Over in America, March 1st marked the first-ever Canine Heart Health Month being held to raise awareness of canine heart disease.

Supported by a Mobile Dog Heart Health Tour that provides free dog heart exams at special events across the country, the Tour kicked off in Kansas City.

A February 2013 national survey shows that only half of dog owners (49 percent) have ever discussed their dogs’ heart health with a veterinarian, and more than half of them (55 percent) had never heard of congestive heart failure in dogs.

The study also found that about a quarter of dog owners (24 percent) think heartworms in dogs and heart disease in dogs is the same thing – alarming, since heartworms are internal parasites and heart disease leads to heart failure, which is when a disease-weakened heart fails to pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands.

There is a list of breeds susceptible to heart disease and thankfully for Scottish Terriers, they don’t appear on it!

However, it’s well worth reading up about this. My vet always checks my scotties heart rate whenever we visit, so I’m certainly going to familiarise myself with the symptoms of this disease.

Theres a wonderful website http://www.YourDogsHeart.com which provides all the information you’ll need to help you keep an eye on your dog. Please check it out.

Here’s their page outlining the symptoms to look out for. As is the case with some diseases like Cushing’s some of these symptoms do tend to associate themselves with dogs that are getting older – but it’s worth checking them out.