I need you advise, I asked last night; Getting my son a puppy for Christmas?

Heart murmurs vary widely in their importance. Many dogs will live a full and healthy life, with a heart murmur. It's not always a death sentence. I volunteer for a rescue, and we recently adopted out a dog who had a heart murmur since she was a puppy, she was 6 yrs old when the rescue got her. You'd never know she had a heart murmur.

Murmurs are caused by turbulence in the flow of blood through the heart. Serious ones are due to heart valve disease or birth defects. Anemia can also cause a heart murmur.

Not all murmurs are serious. Some are called functional, that is there is no disease, just a normal degree of turbulence. The vet can determine whether a murmur is serious or of little consequence.

Basically you need to find out the seriousness of the murmur and decide if you want the puppy. I do not know myself if there would be problems for a dog with a murmur but what you should do is to call a vet and find out from a professional. If you do buy this puppy you should get a big discount because of the problem. If it were me I would search out another puppy that was completely healthy, why take the chance that something could go wrong when you do not have to. Not to be nasty but none of the breeders I know would sell such a pup.

EDIT: If you truly feel comfortable with the breeder go ahead and take the pup. It makes me feel better that you will not be charged because ethical breeders (and she sounds ethical) will not sell a pup that may develop problems. I still think you should take the pup to your own vet and get your vets opinion. It doesn't hurt to find out all you can. GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

It depends on the type of murmur. they are graded from 1-6.

Many dogs can live just fine ( and people too - your truly included) with a murmur and have no ill effects. Some vets might suggest you use a special food for dogs/cats with heart murmurs.

The bigger question is why did the breeder, end up with a dog with a congenital defect. Has this happened with other litters?? ASK QUESTIONS!

Sometimes these things are not preventable, sometimes the breeder knows of a defect but wants to breed a pair any way for $$.

Also if it was not Christmas would you be getting a dog? Too many people gets pets over the holidays and after a week or two, and vacations are over, they realize they really don't have the time for pet.

Will the breeder take the dog back? Whats the return policy?

Ask a lot of questions. A reputable breeder will be happy to answer them, if they get defensive that it not a good sign.

I'm so sorry that you are faced with this problem, especially when the hopes of your son are riding on a successful and positive conclusion.

If the puppy at I assume 8 or 10 weeks of age already has a heart murmur, then I would say you will need to find another puppy from another breeder. This puppy won't die, but will require medication and perhaps restricted exercise regime. You would also need to be prepared for illnesses over time which will be expensive in terms of money and perhaps, the worse part of all, heartbreaking.

Here are a couple of links where you can learn more:

www.huntecorp.com/breeder - look for Heart Murmurs

www.animalhealthcare.ca

Take care and all the best. Merry, merry.

The most important thing for you to do is to find out what degree the heart murmur is at. There are 6 degrees... 1 being the least and 6 being the most severe... near death. I had a pup who was degree #5... she died the day after turning 6 weeks old. She was a beautiful little girl and it broke our heart when she died. You should try to find out the degree of the heart murmur... ask for 2 vet opinions if possible.

I wish you the best of luck, I know how it is when you fall in love with a little one... those little pups are so adorable.

Heart murmurs usually go without problems in adults. Just the same, dogs USUALLY do not need any treatments, etc and can live normal healthy lives with it. However, in certain cases there are problems with the dog. Some vets recommend doing an ultrasound, a fairly expensive test, but something you can have done if you feel it necessary, as well as monitoring weight gain, growth and blood work.

Hope that helps!

Ask the vet for a prognosis. You don't need to get a dog that will have serious, expensive health problems that cut its life short and cost you thousands of dollars and hundreds of worried nights for your son.

However, the heart murmur could be harmless. The vet should have made it clear what the puppy's condition implied. Ask.

If I were in your position, I would be looking for a puppy totally free from any health issues.

It's true that a murmur can be of no issue and a pup could live a long and happy life, but it's also true that it could become an issue too. I wouldn't want to take that risk.

Maybe you could adopt a puppy or an almost grown dog from a local animal shelter. They are already spayed or neutered and their health is checked by the shelter. Mixed breed dogs have a tendency to have fewer health problems than purebred dogs and you might just be saving the animal's life.

Call your local Veterinarian and ask. I know with people that a heart murmur is generally nothing and lots of folks have them but a Vet would tell you for sure.

Merry Christmas and I hope your son gets his puppy!