Auscultation may not pick up mild or even moderate TVD. And yes, a dog with mild to moderate TVD can live a normal life. I have a dog with moderate TVD and he is my most athletic and active dog. I hope to have him for many years but the reality is that with TVD I could lose him at any time. It could be a slow decline or he could die suddenly. I know breeders who experienced both. Unfortunately, the mode of inheritance is not known. With my TVD affected dog, the cardiologist could not hear the murmur with a normal stethoscope even though TVD was just diagnosed through color doppler. She was only able to hear it with a pediatric stethoscope.
You can get TVD with two color doppler clear parents. If you breed a dog with TVD, you will likely have multiple cases in the litter. I know of a litter where the sire was clear and the dam was affected and the entire litter had TVD. This isn't always the case. TVD is very complicated and very frustrating. I know a cardiologist who is now suggesting that a much more precise digital stethoscope should be used for auscultation but I don't know how many vets have them. I know the new cardiologist in my area did not have one when doing a heart clinic.
Auscultation may not pick up mild or even moderate TVD. And yes, a dog with mild to moderate TVD can live a normal life. I have a dog with moderate TVD and he is my most athletic and active dog. I hope to have him for many years but the reality is that with TVD I could lose him at any time. It could be a slow decline or he could die suddenly. I know breeders who experienced both. Unfortunately, the mode of inheritance is not known. With my TVD affected dog, the cardiologist could not hear the murmur with a normal stethoscope even though TVD was just diagnosed through color doppler. She was only able to hear it with a pediatric stethoscope.
You can get TVD with two color doppler clear parents. If you breed a dog with TVD, you will likely have multiple cases in the litter. I know of a litter where the sire was clear and the dam was affected and the entire litter had TVD. This isn't always the case. TVD is very complicated and very frustrating. I know a cardiologist who is now suggesting that a much more precise digital stethoscope should be used for auscultation but I don't know how many vets have them. I know the new cardiologist in my area did not have one when doing a heart clinic.
I have a TVD affected bitch - had clear auscultation from our Vet, clear auscultation from cardiologist, failed the echo. Had one litter between her auscultation and the echo - all pups cleared an echo at 12 months.
The board certified veterinary cardiologist that does my echoes has quoted that 20% of dogs that pass auscultation go on to have TVD diagnosed during the echo.
