My 7-week-old puppy has a heart murmur and breathes heavily. Is it serious?

At this age, as long as Kona is doing well, I would just monitor for now. Continue going in every 3 weeks for her vaccinations and the veterinarian will check the murmur with each visit. Innocent murmurs, which happen often, are harmless heart murmurs that typically show up around 6-8 weeks of age and can persist for several months. The murmur will typically resolve by 4-6 months of age. If the murmur is still there at the time it is recommended to spay, I would hold off on the spay procedure and have a cardiologist do an echocardiography on her to see what the cause of the murmur is. I would avoid making her exercise too hard but she can still play. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction!

Please arrange to have her rechecked by your vet, pacing and reluctance to lie restfully can be an indication of fluid in the lungs requiring an adjustment in medications as soon as possible. Respiratory infection is also common in dogs with heart disease and should be ruled out as soon as possible

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!

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!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question. I'm quite concerned about her. Her breathing rate is high for resting, and labored breathing is a medical emergency. I think you should take her into an ER vet now to get checked out. Best of luck.

This sign could be compatible with an upper respiratory tract inflammation/infection. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I am concerned that she is having such trouble breathing. This could be another pneumonia, an upper respiratory infection, a fungal infection, a congenital heart problem and much more. If your vet has already done X-rays and they were normal, you may want to talk to them about having an ultrasound of the heart done. Also, I would have her blood work checked to see how her liver and kidney values are and see what her white blood count looks like. Finally, I would talk to your vet about whether see needs some antibiotics and medicine to help her breathing. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better soon.