| Benfelds Boxers |
Aortic/Subaortic Stenosis (Heart Murmur Testing)
Auscultation
All Boxer breeders should at a minimum have a specialist vet test their dogs by stethoscope also known as auscultation. The dog will be given a score from 0 to 6. A 0 rating means that dog is heart murmur free. A 1 would mean the dog was mildly affected and as the numbers increase the degree of severity increases. Any dog over a 2 rating should not be bred from, a 2 rated dog should only be bred to a 0 rated dog. This test should be done after 12 months of age.
Doppler Echocardiography
This procedure is usually carried out concurrently with ultrasound scanning when equipment is available and it is the most effective method of detecting and quantitating aortic (and pulmonic) stenosis. It does this by directly measuring the velocity of the blood flow through the valves.
All Boxer breeders should at a minimum have a specialist vet test their dogs by stethoscope also known as auscultation. The dog will be given a score from 0 to 6. A 0 rating means that dog is heart murmur free. A 1 would mean the dog was mildly affected and as the numbers increase the degree of severity increases. Any dog over a 2 rating should not be bred from, a 2 rated dog should only be bred to a 0 rated dog. This test should be done after 12 months of age.
Doppler Echocardiography
This procedure is usually carried out concurrently with ultrasound scanning when equipment is available and it is the most effective method of detecting and quantitating aortic (and pulmonic) stenosis. It does this by directly measuring the velocity of the blood flow through the valves.
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