My 11-week puppy has a heart murmur. How concerned should I be?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your potential new puppy. Young puppies can occasionally have what is known as an innocent murmur. This is a heart murmur they will outgrow usually by 6 months of age and is not associated with any ongoing disease. Other murmurs are associated with congenital heart disease and go on to cause the puppy significant disease. I recommend having the puppy evaluated by a board certified veterinary cardiologist. A procedure known as an echocardiogram will likely be needed to assess for any structural heart disease. This will give you the longterm prognosis for the puppy. I hope this information helps!

Most dogs with a heart murmurs are fine and symptom free, there is no way to know for sure but when she is a little older you can ask your vet to refer you to a cardiology specialist to have a few tests done to check if her heart is in healthy condition.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Soren. A heart murmur is due to a leaky valve in the heart allowing blood to flow in the wrong direction. I typically recommend having x-rays taken of the chest to evaluate the heart and lungs. I will a lot of times recommended an ultrasound of the heart knowns as an echocardiogram as well. I refer my patients to a cardiologist for this procedure. Being a young dog, the murmur could be due to a congenital defect. A lot of times, the results are great and the cardiologist informs us that the murmur is nothing that we need to worry about in the future. If there is a concern though, it is best to know about sooner rather than later. I hope this information helps!

I would try not to get too worked up until you figure out exactly what is going on. Some dogs have heart murmurs at young ages but commonly will grow out of them. I would try to see what could be causing the murmur and see what they recommend. If they recommend something you cannot afford, ask them to give you other options that are within your budget. If Darwin is really active and acting like a puppy, he likely isn't bothered by his heart murmur. I would be hesitant to put him under anesthesia without a full cardiac echo (ultrasound) to find out exactly where the heart murmur is coming from. I hope this helps and I hope there is nothing too serious with that sweet baby's heart!

Unfortunately you cannot know if this murmur is permanent or if this is an 'innocent' murmur. Here is an excellent link: vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/heart-murmurs-in-dogs If the murmur does not go away on it's own by 5-6 months of age, it's likely not an innocent murmur and in that scenario, it would require a cardiac work up to determine the cause of the murmur and any continuing implications. At this point too, it's hard to know if this is just Colt's personality or if this is related to the murmur. I recommend to have him checked by the veterinarian to get a better idea of what is happening and to document the murmur so you can keep tabs on it. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Finely. The murmur is concerning and should not have been affected by him have been painful. I recommend having him evaluated by a veterinary cardiologist. He should have an echocardiogram prior to you agreeing to purchase him. Some murmurs can be innocent in puppies, meaning that they will eventually grow it. However, most are associated with congenital heart defects. You will want this information prior to buying the puppy so that you can plan for ongoing medical expenses that he may have. I hope this information helps.

Most puppies with grade 1 heart murmurs have these due to physiologic changes that they grow out of. However, there are some heart conditions that can start as a grade 1 murmur which can progressively worsen over time. Odds are in your favor that Nelson would grow out of this murmur and that it is insignificant. There is always that off chance that he has a more severe condition. Consider asking the breeder to include progression of heart disease (indicated by a worsening murmur) in the contract, in that if it does progress, you could return Nelson (unless you believe that you will get too attached). This is not an easy decision without a definitive right or wrong answer.