Cardiomyopathy in dogs: Is exercise safe or should it be limited?

It is helpful to keep him fit but without overexertion. regular lead walking is preferable as this will not massively increase the strain on his heart, if he is panting or breathless you should reduce the speed and distance. Indoor fetch or playing hide/seek rather than throwing the ball long distance is preferable to repeated sprinting for a toy which can be high intensity exercise

Hi and thanks for posting! Managing activity and stress level is very important with cardiac disease patients. Short leashed walks to go to the bathroom and around the block should be okay. I would try and minimize long walks and running. A harness that goes around the chest should be used to minimize pressure on the trachea which could exacerbate her condition. Minimizing stressful situations can be helpful as well. For example, if going to the vet's office is stressful and causes her to collapse, then you may want to consider having a house call visit instead which may be much less stressful for her. I hope this helps!

Hi there. If Theodore is acting normal, you shouldn't need to change anything about his normal daily routine or activities. A heart murmur doesn't necessarily mean that there is anything actually wrong with his heart, and many types of heart disease do not require exercise restriction regardless. So I wouldn't get too concerned or change anything major unless your veterinarian confirms there is an actual problem, via chest x-rays and ultrasound of his heart.

I do not recommend using a treadmill for exercise. It is easy for a dog to step off of the path and Bruno could seriously harm himself. Any new exercise needs to slowly worked up to, I would not expect Bruno to be able to start running for an hour straight! Going for walks is a great form of exercise, but if he needs more and you are not able to run with him, you can train him to fetch or have a friend or dogwalker take him out for additional exercise. There is only one blood test that relates to the heart that I am aware of. It is called proBNP and helps vets differentiate primary heart disease from primary lung disease, this is often used in cases of dogs in Congestive Heart Failure. It would not be an appropriate screening test for Bruno. Other ways of monitoring for heart disease would include listening for a murmur, checking pulse and blood pressure, ECG, thoracic x-rays, and echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart).

It depends on the type of heart condition, as there are many. Tests to evaluate heart disease can include x-rays, ultrasound, or electrocardiogram to check his heart rhythm and electrical activity. Depending on the condition it may be beneficial to avoid strenuous exercise. I'd recommend discussing it with your veterinarian.

Activity restriction is paramount during treatment as worm death is occurring. I have attached a website link that can provide much more in depth information than can be written here. There is a pet owner information link there. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCoach! https://www.heartwormsociety.org

Hello, good questions. Just like in people, dogs are healthier and on average will live longer, healthier lives if they are kept active, lean, and fit. No one can predict if a dog will get liver/kidney/heart disease down the road, but keeping them active is an important component to helping them stay healthy in general. Getting dogs out for walks is also important to their mental stimulation, as it allows them to see, smell, and hear a variety of things. Some people do successfully exercise their dogs on a treadmill, but there are absolutely dangers to this, and doing so requires careful training. A typical dog's first response to being on a treadmill will be to run away (it's scary when the ground moves from under you!), and they can get hurt in the process. I would not recommend attempting to put Bruno on a treadmill unless you are an experienced dog trainer and are comfortable with doing so in a safe and positive way. If Bruno likes chasing balls, throwing a ball for him is a much safer way for many owners to give their dogs some good exercise and mental stimulation. Just as human athletes need to gradually increase their workouts, you may gradually lengthen Bruno's play/running sessions as he appears comfortable. I would start with 15 minutes of running and increase the time according to his enthusiasm and energy level. A very fit dog can run for hours, as long as the weather is cool and there are frequent stops to drink water!