The vet says up to nine in 10 of one of the breeds has a heart condition by the time they are 10 - but spotting the signs of any of the conditions early can make a difference Ben started with Dobermanns telling his followers: “It is really quite a shocking statistic that over 58% of Dobermanns over seven have dilated cardiomyopathy. This is a disease where the muscle in the wall of the heart starts to weaken leading eventually to heart failure but also a high risk of arrhythmias and sudden death. “Unfortunately, often there are no signs of a problem and the dog can just drop dead in the park. If you have a Dobermann talk to your vet about having them screened even from the age of two or three because if it’s caught early medication can be given to delay the onset of any problem.”

Boxer

Ben says he has included them because there are several different heart conditions which they are considered high risk for. One of these is a congenital problem called aortic or subaortic stenosis where a narrowing develops where blood exits the heart to the rest of the body. He said: “Most cases are mild and there are no clinical signs. We might just hear a heart murmur on examination at the vet’s. But in severe cases it can lead to collapse when exercising and even sudden death. Fortunately it is something that breeders are well aware of and in some countries, including France, the prevalence has been shown to be decreasing significantly because the breeding dogs have been screened.” But he said there were other risks including the breed having a three per cent prevalence of pulmonic stenosis which is a narrowing of the exit from the heart to the lungs and also a higher risk of dilated cardiomyopathy, the same condition that affects Dobermanns.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Ben says Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are: “Awsome little dogs, terrible hearts.” He said by the time they are 10 years old up to 90 per cent have mitral valve disease. This is where one of the heart valves starts to degenerate and becomes leaky. He said: “This is usually detected initially with a heart murmur but eventually can lead on to the dog going into heart failure, developing a cough and breathing abnormalities and unfortunately it is a cause of death for a lot of cavaliers. “Depending on what stage of disease the dog is at there is medication that can help slow down the progression of the disease.” He advises anyone with a cavalier with a murmur to speak to their vet if they haven’t already done so.

Golden retriever

He said he included them “not because they’re at massively high risk of any particular heart problem” but because they were more likely to get a condition called pericardal effusion which is generally very rare but at one referral centre they found that a third of the dogs that they saw with the condition were golden retrievers. This is condition where fluid builds up around the heart, often slowly, but gradually means the heart can’t pump blood effectively. He said: “This can manifest as the dog becoming weaker and weaker and eventually collapsing.” He said he had only ever seen two cases of the condition and both were in golden retrievers.

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