Vet’s warning about four dog breeds at risk of heart disease could see them ‘die in the park’

A vet has singled out four dog breeds he says are at higher risk of heart disease – some can even drop dead. Posting on Tiktok under the name ben.the.vet, he said there were four breeds of dogs that were particularly prone to health conditions related to their hearts.

He said that while spotting symptoms early can improve the animal’s life, if they don’t realize they are in danger, they could see them die suddenly – or even just “drop dead in the park”. But since some of the conditions have no symptoms, it can be difficult to know if you’re at risk.

The vet has now outlined what to look out for and how to give your pet the best chance of a longer life. The four breeds are Dobermann, Boxer, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Golden Retriever – this is what he advises:

Dobermann

Ben started with Dobermanns telling his followers: “It’s really quite a shocking statistic that over 58% of Dobermanns over the age of seven have dilated cardiomyopathy. This is a disease where the muscle in the heart wall begins to weaken, eventually leading to heart failure, but also a high risk of arrhythmias and sudden death.

“Unfortunately, there are often no signs of a problem and the dog can drop dead in the park. If you have a Dobermann, talk to your vet about examining him even from the age of two or three, because if it’s caught early, medication can be given to delay any problems.”

Boxer

Ben says he included them because there are several different heart conditions for which they are considered high risk. One of these is a congenital problem called aortic or subaortic stenosis, where a narrowing develops where blood leaves the heart to the rest of the body.

He said: “Most cases are mild and there are no clinical signs. We may only hear a heart murmur on examination at the vet. But in severe cases it can lead to collapse during exercise and even sudden death. Fortunately, this is something that breeders are well aware of and in some countries, including France, the prevalence has been shown to decrease significantly as breeding dogs have been tested.”

But he said there are other risks, including the breed having a three percent prevalence of pulmonary 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 dobermans.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Ben says Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are: “Great dogs, great hearts.” He said by age 10 up to 90 percent have mitral valve disease. This is where one of the heart valves begins to degenerate and becomes leaky.

He said: “This is usually detected initially with a heart murmur but can eventually lead to the dog going into heart failure, developing coughing and breathing abnormalities and unfortunately is a cause of death for many knights.

“Depending on the stage of the disease the dog is in, there are medications that can help slow the progression of the disease.” He advises anyone with a cavalier murmur to talk to their vet if they haven’t already.

Labrador

He said he included them “not because they are at massive risk of having a particular heart problem” but because they were more likely to suffer from a condition called pericardial effusion, which is generally very rare but in a referral center found that a third of the dogs they saw with the condition were golden retrievers.

This is a condition where fluid builds up around the heart, often slowly but gradually meaning 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.