I have a 11 year old cavelier king charles. Last year when he had his
booster vaccination I was told he had a slight heart murmour (as is common
in this breed ) but no treatment was necessary as for his age he was
actually in pretty good nick. I am now noticing that he is doing a lot of
panting even in his sleep. At first I thought it was just the extreme heat
that we've been having here but it's cooled down now and the panting
episodes seem to be increasing especially in the last 24 hours. Otherwise he
seems OK and not distressed at all. Obviously I'm going to book an
appointment at the vets but was wondering if anyone has any ideas what it
could be and what the treatment options are. (and whether I'm going to need
a bank loan to pay for it !!)

JL

Julie wrote:
Obviously I'm going to book an appointment at the vets
but was wondering if anyone has any ideas what it could
be and what the treatment options are. (and whether I'm
going to need a bank loan to pay for it !!)

The heart problem that's common in Cavs is mitral valve
disease, and yes, the murmur could well be a sign of that
--been there, done that with my Old English Sheepdog. Your
vet will most likely refer you to a cardiologist for an
echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). When my dog
was diagnosed with MVD, she was put on Enalapril, which
is unfortunantely not cheap :-(. I was paying about $100
a month for my 50-pound girl--of course that will be
somewhat cheaper for a smaller dog. And in my dog's case,
the improvement in her condition was very much worth it.

Good luck,

Dianne

Julie wrote:
Obviously I'm going to book an appointment at the vets
but was wondering if anyone has any ideas what it could
be and what the treatment options are. (and whether I'm
going to need a bank loan to pay for it !!)

The heart problem that's common in Cavs is mitral valve
disease, and yes, the murmur could well be a sign of that
--been there, done that with my Old English Sheepdog. Your
vet will most likely refer you to a cardiologist for an
echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). When my dog
was diagnosed with MVD, she was put on Enalapril, which
is unfortunantely not cheap :-(. I was paying about $100
a month for my 50-pound girl--of course that will be
somewhat cheaper for a smaller dog. And in my dog's case,
the improvement in her condition was very much worth it.

Good luck,

Dianne