Bethany Davis, Notta Bear Newfoundlands

I am writing this because there is some misinformation being spread about heart testing puppies. First I will start with information about murmurs and cardiologists.

For many, many years litters of puppies that are of breeds predisposed to heart defects like SAS (Sub Aortic Stenosis) have been seen by cardiologists before they go home. The cardiologists do auscultations which is simply listening to the heart. They listen to the sounds of the heart and are able to hear a murmur if there is one. If they hear a murmur they will grade it 1-6. Sometimes there is a murmur heard and it is usually graded a 1, sometimes even a 2, called an innocent or “puppy murmur.” Little is known about the innocent murmur in puppies, but it is developmental and when the puppy grows it is gone and never heard again. It is reported that these innocent murmurs can be heard at 3 months even up to 6 months old. Most breeders and vets agree that the majority of innocent puppy murmurs are gone by 12-16 weeks. If an innocent murmur is heard, the cardiologist typically recommends bringing puppy back at 10-16 weeks. After which, if the murmur is still heard then it has the higher chances that it is a real murmur and they will continue with their recommendations from there depending on the outcome of that second appointment.

Innocent murmurs are not in *every* puppy. Most puppies won’t have an innocent murmur or any murmur for that matter.

As breeders, we do the best for our puppies, the absolute best we can do. You can take your puppy at any age to the cardiologist and have them listened to. If you take a newborn puppy to a cardiologist, it will sound different and likely have what would be called a “murmur,” you can take a puppy every single week (I wouldn’t recommend this, however) and it will continue to sound different and have “murmurs” because it is developing. There is no rule that cardiologists won’t see a puppy before its X amount of weeks old. Some misinformation is being spread that you “can’t” take a puppy to a cardiologist before 10 weeks.

The misinformation that a puppy must wait to be seen at 10 weeks is just a senseless opinion. This is not fact, this is not based on any evidence or veterinary advice.

In the last 5-10 years there has been some sudden misinformation about Cardiac Testing and Sub Aortic Stenoses (SAS) that I wanted to post this information.

Today I sat down with the cardiologist after the puppy heart tests. The cardiologist said they *wish* so badly, EVERY cardiologist wishes so terribly badly they knew more about SAS (sub arotoc stenosis) but they just don’t. There is research and more research but it doesn’t give many answers.

Here are the things she told me in short:

– A puppy can develop SAS up to a year old, no matter what you do. SAS is developmental in the heart growth and it can grow / develop anytime as the heart grows.

– The 2 week difference between 8 and 10 weeks to hear a SAS murmur is such a small percentage, the “advice” doesn’t make sense. There is just as much chance that an 8 and 10 week old puppy are cleared, that could develop SAS at a later date.

– You can do an echo-Doppler on 10 week old puppies and STILL absolutely have puppie(s) develop SAS. Because again, it is developmental. They could have every test possible, but still develop SAS at a later age.

– After age 1 year, the heart is developed and testing will prove there is No SAS. Up until this age, it is entirely possible. This is why OFA recommends and recognizes testing at and only after 1 year of age.

Remember, heart issues aren’t the causation of a breeder. A breeder can breed a pairing 5, 10 times and never have a puppy with a heart issue but suddenly the 11th time they could. These genes and inter-workings are researched by some of the top cardiovascular veterinarians and they openly admit they don’t know. Breeders don’t *want* their puppies or puppy families to have any issues, let alone a major one like heart disease.

With the logic of the misinformation being spread, breeders “should” keep their puppies until a year old and they are fully cleared from SAS by the OFA. We don’t believe this is healthy for puppies. We believe in getting puppies into their new homes before the first fear stage begins.

It is widely known and studied that puppies go through different fear stages throughout their lives, puppies go through a fear stage at 8-13 weeks, just when they are going home. As a breeder and a trainer, I would *much* rather a puppy go through that developmental stage with their forever family. This will create a secure attachment for that puppy. I would rather the entire litter get 1 on 1 attention from their families, than be given split attention between all of the puppies during that developmental stage. When a breeder has a litter, their attention is split no matter what, between however many puppies and the mother (and any other dogs they may have). When a puppy goes home they get all of the attention of all the family members. A breeder cannot simply “do it all.”

So why keep them for another 2 weeks? Why should all of the puppies be held back from their new homes because there is a small chance one might have a murmur? Logically it doesn’t make sense.

Now in ONLY the last few years has there suddenly been this misinformation that puppies must not go home before 10 weeks because the puppy must be heart tested after 10 weeks and if it goes home before 10 weeks then the breeder is bad! Even though, a 10 week old puppy can develop SAS *after* it has been checked by both an auscultation (listening to the heart) and a Doppler (ultrasound of the heart)

In addition, according to DVM Jennifer Zablotny via an article on the NCA website “Many breeders have their puppies screened for cardiac diseases by a veterinary cardiologist prior to leaving for their new homes at eight to 10 weeks of age. This helps breeders avoid placing puppies with potentially serious heart defects. The problem with this is that not all murmurs that are heard at eight weeks are pathologic, and puppies with a mild narrowing may not have a murmur when they are checked. Any heart disease that causes turbulent or abnormal blood flow will create a murmur. Pulmonic stenosis and patent ductus (PDA) are two other congenital heart diseases that are also seen in Newfoundlands. A PDA murmur is very characteristic and wouldn’t be confused with a murmur caused by SAS. Innocent murmurs in puppies are usually gone by 16 weeks of age. These murmurs aren’t caused by any underlying disease process and are fairly common across breeds. Puppies without a SAS murmur at eight weeks may have one by 12 or 16 weeks. That doesn’t mean they didn’t have SAS at eight weeks, it just means that the narrowed outflow tract was big enough for the eight-week-old puppy and didn’t grow.” (SubAortic Stenosis in Newfoundlands by Jennifer Zablotny, DVM https://www.newfdoghealth.org/sas.html)

She states that most breeders send home puppies from 8-10 weeks. She also states that puppies without an SAS murmur may have one at 12 or 16 weeks. Which is true, however, a puppy at 16 weeks, 18 weeks all the way up to a year could develop SAS. She doesn’t mention that.

The exact time that is best for a puppy to go to its new home can vary by situation, but most breeders and veterinarians agree that 8 weeks of age is a good minimum.

Here is some good information from the AKC about what age is best to send a puppy home. https://www.akc.org/…/puppy…/best-age-bring-puppy-home

These are extremely important decisions that WILL affect the life of your dog. They need to be considered thoughtfully. Do your research! Speak to your own vets and trainers. Do not follow the advice of anyone on Facebook. There is too much misinformation there. I know it can be time consuming to have these conversations with your own professionals, but the overall outcome will be worth it!