It is not uncommon for dogs (or human children for that matter) to have growth-related heart murmurs that are benign, called “innocent” murmurs. A heart murmur is not a diagnosis of something but rather a potential symptom. This means that a heart murmur does not indicate anything other than that the heart did not sound correct when listened too. Heart murmurs are graded on a scale of 1-6 in order of loudness. A heart murmur is an irregular sound in the heart beat- instead of a “Lub-dub”, there can be a whooshing sound. Some heart murmurs are ‘transient’ meaning they go away and some remain. Heart murmurs that remain but are not indicative of any underlying medical condition are referred to as innocent murmurs. There are a myriad of reasons for a heart murmur may be heard. Developmental- this just means that the heart murmur is a normal part of development and is often the case in growing kids and puppies. However, a murmur that does not resolve (go away on its own) may indicate an underlying problem. Some of the more common causes of heart murmurs:
– a valve not closing properly
– stenosis (narrowing- often in this breed, narrowing after the aortic valve called subaortic stenosis or SAS)
– dehydration
– pregnancy- (I had a heart murmur when I was pregnant with my second child).
– stress/anxiety/nervous
Thus, a heart murmur in and of itself does not always signify a problem, but it does let you know it needs to be monitored to see if it goes away or not or if it progresses. Loudness (1-6) likewise is also not always indicative of severity, but it is important to note.
- Grade 1: This is a very soft and quiet murmur that is almost undetectable.
- Grade 2: This is a soft murmur that can be easily heard by a vet.
- Grade 3: This is a low to moderate noise.
- Grade 4: This is a moderate to loud noise.
- Grade 5: This will be loud enough to make your dog’s chest vibrate.
- Grade 6: This can be heard without listening directly on the chest wall.
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-murmur-symptoms
This link also does a pretty good job of explaining in layman’s terms, the different grades of heart murmurs:
Grade Three Heart Murmur in a Puppy – Rottweiler Expert
Thankfully, I have not had very many “non-innocent” heart murmurs over the years- maybe half a dozen or so in about 25 years. I would like to hope that it is because of all of the genetic and health screens we do, including always hearts, and how carefully I choose the bloodlines to use, however, having so few means I also do not have a ton of hands-on experience. I can tell you, from the experience I do have, that at least for me, all of my innocent murmurs (those that went away with growth and were not indicative of any issues) have all been grade 3 and below, although I have had a grade 4 that was later downgraded to a 3, then a 2, then an intermittent 1. I adopted this particular puppy, named Tuck, out to the bishop of our church before they moved to Florida. Tuck is about 4 years old now and they always bring him back up to Indiana when they come to visit. He is MASSIVE- 140 pounds! But such a lovable bear and great with all 9 (yes, NINE!) of their kids.
One other heart murmur I had was one of Hex’ kids a couple of years ago. He was also a 4/6, and the family that co-owns Hex wanted to adopt him and keep him. They did an echocardiogram on him and it turned out he had aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aerobic valve opening). The cardio vet told them that after he was done growing, he may need to have what is called valvuloplasty. This is where a balloon is inserted down through the jugular and into the valve that is narrowed. The balloon is then inflated to increase/stretch the opening. Thank goodness, he did not end up needing that surgery as his heart grew as he did, and now he just has annual check-ups.
By God’s good grace, knock on wood, that is the extent of my interaction with heart murmurs, but I also do not want to downplay them. Both situations were very fortunate as were all of mine that were innocent, but I know that is not always the case. They can be an indication of something seriously wrong- something that may require medical intervention down the road, or may even require heart medication. I do not have any experience with either, so I cannot tell you any personal experience in that area.
Here is another link that I thought did a good job of explaining it in plain terms:
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/heart-murmurs-in-dogs
Please do not consider adoption of any of our pups based solely on price. We do not lower pups with potential medical issues to an adoption price on a whim or just to get them ‘sold’ faster. We do it because we want any additional money that would have been spent on the pup put back towards potentially helping him/her down the road. I would much rather keep him/her here, where I know s/he will be loved limitlessly and receive the best of everything than to have someone adopt just because the pup was cheap! When we have an adoption candidate in a litter, I would also consider adoption of the puppy with one of his/her siblings, and, if we did that, then I would take the adoption fee off of the price of his sibling. I cannot/will not ever give any animal for free- human nature is to take something that is free for granted and that is the LAST thing that I want for any of our babies, but especially our special ones. I have no desire to “make money” on him/her or even recover the vet visits/microchip/worming/food/etc. we have spent on them thus far- that is NOT the purpose of an adoption fee. Nearly every pup/dog we adopt has thousands put into them helping them with whatever issue they have or, for our shelter pulls, to help them recover from whatever unfortunate situation they were in when they were rescued, and still, our adoption fee remains the same. The adoption fee is there just to make sure there is tangible value attached to that dog/pup. I was a cop and a soldier for too long not to know too much about human nature…
