Heart murmur

my 12 yr border collie ice has a heart murmur , vet mentioned it today , she says to watch for ice coughing / getting out of breath quick, panting hard, its not severe at present though. Anyone know of anymore symptoms we should be looking for??

Just what you have said really. The coughing is a tell tale sign, pale gums too. its very common in old dogs, my Jack Russell was diagnosd at 9yrs with a moderate murmur, died of kidney failure at 15 and a half, heart never gave her a moments problem. I have a Papillon on heart drugs with a severe murmur, she has been on them for almost a year now, she carries on like nothing is wrong, still plays, and acts completely normally, although she coughs sometimes when she is very excited and sometimes when she is lying down.
Dawn.

A relatives working cocker was diagnosed with a heart murmur 8yrs ago, it isnt getting any better she is on no treatment. Last winter she was out beating and picking up, she has slowed down a little, try telling her she has a murmur this year she will be 14!!!!!!!!! and try telling her shes not going on a shoot,
Very occasionally her gums are a little pale, but thats about it with her, it all depends on what grade murmur you have been diagnosed with.
I once read that 1 in 12 people have prob. got heart murmurs ,albeit minor ones and they may never know.

Rose, our very first Mal also had a heart murmer. She was a rescue we took on over 5 years ago, whilst in Australia and we didn't know until she was being tested for her pet passport to come home with us.

She didn't have any of the normal symptoms, which was why they checked again and was then referred to a specialist for confirmation. However, she did lose weight very easy and the specialist said this was normal for some dogs with heart defects. I can't remember exactly all the medical lingo (ashamedly), but she utilised some nutrients differently, because of needing extra 'power' to her heart, so she would use more than she was consuming and would lose weight quickly. We couldn't up her meals, as we had to make sure she didn't put on weight, as she was speyed, which would put extra strain on her heart, so less weight was better than too much, although she looks a bit bedraggled at times. She's now 12

So apart from what's been said already, as far as I can remember, I think just the weight issue also.

Hope this helps

yes that is a help malady as ice also has lost some weight over last few months, you can feel easily her hip bones & ribs , something we need to keep an eye on . vet did comment on ices weight a month ago . Told me to increase her food a bit , shes now on 2 heaped cups food .
rose

Yes weight issues bear heavily with some dogs with heart murmers, but not all. It depends how they utilise their food.
I would just keep an eye on her weight, and watch her poo too. If she becomes too loose, reduce her meals a bit as it's obviously too much going through at once.

I just remembered, we also had to give her more frequent smaller meals a day, so the food would stay in her system longer and be of more use to her and keep her energy up, without making her feel bloated and full, which again could put strain on the heart, especially in the heat. She went through terrible phases when we could see her hips etc, and play a tune on her ribs, even WITH a good coat ! Also her coat condition deteriorated a bit too, again as a result of draining certain nutrients.

Sorry to hear about Ice, Rose. Hopefully this won't impact on Ice's quality of life xox

aww rose you gibe ice loads and loads of big hugs and kisses from me and the boys

will do jen

Oh Rose so sorry to hear about your dog's heart murmer. Here is a link, which may be useful for a wee bit of info, I know nothing really but good thoughts going your way.

http://www.thensome.com/heartmurmurs.htm

Hope it is useful.

Take care and thinking of you and your dog xx