DCM – THE DOBERMAN BREED’S SILENT KILLER

WHAT IS DCM?

The Doberman breed is predisposed to DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy), a heart muscle disorder that can lead to congestive heart failure or sudden death, affecting a significant portion of the breed. Dobermans with heart disease may live for several years without heart failure. These dogs are likely to appear normal to their owners and have no health problems.

CAN I PREVENT DCM?

While there are a few aspects in the way you raise a Doberman pre-disposed to heart disease that can help delay their quality of life being affected or passing, the best prevention is getting a Doberman from a reputable breeder who does extended health testing (#1: echocardiogram -- #2: 24h-holter -- #3: heart auscultation) on their breeding stock, and prioritizes health to improve the breed.

CAN I SCREEN MY DOBERMAN FOR DCM?

DCM can be diagnosed using echocardiogram examination. Occult disease (the hidden form in which there are heart abnormalities but before any symptoms appear) can also be detected using 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring. There has been some interest in using a blood test to detect evidence of heart muscle damage but this has not yet become well established. A blood test has recently been developed by NCSU but is mostly used for research purposes, not for clinical diagnosis.

CAN DCM BE TREATED?

While DCM is a progressive disease and cannot be "cured" it can be managed with medication to improve heart function, reduce fluid buildup, and control arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). Affected dogs will either pass away due to dysrhythmia, show an episode of weakness or collapse due to dysrhythmia, or go into congestive heart failure. Some dogs pass quickly in congestive heart failure that does not respond to treatment, and survival for more than a few months is unusual.

WHY RUN A 24H-HOLTER ON MY DOG?

The gold standard in heart disease monitoring and detection is an echocardiogram, but in order to give a full picture, it must be performed along with a 24h-holter analysis to detect irregular heartbeats. While the echocardiogram can only be performed by a veterinarian - ideally a cardiologist - a 24h-holter can relatively easily be run by a lay person. A Holter monitor, which records a dog's heart rhythm for +/- 24 hours, is the most valuable tool for early detection and monitoring of irregular heart beats, particularly in the Doberman breed.

WHAT'S THE COST OF HEART MONITORING?

An echocardiogram will vary from $400+tx (if you can find a locally-organized health clinic) to $1,000+tx (at a veterinary clinic). Running a 24h-holter cost between $150-300. Most of that cost will be the rental fee, then the interpretation is performed by a US company at a cost of $40US ($60cnd) and the cost of transportation, which is either driving back & forth to where the hardware is rented, or some renters will agree to ship the hardware. The entire holter hardware set's value is approximately $2,000 and a deposit will likely be required.

IS HEART MONITORING MY DOBERMAN NECESSARY?

The short answer is "it depends." For any Doberman that is meant to be bred, full and regular heart monitoring should be an absolute must. For Dobermans that are pet companions, the answer isn't as clear cut, and depends on a variety of factor. The main factors are whether you are aware that there is a history of heart disease in the pedigree, and sadly, whether you can afford it, as full heart monitoring particularly an echocardiogram is quite expensive. If you are able, ideal heart monitoring for a Doberman would be an annual holter and an echocardiogram every other year, starting around two years old. This timeline can be spaced out based on your priorities and budget.

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KIN DOBERMAN uses the most recent and cutting-edge holter monitor model available, the DR400 B-version manufactured by NorthEast Monitoring in Massachussets. The DR400 is not only much smaller and lighter than the DR200, the B-version also has the advantage of not using wires, which is the case with the DR400 A-version. It also allows a Bluetooth USB adapter to wirelessly verify and ensure the electrodes have been correctly installed on the Doberman and are gathering sufficient data over the 24-hour period for a holter monitor report to be produced and achieve its purpose: detecting, if applicable, any irregular heartbeats.
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HOLTER MONITORING RENTAL SERVICE
Rental our holter monitor hardware is available to anyone who would like to start or continue monitoring their Doberman, whether it is displaying symptoms or not. Like the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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WHAT IS THE COST AND WHAT’S INCLUDED?
The cost of the holter monitor rental service is $195+tx. It includes the rental of the holter hardware, the cost of the readings analysis and holter report done by Alba Medical in the United States ($40usd / $60cnd), the setup and installation of the holter and electrodes, wireless verification of adequate heartbeat readings, fitting of a wrap ThunderShirt and Tactical harness cover for added protection and reduced risk of disconnection, removal of the holter hardware after 24 hours, and finally the file transmission for interpretation.
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CAN I SEND THE HOLTER FILE AND PAY THAT FEE MYSELF?
You absolutely can. We are only offering the full package, including file transmission and communications with Alba Medical, to make it easier on users. However, if you wish to do handle this process and pay for it yourself, we will discount $40usd / $60cnd from the total rental fee.
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HOW DO WE MEET?
For no additional cost, all of the above can be done by bringing your Doberman to St. Catharines, Ontario. Home calls or meetups within a certain distance are available at an additional cost.
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WHAT IS THE TRAVEL FEE FOR A HOME CALL OR MEETUP?
The fee of a home call or meetup includes two return-trips, both for the setup and installation, as well as the holter hardware removal. We have set rates for a few locations in South-Central Ontario, other locations will be quoted based on mileage & travel time. While exceptions may be made at times, we don’t typically do home calls & meetups that are more than 100km away from St. Catharines. Furthermore, they may only be possible based on timely availability, and will only take place on weekends or weekday evenings.
$40 – anywhere in the Niagara Peninsula (east of Grimsby)
$60 – Hamilton
$70 – Burlington
$80 – Oakville
$90 – Mississauga (south of the 401)
$95 – Etobicoke (south of Eglinton)
$110 – Downtown Toronto and surrounding areas (south of Dupont St. & West of DVP)
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CAN YOU SHIP ME THE HOLTER PACKAGES WITH INSTRUCTIONS?
Unfortunately we do not ship our holter. We only meet in person and install/remove the holter monitor hardware ourselves. This ensures maximum efficiency when it comes to setting up the holter on the computer pre-installation, installing the holter and electrodes at the right location on your Doberman, verifying the reading is adequate with the Bluetooth USB adapter, and putting on both the wrap shirt and the tactical harness to protect the unit and electrodes from shifting and/or disconnecting. Consequently, this often helps prevent failed readings and having to do a repeat 24h-holter.
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WILL YOU HAVE TO SHAVE MY DOG’S COAT?
It is preferable to shave an approximately 5″x 5″ area on the left side of the chest where the holter monitor will be installed, as it will serve two main purposes. First, the heartbeat readings will be much stronger and clearer, and it will be much less likely that data will be insufficient to produce a report, which can happen when the electrodes are patched on the coat.
Second, removing the electrodes will be a lot more comfortable for your Doberman. Not only do we have to remove the patches themselves, but also a very strong medical tape we use on top and around the patches to reenforce the adherence. Removing the patches and this strong medical tape on top of the hair can be extremely uncomfortable for a Doberman (pulling/ripping hair) especially if done by someone will less experience.
The Doberman in the picture here-above did not have its hair shaved, but it show you the approximate area in question. You can expect the hair to be back and fully grown within a month.
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HOW CAN I HELP PREVENT THE ELECTRODES FROM DETACHING?
The vest as well as the tactical harness on top should not be removed under any circumstances, with the exception of a medical reason. However, they can be carefully lifted a little to verify that the electrodes have no detached from the chest and are still attached to the holter unit. Also following the instructions in the section below about limiting your Doberman’s activities and controlling the environment is key to minimize electrodes movement or detachment.
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HOW CAN I HELP WITH THE ACCURACY OF THE REPORT
While your Doberman is wearing the holter monitor, you should reasonably restrict physical activities. Heavy playing, excessive running, stressful/scary situations, contact with aggressive/reactive dogs and unsupervised physical activity, among others, have the potential to skew the reading results. Normal household activities and multiple extended walks are perfectly fine and recommended, as long as they don’t involve your Doberman being exposed to the above-mentioned factors.
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HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET THE HOLTER REPORT?
In the overwhelming majority of cases, a report is produce by Alba Medical within 24 hours of the file being shared with them. In some few cases it may take more time if there is a backlog. If the holter monitor’s placement on the dog was tampered with, it is likely that no report will be available at that time, unless the tampering took place toward the end of the 24-hour period, in which case enough data may be available for the analysis.
If the holter monitor’s placement on the dog was tampered with, for whatever reason (can be caused among others by the dog not being supervised, being allowed to do high-level run and play, horseplay with other dogs, removing the harness/vest, etc.) Alba Medical will let us know, and another 24h-holter run will be needed. A single free additional rental will be made available on the same dog. Home call & meetup cost will be charged.
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IS THERE A DISCOUNT TO HOLTER MY 2ND DOBERMAN?
Yes. The cost to holter any additional Doberman at the same address where the hardware removal takes place is $110+tx and includes the $60 Alba Medical analysis and all of the above. In the case of home calls & meetups, the additional travel charges will be 50% of the usual cost, as it only requires one additional return-trip the next day, instead of two.
If you know other Doberman owners in the same area, the discount also applies, and is a great way to save on the holter rental cost. Holter monitoring can be done back-to-back as many days in a row and on as many Dobermans as desired for this reduced rate.
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IS THERE A DISCOUNT IF MY DOBERMAN IS FROM YOUR KENNEL?
Absolutely. Any Doberman homed from our kennel will be holtered at a reduced cost of $95+tx, and includes the $60 Alba Medical analysis and all of the above. In the case of home calls & meetups, travel charges will apply.
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IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD BE AWARE OF?
As mentioned above, the entire holter hardware set’s value is approximately $2,000. Consequently, we require a small deposit in the amount of $500. A rental agreement will also be signed, outlining the terms, timeline & conditions under which the rental takes place.
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