Heart Murmur

mrs081608

We recently added a Bull Terrier puppy to our family. Her name is Guinness. She is now 12 weeks old. We were told that she had a grade 3 heart murmur at her first checkup. She is not showing any signs of heart failure, but our vet suggested that we see a cardiologist to determine the underlying condition. We saw the cardiologist yesterday and were told that she has a small hole in her heart. He put her on a beta blocker and wants to see her back when her heart is fully grown at a year old. He said that dogs can live many years with her condition, but that does not make me any less worried. If anyone has any similar experiences that they could share, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you

JParanee

You and your dog our in are prayers

I have heard that some small holes can heal over

That is my hope for you and your dog

philsergeant

I similarly, and thankfully, have had no experience with this terrible issue.... as JP said, we pray for you and are thinking of your little one... miracles can happen!!!!!!!!!

Djammy

I am no expert in these things either, nor did I ever have to deal with such an issue.
But I heard that in very young dogs there's a chance that tiny holes can also close on their own when they are growing.
Also there's surgery available in some cases to solve the issue.
It's sadly true that some dogs with heart failure don't grow very old.

But, whatever it will be in your case, please NEVER forget to make the BEST of the time you will have together, however long it will be.
With heart conditions it is always a good idea to watch the dog closely while exercising. Because chances are a lot higher that the dog could overstrain itself.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and hope your little one is looking forward to a loooooong and happy life!

BulliesofNC

I wish I could provide good news for you but if your Bull Terrier is only 12 weeks old and been diagnosed with a Grade 3 murmur and noted to have a hole in its heart  - that is serious. Many Bull Terriers that suffered from heart disease during premature ages were only diagnosed with stage 1 or 2 murmurs at 12 weeks old. Did you have a Heart Doppler test conducted? Did you speak to your breeder about the confirmed genetic disorder found?
A Heart Doppler test will provide you with all the details in order to confirm the magnitude of his condition. I'm sorry to hear this and I know you are devastated by it because normally a Bull Terrier with this type of condition will not live a normal life, require medications for the rest of its life, require limited exercise, and often pass away premature due to heart failure. 
I'm curious as to how your breeder responded to the medical findings.

mrs081608

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

BulliesofNC -- The cardiologist performed an echocardiogram and an electrocardiogram. To be honest with you, I'm not really sure that I understood the results. After I heard that
she had a whole in her heart, my heart sank. He told me that he will send a report
to both me and my veterinarian along with anesthesia instructions to have her
spayed. Hopefully, I will have a better understanding once I review the report.
He didn't really seem to overly concerned. He put her on a beta blocker. He
told me that I did not need to limit her exercise at this time. He told me that
her heart was strong enough to undergo surgery to be spayed. He also gave me
documents to log her resting breath rate and an information regarding symptoms
of heart failure. He will see her again when she is a year old. 

The breeder is beyond stubborn and will not cooperate in any way. He insists that the puppy had a
clean bill of health at the time we purchased her. Fortunately, we have a puppy
lemon law in my state and I have already contacted an attorney. This man has no
business breeding puppies and I will do everything that I can to prevent this
from happening to someone else.

VioletBliss

So sorry you're going through this. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your puppy. Who was the breeder? You're absolutely right, don't want this to happen to anyone else.

Mickjameslenehan

Hello sorry to hear you received this terrible news.I have both a negative and positive story.

My bull terrier I had about 13yrs ago was diagnosed with a heart condition I do not remember details or what stage it was as I was in a blur. Mine was diagnosed much later than yours probably around 15 months and already had a hacking cough which is a later symptom I am led to believe. The tablets initially worked great giving him some relief, exercising him was an issue as he had the enthusiasm of a bull terrier puppy but not the ability and it used to break my heart watching him having a coughing fit after running around (trying to stop a puppy from running around is no easy task). It progressed very quick and he passed away before his second birthday.

On the positive side the internet has moved on significantly in the last 13yrs I'm sure there is so much more advice to hand and people with similar issues you can speak too giving your dog the best quality of life you can . I'm sure medicine may have progressed as well.

Also my child was born with a PFO (small hole in the heart)its not a uncommon thing but they usually clear up in the early years his never did he has been examined and will live with that never having to take any medication for it so there can be good news stories too.

My thoughts are with you and my fingers are crossed

BulliesofNC

mrs081608 - May I ask you where got your Bull Terrier from? Did they sell her to you without any form of health guarantee? AKC Registered?

philsergeant

Stubborn and uncooperative Breeders.... don't you just love them???.... I do....ideally between the sights of my shotgun!!

mrs081608

We purchased her from a breeder called Bully Babies in Pennsylvania. I received a copy of the report from the cardiologist yesterday. I am going to mail him a copy of the report along with a copy of our puppy lemon law. According to our law, he has to reimburse me within 14 days. If he does not, I will take it to court. I also contacted the dog warden in his county. She is going to visit him today. I refuse to allow him to get away with breeding these poor dogs. 

The exact diagnosis on the report stated "Confirmed congenital heart defect: left to right shunt interventricular septal defect (VSD) with good cardiac function and no evidence of congestive heart failure at this time."

JParanee

I truly hope that you get a miracle and the heart heals

BulliesofNC

I hope she gets better too and is able to lead a normal long  life. I never heard of Bully Babies in Pennsylvania. I assume they are a new breeder and you most likely found the availability of their puppies through a 3rd party website advertising for breeders. It's very sad that your breeder won't recognize this as a congenital defect. There really isn't a much better example of a congenital defect than what the test results proved. It's breeders like this that disgust me.

Martin_alcantara08

Wow my puppy when he was little he had a grade 1 hear murmur but now he is about 5 months and they haven't told me anything about it I seriously wish you the best because that is really serious

mrs081608

Thank you all for your support!

babymilo

I am so sorry for you and your family. We just lost our dog last Friday. He was only 3. On day one he vomited after he ate, day 2 he became lethargic. I took him to the vet ER and they confirmed he had both a heart murmur that had been undiagnosed because it was very faint. He also had a large mass in his abdomen, heart and esophagus. We were told this is extremely extremely rare and it is most likely a genetic predisposition. When he was younger we had to wait until he was 7 months old to get him neutered because his testies never dropped. We ended up having to remove them from his abdomen, we were told then that this is a genetic disorder typically when they have pups with this disorder they stop breeding the parents not sure if that's really the case or not. We contacted the breeder and he was no help at all. We loved milo with all our heart and me and my kids are devastated. I would deffinatly not stop until you let everyone know what type of dog that breeder is selling. We are heartbroken and I do not want anyone else to have to go through what we have. We requested genetic testing apparently it is only done at two vet colleges but I think we are going forward with it.

AmyJo

Good luck. Prayers and best wishes.