Dilated cardiomyopathyin dogs
In large-breed dogs, dilated cardiomyopathy is the leading heart disease. As the heart grows larger, its ability to pump weakens. Months can pass before you notice any outward signs.
Monitoring is especially useful during this symptom-free period, known as the occult phase. Learn what DCM means for your dog and which changes you can keep track of at home.
Biotracker:daily health monitoring
Your dog carries on as usual while a connected collar device records heart and breathing rates. No shaving or direct skin contact is needed for ongoing measurements.
Choose Plus or Max GPS for alerts and a daily report.
Biotracker
A daily view of your dog's heart health
- Heart rate and breathing rate at rest
- Detection of atrial fibrillation (AFib) risk
- Trends across days instead of one-off readings
- Shareable reports for your veterinarian
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What everyday monitoringcan help you spot
Appointments can be months apart. Biotracker records what happens in between, so you do not have to rely on memory. The daily report is included in Plus and Max GPS plans.
Resting heart rate
Measured during sleep, when readings are most comparable from one day to the next. Biotracker also includes an estimate of atrial fibrillation (AFib) risk.
Respiratory rate
The measure cardiologists most often ask owners to count at home, recorded automatically.
Sleep and activity
A dog may start moving less or sleeping differently before their owner notices a change.
Veterinary report
Clinics using Biotrack can follow charts and trends remotely, or you can download a complete PDF report before the appointment.
From daily readingsto your veterinary appointment
Between visits, Biotracker keeps a record of your dog's measurements and highlights departures from their usual habits. It supports monitoring; it cannot provide a diagnosis.
Measure at rest
Resting and sleeping measurements build an ongoing record of heart and breathing rates.
Build a personal baseline
Each new reading helps define your dog's individual baseline, rather than relying on a breed average.
Flag a lasting change
A persistent departure from the personal baseline triggers an alert, rather than a universal cutoff. This feature is available with Plus and Max GPS.
Share with your vet
Share health and activity information through the dedicated Biotrack platform, or export a PDF directly from the app.
Monitor treatment response
When treatment follows a diagnosis, your veterinarian can use Biotracker records to review how your dog responds and decide whether dosage changes are needed.
Signs that meanit is time to see your vet
These changes cannot diagnose DCM on their own. They are reasons to arrange a cardiac evaluation, especially if your dog's breed is predisposed.
How can AFib alerts help with DCM? A heart weakened by DCM can pump even less effectively if atrial fibrillation develops. AFib risk alerts from Biotracker can draw attention to this risk between vet visits. Contact your veterinarian promptly to confirm it with an ECG and review care if needed.
Breathing · Faster than usual at rest
Watch for breathing during sleep that stays above your dog's usual rate for several days, with no obvious cause such as heat, exertion or stress.
Stamina · New fatigue during exercise
Walks become shorter, recovery takes longer or your dog no longer wants outings they once enjoyed. Compare with their own past behavior rather than an absolute activity target.
Urgency · Coughing, weakness or fainting
Do not wait to seek veterinary care for a cough that persists, loss of balance or a short fainting episode. Such symptoms are late signs.
Causes andpredisposed breeds
DCM affects the muscle of a dog's heart. Its left ventricle expands, the walls thin and the pumping action becomes weaker. Before diagnosing it, a veterinarian excludes other conditions that can impair heart muscle function.
A largely genetic origin
An autosomal dominant inheritance pattern has been described in Dobermans. Passing through generations, this genetic component explains why family history and breed matter when assessing a dog's risk.
Two ways it can appear
Abnormal rhythms and weakened contractions can occur separately or together at the start of disease. A 24-hour Holter evaluates electrical activity, while an echocardiogram evaluates structure; screening uses both.
Non-hereditary factors
Researchers have reported diet-associated cases since 2018. Investigation continues, and causation has not been established.
Before and after diagnosis
Before: notice what changes
A dog from an at-risk breed may look healthy throughout years of occult disease. Regular tracking provides a picture of that dog's usual readings. It adds context but cannot take the place of Holter screening or an echocardiogram.
- Know your dog's baseline before new changes arise
- Have a concrete reason to schedule screening sooner
After: track progression
Treatment and diagnosis do not remove the gaps between appointments. Records collected over those weeks and months give your veterinarian evidence to review as they manage the disease and consider changes to care.
- See the history over time, not just individual measurements
- Share a report ahead of each follow-up visit
Monitor your cardiac patients remotely
With Invoxia's Biotrack professional platform, your practice can view data from its Biotracker-equipped dogs in one place. Follow the patients you identify as at risk throughout the period between office visits.
Dilated cardiomyopathy:how common is it in Dobermans?
Why highlight Dobermans? DCM affects this breed particularly often, and screening studies provide detailed figures by age. In Wess and colleagues' study of 412 Dobermans, cumulative prevalence reached 58.2%. These are breed-specific findings, not estimates for the overall dog population.
Prevalence by age in Dobermans
Researchers screened 412 dogs with echocardiograms and 24-hour Holter recordings.
| Age | Prevalence |
|---|---|
| 1–2 years | 3% |
| 2–4 years | 10% |
| 4–6 years | 12.5% |
| 6–8 years | 44% |
| Over 8 years | 44% |
Active screening of a breed population produced these results. They are not clinical prevalence figures drawn from dogs seen at appointments, so those two approaches cannot be compared directly.
Sources: Wess et al., J Vet Intern Med 2010; Wess et al., J Vet Cardiol 2017; Tidholm et al., Vet J 2001; Broschk & Distl, Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr 2005; Summerfield et al., J Vet Intern Med 2012; Freeman et al., JAVMA 2018; Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Breedsmost often affected
Among canine heart diseases, DCM ranks second in frequency overall and first in large breeds.
The Doberman is one of the breeds most affected. Read more about this breed's characteristics.
The Irish Wolfhound is a breed frequently affected by DCM.
The Newfoundland also belongs to the group of breeds most often affected.
Ventricular arrhythmias are a frequent form of presentation in the Boxer.
The Great Dane is another predisposed breed included in this overview.
Taurine deficiency can play a role in Cocker Spaniels.
The four stagesof the disease
The progression is described by veterinary cardiologists in four stages. Dogs spend much of that time in stages A and B, often looking completely healthy.
A · At-risk dog
Breed or family history indicates a risk, yet testing reveals no abnormalities. This is where monitoring begins.
B · Occult phase
Enlargement or rhythm abnormalities are present in the heart without outward symptoms. This silent stage may continue for years.
C · Heart failure
Fatigue, a cough or rapid breathing signals the onset of clinical symptoms. Your veterinarian initiates treatment.
D · Refractory stage
Standard treatment no longer controls heart failure. Care then requires hospitalization.
In Dobermans, the PROTECT study found that preclinical treatment with pimobendan postponed clinical symptoms and extended survival. Finding disease early can therefore affect the treatment a veterinarian chooses.
Your dog's health,in one app.
Use iOS or Android to view resting measurements, changes over time, health alerts and reports for your vet. Plus and Max GPS subscriptions include both alerts and the daily report.
Read more aboutyour dog's heart health
Doberman and Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Early Detection to Act in Time
Canine Health: Understanding Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Protecting Your Dog's Heart
Dog Heart Rate: What if You Knew Yours? When Invoxia Technology Revolutionizes Veterinary Science
Senior Cardiac Dog: How to Effectively Monitor Its Heart
Questions dog owners ask us
Need help understanding monitoring or this condition? You can also reach our support team directly.
Get in touch
DCM is progressive and cannot be cured, but treatment can slow its course and help your dog stay more comfortable. In the PROTECT trial, Dobermans given treatment before symptoms developed experienced a later onset of clinical signs. Your veterinarian directs that care.
The European Society of Veterinary Cardiology advises starting at age three for Dobermans, with an echocardiogram and 24-hour Holter repeated each year. A normal result at one visit does not exclude DCM arising in the future.
Yes, outward health does not exclude DCM. During its occult stage, the heart has abnormalities while the dog shows no symptoms, sometimes for years. Screening aims to identify this stage in predisposed breeds.
No. A veterinarian diagnoses heart disease using a physical examination, echocardiography and Holter testing. Biotracker's role is to record vital signs and highlight when your dog's established patterns change.
Alerts use trends from your own dog's readings and look for lasting departures from those patterns. A universal cutoff would not reflect individual differences, even between two seven-year-old Dobermans. Plus and Max GPS include this alert feature.
Share the readings with your veterinarian and contact them right away. An estimated AFib risk still needs diagnostic confirmation, including an ECG. Collapse, unconsciousness or trouble breathing requires immediate contact with an emergency veterinary service.
The device clips onto the collar your dog already wears. It takes readings without electrodes, skin contact or shaving, and stays on during everyday life and sleep. Sleeping provides the most reliable resting measurements.
Keep track of your dog's heart, every day
With daily heart and breathing measurements, Biotracker helps you follow your dog's patterns and notifies you about departures from them. Both the daily report and alerts are part of Plus and Max GPS.
Monitoring with Biotracker complements veterinary care. The device cannot diagnose disease or replace a clinical exam, echocardiogram or Holter recording.