Grade 3/4 Heart Murmur

[tanteNdut]

We went to the vet yesterday because my dog has blood in her urine, I thought that was my biggest problem until we discovered that she's got a heart murmur. The vet didn't specify exactly how bad it is, but she did say that it's a grade 3 or 4...and looking at the vet's face when she said that my dog will have a shorter lifespan it doesn't look good at all

She's a little over a year now, I just got her about a month ago and she's been a real couch potato. I was always worried about her sleeping so much but my OH convinced me that she's just a low energy dog (we've been watching the dog whisperer). But now I think the reason why she sleeps so much and she barely play is because she's tired all the time.

I'm extremely stressed now, trying not to google too much about heart murmur and just concentrate on the urine problem....but as you all know, it's pretty much impossible not to google it. So I did, and I read a lot of the threads about heart murmur in this forum but most of them are either in really young puppies or older dogs. Has anyone have experience similar to this?

We're not due for another vet visit until her test result came back for her urine sample, so it's going to be a long painful wait. I also notice that for the past 3-4 days her breathing is a lot faster than usual and she's been sleeping a lot more (if it's even possible). We tried taking her for a walk yesterday but by the time we came home, her breathing was really loud and it didn't go back to her normal (fast) breathing until about 4 hours later.

I'm cutting back on the playing and exercise, usually I would take her to the dog park for 1 - 1.5 hours after work. She's a really sweet dog and really timid, I don't think she's going to miss going to the park although I think I'll still take her to the park on Saturday mornings so she can play with her friends.

Other suggestions will be much appreciated

[Darkrai]

Just take it easy with her, the more playful and longer excersie can put strain on her heart, which causes her to be tired.

The main thing you can do with her is gie her all the love and attention you can give her, some vets will say they wont live long, but some have been known to live full long lives.

I had a Shih Tzu with a Grade 3 heart murmur about 3yrs ago, he was so active he insisted on chasing sheep But as the vet told me when he went into get desexed if it was on the otherside he wouldnt hae been able to desex him.

If you can and the blood in urine isnt anything to do with the murmur track down a heart specialtist and have a talk to them

Best of luck with her

[tanteNdut]

Just take it easy with her, the more playful and longer excersie can put strain on her heart, which causes her to be tired.

The main thing you can do with her is gie her all the love and attention you can give her, some vets will say they wont live long, but some have been known to live full long lives.

I had a Shih Tzu with a Grade 3 heart murmur about 3yrs ago, he was so active he insisted on chasing sheep But as the vet told me when he went into get desexed if it was on the otherside he wouldnt hae been able to desex him.

If you can and the blood in urine isnt anything to do with the murmur track down a heart specialtist and have a talk to them

Best of luck with her

Thanks for the reply Darkrai! Is your boy on any medications for the heart murmur?

We just got her, so we're still trying to figure things out and that's why we thought she was just a couch potato. The heart murmur really is a nasty surprise! She's got tons of love and cuddles when we're at home. We're having some problems with the insurance as well, so I'll have to wait and have a talk to my OH about our next step.

My first dog has a heart murmur, but I wasn't worried at all because it was only a grade 2 and he was a happy and active dog. Bobbi has always been a little fragile girl, she's a special girl who needs special attention

[Staranais]

Hope she's OK. Not much you can do except encourage her to take it easy & not over-exert herself, until your vet finds out what's causing the murmur (as grade just means how loud it is - the grade by itself doesn't tell you much about the underlying pathology).

[tanteNdut]

Hope she's OK. Not much you can do except encourage her to take it easy & not over-exert herself, until your vet finds out what's causing the murmur (as grade just means how loud it is - the grade by itself doesn't tell you much about the underlying pathology).

Thanks Staranais :D

We have an appointment this Saturday, apparently her urine test came back with a weird result. The vet said that there are lots of sediments in it and she wants to do a blood check up and check her kidney for stones. I'm planning to have another chat about the heart murmur and see if we can get a referral to a specialist.

Wish us luck!