good idea . i know of someone who took their pup to vets for first inoculations , vet told her pup had a bad heart murmur, before she got indoors a specialist had rung for her to make an appoinment to see him with the pup. She decided to take pup to a different vet a day later and after checking her over said her heart was fine!!!

The reason I ended up with two pups from the same litter is because I took the 2nd one on as a 'rescue' as he'd been diagnosed with a very noisy heart murmur.

He has now been seen by a specialist and doesn't have the sort of heart murmur that will make him have a heart attack or keel over. It has been graded as a 3/4 and it's his pulmonary valve that is sloppy. I can feel it whooshing under his right armpit.

The specialist has said that he'll probably slow up in 5,6,7,8 years?, but that medication would help him. We always vowed we would treat him exactly the same as his brother and in fact he is the dog that just never stops, he runs 5 X further than his brother when off lead etc etc. and as yet doesn't get out of breath any more so than his brother. We think he is making the most of his life

I would definitely get a second opinion. When I took my last dog to the vet for her annual check (aged about 10 at that time) I saw a new young vet at the practice who said that she had a heart murmur and could I book her in for an MRI scan (?) at their head office. I came away feeling so upset but having chatted among the family decided against the X-ray as we decided if we knew she had a problem we would inevitably treat her differently, which we didn't want. The next time she had her annual check I saw her usual vet who said there was nothing wrong with her heart at all!!!!

I have always kept my dogs lean for better health and for their joints. (It's a shame I don't follow the same for myself )

Good luck and there are so many dogs out there that have heart murmurs who live completely normal lives.

My collie had a heart murmur that was picked up when she had an anaesthetic to remove a grass seed from her nose a few years ago. It was a grade 3-ish then and increased to a 4/5 (out of 6) by the time she was pts at 14.5 years in January. She was never medicated and it never bothered her, even in the last few weeks.

My papillon Ellie was diagnosed with a grade 2 heart murmur at the age of 4. We certainly couldn't have told that from her behaviour, she never displayed any symptoms, and we were almost surprised every year at her checkup when the vet told us it was good and loud, but not deteriorating in any way. She died last year at 16.

Do get a 2nd opinion. My Dad's 2nd Cavalier, Charlie (straight from a puppy farm via my grandmother) was diagnosed with a terminal heart murmur by the first vet he went to (along with hip displasia of such severity as to need urgent and immediate expensive treatment). The second vet said it wasn't that bad, lets see how it goes. Charlie died at age 12, having never had any heart or hip treatment, and being a happy little lad right up to the end.

Fivedogpam, that is encouraging for my little man

she is 7. have the 2nd appointment tomorrow...

the vet also said she is in great shape and very muscular for a Cax X, i always thought she was just a bit chunky!

I seem to think my springer was 7 when she was diagnosed as it was around the time she had her leg amputated.

Helen

Cavalier King Charles are very prone to heart problems especially as they get older. A friend of mine has an 8 year old pedigree CKCS and he was diagnosed with a heart murmur just under a year ago.

I assume your lovely little dog has probably developed this murmur through his CKCS genes My friend's dog was over-weight but has now slimmed down and is taking life at a slower pace into his old age.