heart murmur

Hi, me again, this time a different problem with my first little "baby" Maltese, Perry. (You may remember me from the previous "Stop the insanity, house-breaking" post. My two and 1/2 year old Perry is sick...apparently he has a cold. While he was at the vet, the doc said he has a heart murmur and will "grow out of it". Is this so? Is this common among Maltese? I would not be as concerned if Perry was a "normal" dog....you see, we had many problem with him as a puppy. He was hospitalized with liver problems when he was just a pup. A diagnosis was never really given and he sort of just grew out of it. The only thing is that he is a finicky eater. He won't eat any dry or canned dog food. He won't go near the stuff. Our vet told us to feed him white rice and boiled chicken....this works because I believe he is about nine or ten pounds. His behavior worries me the most. ...He just sits on the couch all day. You can't encourage him to play! He won't play with his toys! It is really depressing. I have suspected for some time now that something is wrong...and now with the reacent diagnosis of a heart murmur, could this all be related? SHould I be concerned?
Paula A.

• Hi Paula, I don't mean to worry you, but many of the behaviors you are speaking of are not typical of a young Maltese. Perhaps you can get a second or third Vet oppinion. Maybe another member from your area can recommend a good Vet. I have also heard that heart murmors can be "not a problem". My last dog had one and lived to be 15, and didn't die of a heart attack. So keep the faith!

  I would just get your Maltese checked by a couple more vets and be specific about the strange behaviors and see what happens. Hopefully, you just have an accentric Maltese in that he just is not as active as you would think, but IS happy and healty. Unfortunately you need a GOOD vet to make that assesment. Good Luck!
  Nick