Dilated Cardiomyopathy ("DCM")

We believe that Dilated Cardiomyopathy ("DCM"), a disease of the heart which causes the dog to drop dead, often without warning and at a young age, is one of the biggest threats to the Estrela Mountain Dog, particularly as there are breeders who do not acknowledge that this breed suffers from the condition. At the time of writing, there is no test to determine conclusively whether a dog will develop the condition or is a carrier for it, but our understanding of current medical opinion is that a clear heart test carried out at age 5 or above is a very strong indication that that dog (and therefore his/her genes) are clear. Unfortunately, many dogs are bred much earlier, meaning that you can have two or three generations of dogs bred before the problem comes to light, by which time there may be several puppies potentially affected; thus it is very important to research lines very thoroughly.

Please find below an article very kindly written specifically for us by Dr Luis Lobo, who has been studying DCM in the Estrela for several years now, and a table showing the ranges of measurements in the normal Estrela (extracted from Dr Lobo's study). You can also find an article written by Nichola Marshall, Missy's breeder, who has been attempting to organise a heart-testing day for Estrelas in the UK, by clicking here.

Before buying a puppy, ask your breeder about heart testing of the parents and grandparents, ask about heart conditions in the lines and about sudden or unexplained deaths or deaths at a young age.