What heart tests does my dog need? Does less walking shorten his life?

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).

An enlarged heart could mean that your dog is developing heart disease but it could also just be normal for your dog. Your vet could submit a blood test called a proBNP which helps detect heart disease. You could also have a cardiologist perform an ultrasound of her heart to evaluate the function of her hear and measure the size.

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 there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. Restricting activity completely is something I only recommend if the dog is severely affected by the heart disease. Regular mild to moderate exercise it actually thought to be beneficial for dogs that have only mild signs or symptoms of heart disease. I think it is ok for you to take Odin on walks and let him run for short periods of time. If you notice he is tired or breathing heavier, stop exercising him and allow him to rest. If he develops signs of severe heart failure, then exercise could potentially push his heart into cardiac arrest and he could pass away from over exercising. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

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!

The most common cause for an enlarged heart in a smaller breed dog is disease or deterioration of the heart valves. The best test to have done is an Echocardiogram. This is an ultrasound of the heart. It allows visualization of the valves and their function, allows measurement of the thickness of the heart muscles and would allow the doctor to see any other abnormal structures. This is best done by an ultrasound specialist or a board certified pet cardiologist in order to get the most accurate and valuable information. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

There are many medications which can be used to support a failing heart and should be used alongside diuretics in order to help support the function of the heart, reduce fluid build up in the lungs and abdomen and control blood pressure if required. Unfortunately, no cure is available and medications should be adjusted as Zoe's condition changes; many dogs can live for months-years with a heart condition depending on the severity of other health complications which can also occur as they age. Without a full history of all her complaints and recent tests it is impossible to assess her medium-long term prognosis