Hello. I have recently put a deposit down on a puppy. The breeder took it to the vet and said that the puppy has a heart beat of 200+. She is 4wks old. The breeder said she was going to put her down, I asked her to wait until I could get some information. Does anyone know if the puppies heartbeat will slow down with age? I guess the vet said he wouldn't put it down right now, but could be an issue. Does anyone have any suggestions or do I just accept what the breeder says and have her put her down? Please help! I am absolutely heartbroken.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...te-golden.html (normal heart rate for a golden?)

I believe based on the above thread that the normal heartbeat is pretty low (60-120 bpm). I'd talk a bit more with your breeder and see why she feels euthaniasia is the only solution and maybe contact a couple local vets to see what their take on it is.

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He said it could possibly slow down with a little age. I guess there are a couple in the litter that have fast heartbeats, but she says they act fine, just a little small. Now really concerned for the puppies and my heart.

Does the puppy have a flat chest? This can cause a much faster heart beat. Just a thought ...I guess the vet would have picked up on that. I'm not even sure if puppies can suffer from that? Kittens can & one of our Bengal cats has it. We chose not to euthanise her at six weeks old, as vet said she was not suffering at all ...I picked up there was something wrong when she was two weeks old, as could see her little heart was going far more quickly than the other babies in the litter ...we had never had a flat chested baby before. Vet told us Tammy would not live beyond five years. We decided to keep her ourselves as a pet. She is now six & a half years old & vet says her heart, though still much quicker than normal, is doing fine. She has always been a very active cat, & is still very active. So if your baby does have this, & it is not severe, it could probably lead a relatively normal life. Do some research on the net. Phone up a couple of vets & see what they think. I know that must be very distressing for you ....big hug from NZ.

Has the sire & dam of these puppies had their heart cleared by a cardiologist of which the clearance is verifiable on OFA? For that matter, are there generations of heart clearances behind these dogs to include the other basics (hips, elbow, eye)? If not, unless the breeder wants to give you a pup for free & you're prepared to cover the medical costs, I'd walk away.

Get 2nd opinion and I would suggest referral to cardiologist before any drastic decisions were made. I do not know why the breeder would be jumping the gun to euthanize.

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Sorry you have to go through this. The puppies with the fast heartbeats are most likely smaller, because they need more energy (calories) in their diets because their little hearts are working so hard.