[Arexytece]

Well, I had something shocking occur to me today. I watched one of my dogs die of what I assume was a heart defect of some sort. She was running around the house just like she always does. Then bam, she went down, stiffened & died. I asked a friend of mine who is a vet tech & he said it is becoming more & more common for APBTs to just fall over & die right after exercise. Are heart problems becoming an issue for our breed & if so, what disease is it? I was just told my girl had a heart attack.

And no, this girl was not merle or merle bred. I know someone out there is wondering that. She was a non-merle dog out of non-merle stock, 15 months of age.

Blessings ...

[2CNWXAqN]

wtf.im so sorry to hear.how would you prevent something like that,or detect it?

[BrainTop]

That is terrible I am so sorry for your loss. I am sure with all the poor breeding practices out there these things are becoming more common just like lots of other issues, bad hips, bad eyes, ataxia etc. did a vet say for sure it was a heart attack? Had she or any of the other dogs that she came from ever had their hearts checked? Are you planning on having their hearts checked now? Having their hearts checked at an OFA clinic by a board certified cardiologist is very inexpensive... FWIW

[xtc2d6u8]

a friend of mine also just had this happen, no one knew what happened. happy and running around the chain spot, within hours the dog just died.

[lapyignipinge]

ABK, I don't know for certain what killed your dog,but I am suspecting acute DCM. It's seen more commonly in the doberman pinscher,and causes a dog to litterally ''drop dead'' with a cardiac arrest. Another form of DCM,comes on over months/weeks/years and behaves simularly to CHF or a heart rythmn defect.
I know there is now a DCM genetic test for the doberman breed,however I beleive it's the only breed that it is available for at this time.Hopefully it will expand to other susceptable breeds like the german shepherd dogs.
I am not aware of any common heritable cardiac issues within the APBT,but then again I am not a breeder,nor a person who deals with a great deal of pit bulls.I own a 'pet bull'.

I am sorry you lost your dog to a cardiac event.Perhaps you should have a necropsy performed to establish true cause of death?

[Dstyeglm]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[BeaseHoca]

That is frightening - I am sorry for your loss!

I wonder if there is some type of dog CPR that can resuscitate when that happens...

[Maymayfor]

im so sorry for your loss

i cant believe it was so sudden and i am guessing its also unpreventable?

[Arexytece]

Prophesy, I was thinking the exact same thing. I know of a man who brags about how he "killed a Doberman." He taunted the dog & got it running up & down the fence line & it just fell over dead. The dog had DCM. She did the same thing - one moment running about happy & healthy & the next she dropped down, stone cold dead.

I am still in shock over it. I have heard of this, but I've never seen it. It happened so quick. She was just running around the house, then she just hit the ground like a stone. I did a finger sweep to make sure she hadn't choked on anything (she hadn't) & performed chest compressions on her to no avail.

As for her ancestors, her ancestors have no history to heart issues that are known. I did not breed the dog, nor do I have any of her ancestors, so testing is not something I can do. I did however call the fellow who bred her & has some of her relatives to let him know so he is aware of what happened.

None of the vets in my town or the surrounding town do necropcies. The only diagnosis I got was "heart attack" which as Prophesy said was probably secondary to DCM.

Blessings ...

[mireOpekrhype]

Lost an American Bulldog in the same way. Both dobies and boxers are often effected w/similar cardiac issues. I do have my dogs cardiac tested now, I go when OFA offers clinics, as it's much cheaper. I don't think it's common in the APBT, just not unheard of.
I'm sorry for your loss.

[capeAngedlelp]

That is a terrifying thought! I'm so sorry for your loss.
Looks like I'll be scheduling a visit to the cardiologist sometime soon. What would one be looking for for something like this?

[Arexytece]

http://hubpages.com/hub/Dilated-Card...Killer-In-Dogs

[capeAngedlelp]

Informative read. Thank you. What a sad disease.

[YpciJQdo]

Prophesy, I was thinking the exact same thing. I know of a man who brags about how he "killed a Doberman." He taunted the dog & got it running up & down the fence line & it just fell over dead. The dog had DCM. She did the same thing - one moment running about happy & healthy & the next she dropped down, stone cold dead.

I am still in shock over it. I have heard of this, but I've never seen it. It happened so quick. She was just running around the house, then she just hit the ground like a stone. I did a finger sweep to make sure she hadn't choked on anything (she hadn't) & performed chest compressions on her to no avail.

As for her ancestors, her ancestors have no history to heart issues that are known. I did not breed the dog, nor do I have any of her ancestors, so testing is not something I can do. I did however call the fellow who bred her & has some of her relatives to let him know so he is aware of what happened.

None of the vets in my town or the surrounding town do necropcies. The only diagnosis I got was "heart attack" which as Prophesy said was probably secondary to DCM.

Blessings ...

I was just about to ask that. There is NO WHERE that could do one. That is hard to believe.

[Arexytece]

Nope. All we have around here are small town country vets. The last time I wanted a necropsy done all the vets in both my town & the surrounding towns refused to do it & every single one of them said if I wanted one done, I'd have to get it done at the MSU vet school.

Blessings ...

[vekiuytyh]

Wow, that's terrible. I am so sorry for your loss. That sounds kinda like what one of our other members dog died from.. well, at least the running around happy one minute, and not the next. How heartbreaking.

[masaredera]

Wow, that's terrible. I am so sorry for your loss. That sounds kinda like what one of our other members dog died from.. well, at least the running around happy one minute, and not the next. How heartbreaking.

Yep...that does sound like how Pandora died. The husband and I let her out of her crate, she went outside to go potty. She was running around and prancing all happy like when she came in. The she jumped on to the couch and started screaming. Next thing we knew, she died in Nate's arms. It is a sad way to watch a beloved dog died. You feel helpless.

I am so sorry for your lost.

[Arexytece]

Whew, tell me about it. I was floored. I got on the phone with my husband as soon as she dropped. He asked how she was & I remember trying to get her to come around & then doing chest compressions, saying "I think she just died ..." It was no use - I think she was unconscious &/or dead as soon as she hit the ground. It happened so quickly, it was like it wasn't even real.

But now that I know this is a growing problem in our breed, I will definitely keep this on my radar in the future. Does anyone know if there is a test for DCM in APBTs & if so, when it can be performed?

Blessings ...

[f6HLLFcw]

I'm sorry for your loss ABK
this is quite scary

[rJohutozsfds]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine how to react to that.