DCM, or dilated cardiomyopathy, is a heart disease that irrevocably leads to the death of your Irish Wolfhound before he reaches the age of five.

When diagnosed in time, your dog’s life can be eased and prolonged with the right care and medication.

This disease seems to be hereditary.

The problem here is that we don’t know how exactly this disease inherits, and what gene or genes are involved. Extensive studies take place in the Unites States to determine these genes, but it can easily take another ten to fifteen years before we know more. It is believed also the size of the Irish Wolfhound is a factor. Until we know more, breeding Irish Wolfhounds is a bit like Russian roulette.

What we do, as 4-ever Wolfhounds, is to have our dogs and their offspring examined on a regular basis. This extensive heart examination is developed especially for this breed and includes an ECG and ultrasound check and of course a clinical examination. All found values are calculated according to a standardised method, and the result will tell you whether your dog is healthy or not (at that moment).

Only very few veterinarians in the Netherlands are qualified to perform this examination.

The nasty element of these heart diseases is that one moment your dog appears healthy, and some months or years later shows signs of serious abnormalities.

Even though both parent animals had a healthy heart at the time of mating, unfortunately that gives you no guarantee for healthy offspring.