Grade 4 or 5 Heart Murmur in 5 month old GSD... normal or cause for concern?

[ColleenAli]

So I went to the vet today just to get a Giardia test as required by the puppy playcare place we would like to take Porter to get in his crazy puppy play time. Well of course that came back positive but thats a whole 'nother issue... but today for the first time we were told by the vet that she heard a heart murmur and that it wasn't a normal Grade 1 or 2 but more of a 4 or 5 and she was very concerned.

She stated that she didn't hear it last time she saw him about 2 months ago and is not sure why our regular vet hasn't heard it either... so she stated that she wants him to see the cardiologist right away but thats upwards of $400... I dont know what to do.

Porter is ALWAYS full of energy and never really seems to have any problems, he has been eating a lot because it seems hes going through a growth spurt... but she made it seem like this was critical and that his murmur was very very bad.

Now I cant really financially afford to do all this testing but we love our dog and will do whatever we have to to make sure he is ok but I am skeptical because its never been mentioned before and this vet (with whom Ive had one other experience with and didn't care for her) seems to think its really serious. My question is should I wait a bit and see if it goes away or should I rush and get him into cardiologist. And I do have to mention that he was pretty riled up and wanted to play with another dog when they took him to the back to get a feces sample for the Giardia.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Call and talk to your breeder and go from there.....

[Courtney]

How was he when the vet was listening to his heart? Mine will hold my boys mouth shut or have me do it so he can really hear. If it were me I would want another vet to listen...bring him back when he's calm...I know sometimes hard at the vets office too much distraction. If the 2nd opinion hears the murmur then I would visit a cardiologist. You will want to contact the breeder as well.

[ColleenAli]

Originally Posted by Courtney

How was he when the vet was listening to his heart? Mine will hold my boys mouth shut or have me do it so he can really hear. If it were me I would want another vet to listen...bring him back when he's calm...I know sometimes hard at the vets office too much distraction. If the 2nd opinion hears the murmur then I would visit a cardiologist. You will want to contact the breeder as well.

I am not sure about the time when they actually heard it because they took him in the back to get his fecal sample, all I know is that I heard him out front and the assistant stated that he was trying to play with the dog next to him and kept forgetting that he was hooked up and kept choking himself... the second time we were in the exam room and he was fairly calm and half laying down but squirming a little bit and she apparently didn't hear it that time because "he was squirmy"

[Courtney]

I forgot to ask how old is Porter? Poor buddy dealing with Giardia

[ColleenAli]

Originally Posted by Courtney

I forgot to ask how old is Porter? Poor buddy dealing with Giardia

5 months tomorrow

[Loneforce]

I would get a second opinion.

[AJT]

Get a second opinion and possibly a third. I would ask to see if other vets at the same clinic can pop in and hear the dogs heart. If it is a 4 or 5 (which is pretty **** serious, especially in a puppy) heart murmur there shouldn't be a discrepency between vets on whether there is a heart murmur or NO heart murmur just rather what it is scaled at.

My puppy had a heart murmur at 10 weeks or so and it was still there when she hit six months and when she was 10 months. It went from a 1 to a solid 3. We were exercising heavily and she had no breathing issues or loss of breath or fatigue or anything. No clinical signs whatsoever. All vets recommended a cardiologist/ECHO. Ended up taking my puppy in for vomitting/bloody diarhhea -- totally unrelated to the heart -- and the xrays ended up catching 3/4 of her heart and revealed a heart that was 25% larger than normal for a pup of her size. Ended up doing the ECHO with the cardiologist; puppy was diagnosed with PDA. Got the surgery done a week later. Heart murmur is now gone and we have a clean and steady heartbeat.

If I opted no surgery, I was looking at congestive heart failure before she hit the age of 1 1/2 -- 2. Considering my active lifestyle, I didn't want her to suddenly die while we are hiking or playing fetch in the backyard.

Will admit the ECHO/cardiologist is pricey, the surgery for her condition was even pricier. Breeder has not covered the value of my puppy that I paid for despite the signed contract saying otherwise.

[Chris Wild]

I'm moving this thread to the health section.

[Chris Wild]

I would get a second opinion from another vet and see if that vet also hears the murmer and agrees with the severity. If it were a minor murmer in a young dog, I wouldn't be overly concerned and would monitor it and watch for symptoms (such as shortness of breath, exercise intolerance, etc...). If it is truly a grade 4/5 then I wouldn't hesitate to go to a cardiologist for an echo and difinitive diagnosis of the cause of the murmer. Some causes are fixable with surgery, others can't be fixed but can be somewhat managed, and others I hate to say pretty much guarantee a short lifespan.

Having been through this with a dog who was fine, no murmer, until almost 2 and then suddenly developed a murmer that was rated grade 4 and was so obvious that even I could hear it when the vet handed me a stethoscope and told me what to listen for, I definitely recommend a cardiologist appointment so you know what you're dealing with and how to best manage it and what to reasonably expect for the future.