka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue & crew Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Hi Everyone,Just thought I thank the people that have given me advice about the heart murmur detected in my puppy. She went for another check at the vets yesterday and was examined by 2 different vets and both of the vets could barely hear her murmur. It is barely even a Level 1 murmur. The vets tell me it is very unlikey that the murmur is related to Mitral Valve Disease as this condition is usually diagnosed when the dog is nearly an adult. The murmur is not continuous either which is a good sign that the murmur is not Patent Ductus Arteriosis as the murmur should be continuous if the puppy has this condition. The vet told me if she was in my shoes she would still go ahead with the purchase so that is what I am doing. I feel very reassured considering the vets are so positive. There are no guarantees that she will develop Mitral Valve Disease later on in life but that is the risk that needs to be taken when purchasing a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as that condition is prevalent in the breed. The vet also did say that it is common for 10% of puppies to have innocent murmurs that clear up. Hopefully everything works out okay and I'm very excited to be picking up my Blenheim girl this Sunday. Thanks, Tameka Congratualations Tameka!! I'm sure all will be well and you're going to have a lot of fun with this pup Enjoy and have a lovely Christmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabertooth Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 Hi, just wanted to say that my mum got a pup with a heart murmur and he lived a great life to the age of 14yrs when he got very sick and had to be pts. so even if it does not fully go away you may still have a long and happy life with her. enjoy your new puppy sabertooth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
japtzu Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 We rescued a young dog with a grade 3 or above murmur at age 10 months and the vet said that it was too old to be a juevenile mumor. They told me to have it cardiac ultrasounded at age 2 to decide on appropriate treatment. I decided to look into other non conventional treatments and found RObert McDowell in Bathurst who makes homeopathic remedies. I purchased and used the Heart Repair tonic for about 6 months and the dog has now turned 2 and has been completely cleared of ANY detectable mumur!!! A far cry from the mumur that could be felt and heard with no problems previously. The tonic if anyone was interested is http://www.herbal-treatments.com/dog_heart_repair.html. It may be coincidence but I think the stuff is amazing!!! Kate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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