Heart murmur puppy - would you buy a puppy with a heart murmur?

[Frolie]

So, we’ve been longing for a puppy and finally circumstances allow ; new house, big garden, me at home and not working. We looked for a rescue dog, but with children we couldn’t find one. (My previous rescue was a border collie) We’ve put a deposit down on a wonderful puppy a few weeks ago. We were due to collect the puppy this week. However, the vet has detected a heart murmur grade 1 at her 8 week check and therefore the breeder is keeping her for another 2 weeks, to see if the murmur disappears, when the vet sees her again in a fortnight. What should we do if the murmur hasn’t disappeared? Do we go ahead ? We’re all in love with the puppy, but would the vet bills be huge? Could we get insurance that doesn’t cost the earth? Genuinely interested to hear other people’s experiences....

What breed is it?

Colliepoo - Poodle collie mix

Really feel for you, it's a hard dedication. With heart murmurs sometimes not much treatment is needed if they've remain low grade but sometimes more problems can develop as the dog gets older and this can get expensive. Also be aware that insurance won't cover the heart murmur if it's already there before the policy is taken out.

Decision not dedication!

I’m not sure I could. Knowing how much we love our 1 year old pup. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to her.

Would insurance cover it if the vet has already diagnosed it? As in would it be a pre existing condition?

I have to say, I’d be wary. Both from a cost point of view for vet treatment plus is there a likelihood of puppy not living for many years - as in heartbroken children?

It’s tough one

I'd ask the breeder if you can speak to their vet so they can give you an accurate picture of their condition, prognosis and potential future costs.

Thank you for your replies. Much appreciated.

Good idea to speak to the vet. I’ll ask for their details from the breeder. I honestly burst into tears after speaking to the breeder, the poor little puppy and then, the thought of loving a beautiful dog who might not be with us for long, not sure my three children (and me!) could cope...I think we wouldn’t be covered by insurance if it’s a pretty existing condition. The research I’ve done indicates it can be very costly due to to scans / cardiologist etc ... We all love this little puppy already and hate the idea of rejecting her ... But puppies at the moment are so expensive too £2200. Really don’t know what to do for the best.

I would want a heart scan done with a specialist personally. There are many congenital defects that could cause a murmur.

A low grade one can just disappear though and I might take the risk but I would want a significant discount on the puppy due to the fact you won’t be able to insure it for anything cardiac now this has been picked up.

The insurance won't cover her heart murmur and could even exclude all things cardiac. Do you have the money to pay vet bills in that situation?

We had a yorkie with a heart murmur - undiagnosed until he was approx 10.

2 years of medication were EXPENSIVE but he was worth every penny.

It was impossible to medicate him though, he'd eat whatever you put the pills and then spit the pill out as he'd sloped out the room that were all found when he passed. It's a wonder he made it to 12 poor bugger!

For £2200 I would want a dog in perfect health. If you wanted to adopt a dog with health problems for altruistic reasons then a rescue dog would make more sense. In your position I would seek specialist advice as I wouldn't bring a pet into the home and let it become part of the family if it wasn't likely to be with us long.

I thought this was my post for a moment! We have our 10 week old springer spaniel (paid £2250) who was also diagnosed with a grade 1 heart murmur at her eight week check. Breeder didn’t offer to keep her for another two weeks - we were either taking her or the breeder was keeping her. After a lot of agonising, we took her. Grade 1 heart murmurs are really common in puppies and they usually grow out of them. Vet described a grade 1 murmur as ‘low risk but not no risk’. Insurance (Bought by Many) said they would cover a grade 1 murmur as long as the puppy had it since birth or I could have continued with the Kennel Club insurance that the breeder had in place as it wouldn’t have been a pre-existing condition. I’m absolutely thrilled to say that she has now been checked by our vet twice and there is no sign of a murmur. Vet reckons its just a growing thing or could even have just been a stress thing at her first vet’s visit.

Should have said, I also have two children and all the worry of them falling in love with a dog who might get sick and die. But then, I figured that is all part and parcel of having a dog - no dog is risk free.

Given the issues for insurance I would only go ahead if I knew I could cover any big vet bills.

Absolutely not. I know puppies have gone up since lock down but over £2000 for a backyard breeder puppy that has health issues which may not be insurable? No way.

It will feel hard to walk away now but harder if something goes terribly wrong once you are all fully attached, or costing you thousands of pounds every year.

Why would it be a backyard breeder? Surely the breeder has done everything right? Disclosed the issue, offered to keep the puppy for longer to have it checked out...?

It’s not a backyard breeder. They’re very professional people who are farmers. I’ve been impressed by their openness and honesty.

Thanks for all your replies, they’ve been really helpful. I’m due to speak to the vet today for an update , as the puppy was seen by him yesterday.

@LorelaiVictoriaGilmore

I thought this was my post for a moment! We have our 10 week old springer spaniel (paid £2250) who was also diagnosed with a grade 1 heart murmur at her eight week check. Breeder didn’t offer to keep her for another two weeks - we were either taking her or the breeder was keeping her. After a lot of agonising, we took her. Grade 1 heart murmurs are really common in puppies and they usually grow out of them. Vet described a grade 1 murmur as ‘low risk but not no risk’. Insurance (Bought by Many) said they would cover a grade 1 murmur as long as the puppy had it since birth or I could have continued with the Kennel Club insurance that the breeder had in place as it wouldn’t have been a pre-existing condition. I’m absolutely thrilled to say that she has now been checked by our vet twice and there is no sign of a murmur. Vet reckons its just a growing thing or could even have just been a stress thing at her first vet’s visit.

Thank you for this! It has given me hope. Speaking to the vet today so we should hopefully know more and can make a decision. Delighted to hear that your puppy is healthy! It must have been nerve wracking.

Fingers crossed for you! Please update!

A sickly mongrel for over £2k? If it wasn’t so horrifying it would be laughable. The world has gone mad

No way.

It might be fine, but equally it could develop into something that either a) kills your puppy very prematurely, or b) costs you an absolute fortune in vets bills over the years.

Why would you spend 2k on a puppy that wasn't healthy?

Not a chance. Our last ddog went in to be spayed at 1 year old. Died under anaesthetic because of a undiagnosed grade 1 heart murmur. We were unlucky, but I'd never want to go through that again.

I appreciate this is different so probably irrelevant but my pedigree cat has a grade two heart murmur. It was discovered the first time we took him to the vets, they also advised he may grow out of it.

It hasn't changed by his second check so we had a visiting cardiologist check him. It cost about £300 I think. They confirmed a grade two murmur but with no immediate recommendation for any treatment. He's four now and is absolutely fine (although his insurance isn't really worth the paper it's written on now). Obviously I don't know how long he will stay without issues but it isn't always the case that a heart murmur is immediately disastrous.

I agree with posters who are querying the price especially as you will need him to see a specialist if it doesn't disappear within a few weeks.

£2200? Is that how much you're being charged for the puppy OP? That is an absolute disgrace for a crossbred puppy without a heart murmur, let alone with one. As a long standing breeder of show and working dogs, this is appalling frankly.

I wouldn't actually be worried about the murmur, especially if it's grade 1. It is likely a puppy flow murmur which will disappear and cause the puppy no issues at all BUT as a well known (in the showing world) breeder myself for 30 years and have requests world wide for my dogs, I wouldn't dream of selling a pedigree, fully health tested dog with a heart murmur for that much. I don't even charge that much for healthy puppies! I am heartbroken at what is happening with puppies at the moment as are most decent breeders.

If the murmur hasn't gone it two weeks time, I would walk away unless the breeder offers you this puppy for substantially less money, substantially. If not, they are completely ripping you off. If you and they have spoken at length up to now and you feel they are a responsible, genuine breeder, the fact the puppy is going to a good home will be the priority to them, not making a massive profit. If they come back in two weeks time and say the heart murmur has gone. Make sure you speak to the vet to get confirmation of this.

I'm not being a breed snob, but you will get more help from genuine bona fide long standing pedigree breeders than you will from chancer/backyard crossbred breeders at any time but particularly in these awful turbulent times. People have jumped on the bandwagon of breeding simply for the money, particularly since Covid hit and everyone wanted a puppy. I would personally advise you to have a think about pedigree breeds that would suit you, go in the Kennel Clubs website to find breed clubs or just google the breed class club/society and you will get far more help from dedicated people than you'd imagine.