Health
What does a grade 2 murmur mean in a Papillon?
Soft but consistently audible. In an adult Papillon with no symptoms it is usually monitored with a recheck in about six months rather than investigated immediately.
← Back to breed profile
Papillon Heart Murmurs: What the Grade Actually Tells You
Quick answer
What does a grade 2 murmur mean in a Papillon?
Soft but consistently audible. In an adult Papillon with no symptoms it is usually monitored with a recheck in about six months rather than investigated immediately.
The two questions that matter are how loud and how old. Everything else follows from those.
Buyers who have just been told a Papillon puppy has a murmur at its first vaccination visit, and owners of adult dogs holding a note that says grade two or grade three without knowing what the number means.
Important reminder
This guide is not medical advice. If your dog shows pain, sudden behavior change, or worsening symptoms, consult a licensed veterinarian.
Some links may be affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only suggest products we believe are helpful for dog owners.
What this problem looks like
A heart murmur is turbulence you can hear. In Papillons the finding splits neatly by age: in puppies it is frequently an innocent flow murmur that resolves as the dog grows, and occasionally a structural defect present from birth. In adults it is most often the first audible evidence of valve tissue that has begun to degenerate. Grade, location and timing within the heartbeat are what tell the two apart.
Common triggers
- Rapid blood flow through a growing puppy heart
- Degenerative thickening of the mitral valve with age
- Congenital narrowing of an outflow tract
- A vessel that failed to close after birth
- Anaemia, fever or excitement raising flow speed
Soft transient murmurs are a routine finding at puppy visits across all small breeds, and most disappear. Adult onset murmurs become steadily more common through a Papillon's second decade, which is a longer decade than most dogs get. Being told your dog has one is not unusual and is not, on its own, bad news.
Why this happens
Breed factors
Toy breeds concentrate two separate murmur sources. Their valve connective tissue is prone to age related degeneration, so leaks develop in later life. And because small breeds have been selected for extreme size reduction, congenital plumbing faults such as a vessel that should close at birth but does not appear at a higher rate than in mid sized dogs. A Papillon at five to ten pounds sits inside both patterns.
Environment factors
Nothing an owner does creates a murmur, but plenty affects whether it is detected. Loud clinics, panting, a thick ruff of coat around the chest and a wriggling five pound dog all make soft sounds easy to miss. Practices that examine small dogs in a quiet room, before the dog has been excited by the waiting area, find grade one murmurs that a rushed exam does not.
What you can do at home (once it is not an emergency)
When to talk to your vet
Get an appointment promptly if a known murmur has grown louder, if your Papillon has begun coughing at night, or if it now stops on walks it used to finish. Seek emergency care immediately for collapse, fainting, open mouth breathing at rest, or gums that are pale, grey or blue. In a young Papillon, a loud murmur combined with poor growth or exercise intolerance is also urgent rather than routine, because some congenital defects have a limited window for correction.
At home, alongside your vet's plan
- Write the murmur grade, date and location on the same page every time it is checked, so you have a trend rather than a scatter of memories.
- Bring your Papillon in for cardiac rechecks at the quietest appointment slot the clinic offers, and let the dog settle in the room before the stethoscope comes out.
- Learn to feel the chest wall with a flat palm. If you can feel a buzz where the heartbeat is, that is a thrill and it needs reporting.
- Keep the dog lean at its correct five to ten pound frame, which reduces the workload behind any leak.
- Tell every clinician who will sedate your dog, including groomers who use sedation and dental practices, that a murmur exists.
More Papillon health & behavior issues
- Papillon Heart Conditions: Signs, Screening & What to Expect
- Papillon Kidney Disease: The Price of a 16-Year Lifespan
- Papillon Liver Shunts: The Puppy Who Goes Odd After Meals
- Papillon Pancreatitis and Diabetes: How One Leads to the Other
- Papillon Pancreatitis: The Holiday Illness and the Praying Posture
- Cherry Eye in Papillons: The Red Lump and Why It Must Not Be Cut Out
- Papillon Allergic Reactions: Stings, Shots & Swelling
- Papillon Allergies: Itching, Ears & What Else It Could Be
- Papillon Immune-Mediated Thyroiditis: The Silent Stage Before Symptoms
- Papillon Obesity: Why Ounces Matter and the Coat Hides Everything
- Papillon Patellar Luxation Surgery: What Owners Actually Pay
- Papillon Separation Anxiety: What Owners Actually Pay
- Papillon Skin Allergies: Read the Itch Map Before You Change the Food
- Skin Infections in Papillons: The Coat, Not the Face
- Chondrodystrophy (CDDY) and the Papillon: A Trait This Breed Lacks
Heart Murmurs in other breeds
- Jack Russell Terrier Heart Murmurs: Signs & Treatment
- Labradoodle Heart Murmurs: Signs, Lifespan & Treatment
- Maltese Heart Murmurs: Signs, Lifespan & Treatment
- Miniature Schnauzer Heart Murmurs: Signs & Treatment
- Poodle Heart Murmurs: Signs, Lifespan & Treatment
- Rottweiler Heart Murmurs: Signs, Lifespan & Treatment
- Standard Schnauzer Heart Murmurs: Signs & Treatment
- Yorkshire Terrier Heart Murmurs: Signs, Lifespan & Treatment
- Akita Heart Murmurs: What a Diagnosis Actually Means
- Australian Shepherd Heart Murmurs: What the Sound Actually Means
See all Papillon health problems, which breeds are prone to heart murmurs, or the full Papillon breed guide for temperament, exercise needs and ownership costs.
What to expect, and how you know it is working
A puppy murmur is usually resolved one way or the other by six months. An adult murmur commonly holds steady for two to five years before any grade change, and many never progress to the point of treatment. Expect a recheck rhythm rather than a cure.
Success is a documented grade history, an answer to the question of what is causing the sound, and a dog whose care team knows about it before anyone reaches for an anesthetic.
How murmurs are graded, and why the number is not the whole story
Veterinarians grade murmurs from one to six by loudness alone. Grade one is barely audible in a quiet room and often takes a minute of listening to find. Grade two is soft but obvious. Grade three is easily heard the moment the stethoscope lands. Grade four is loud. Grades five and six carry a palpable thrill, meaning you can feel the turbulence through the chest wall with a flat hand, and grade six is audible with the stethoscope lifted slightly off the coat.
Loudness correlates with severity, but only loosely. A grade five in a Papillon puppy with a congenital defect can matter more than a grade three in a twelve year old with slow valve change. Two other details from the same exam carry as much weight: where the sound is loudest, and whether it occurs while the heart contracts or while it fills.
A murmur loudest low on the left chest wall, over the mitral area, points at the valve most Papillons eventually leak through. One loudest higher and toward the front suggests an outflow tract problem, the pattern seen with congenital narrowing. A continuous washing machine sound that never stops is a hallmark of an abnormal vessel that should have closed at birth.
So the useful question at the desk is not just what grade, but where and when in the cycle.
What to do about a murmur in a Papillon puppy
Young hearts sometimes make noise for reasons that resolve. The mistake is assuming that outcome instead of checking for it.
- Note the exact age when it was first heard. A murmur present at six to twelve weeks that is soft and left sided is very often physiologic and disappears by four to six months.
- Ask whether the puppy is anaemic, underweight or excited. All three raise flow speed and can create a murmur that vanishes once the puppy calms or recovers.
- Get it rechecked at every vaccination visit rather than waiting. The trend across three exams says more than any single reading.
- Ask the breeder directly whether littermates or parents have any recorded cardiac findings. Papillons are a well documented breed and responsible breeders keep this paperwork.
- If the murmur is still there at six months, or if it is grade three or louder at any age, an echocardiogram is the right next step rather than another wait.
Nine weeks, grade two, and a very long wait
Ilse picked up her Papillon puppy Fenn at nine weeks and took him for a first check two days later. The vet found a grade two murmur low on the left side and told her to come back in a month rather than panic. Ilse did not enjoy that month. At the next visit the murmur was grade one and harder to find. At sixteen weeks it was there only intermittently. At six months, in a quiet room with a calm puppy, it was gone. Fenn is now four and has been murmur free at every annual since. The breeder had told Ilse this happened in one of her previous litters, and the sequence matched exactly. What made the wait bearable was writing each finding down, because the trend across four exams was visibly heading in one direction long before the sound disappeared.
Key takeaway: In a Papillon puppy a soft murmur is often a growth phase artefact, but only a series of rechecks can prove it. Record every grade and let the trend, not a single visit, do the reassuring.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Papillon puppy murmur go away on its own?
Yes, and it frequently does. Soft murmurs in growing puppies often reflect fast blood flow through a heart that is still proportioning itself, and they commonly fade by four to six months. That is why vets recheck rather than immediately image. A murmur that persists past six months is treated as real.
What grade of murmur should worry me?
Any murmur of grade three or above deserves imaging regardless of age, and any murmur in a dog with symptoms deserves imaging regardless of grade. A grade one or two in an otherwise well adult Papillon is usually monitored rather than investigated straight away, with the grade rechecked in six months.
Should I still buy a Papillon puppy with a murmur?
Ask the breeder to have the puppy examined by a cardiologist before you commit, and ask for the finding in writing. A soft physiologic murmur is a low concern. A loud murmur in a young puppy can indicate a structural defect, and that changes both the medical picture and the price conversation.
Does a murmur mean my Papillon will need medication?
Not automatically and often not for years. Medication becomes appropriate at a defined stage, when imaging shows the heart chambers have enlarged past a threshold. Plenty of Papillons carry a stable grade two through the whole back half of their fourteen to sixteen year lifespan without ever starting a drug.
Can a murmur appear and then disappear in an adult dog?
Apparent changes usually reflect the listening conditions rather than the heart. A panting, excited Papillon in a noisy room can hide a soft murmur. Fever, anaemia and dehydration can also change flow enough to alter what is heard. If two exams disagree, ask for a third in a quiet room.
Does anesthesia carry extra risk if my Papillon has a murmur?
It can, which matters because this breed needs regular dental work. Tell the practice about the murmur before booking, and expect them to want recent bloodwork and possibly imaging. Anesthetic protocols are routinely adjusted for cardiac patients, but only if the team knows in advance.
Quick answers
View more answersHealth
How is a heart murmur in a Papillon diagnosed properly?
An echocardiogram. It shows which valve or vessel is responsible and measures chamber size, which is what turns a sound into a stage.
Health
Do murmurs hurt the dog?
The sound itself causes no discomfort. What may eventually affect the dog is the underlying leak, and that develops slowly enough to be tracked.
Costs
Should a Papillon breeder screen for murmurs?
Yes. Ask for cardiac exam records on the parents and for any littermate findings. Good Papillon breeders keep and share this without being pushed.
Related DogBreedCompass guides
- Papillon mitral valve disease explained – Readers whose murmur turns out to be valvular need the disease specific page.
- congenital heart defects in Papillons – Loud murmurs in young puppies usually mean a congenital defect.
- Papillon heart conditions overview – A broader overview of cardiac risk across the breed's long lifespan.
- Papillon dental disease – Anesthesia planning matters because this breed needs frequent dental care.
- what a Papillon costs to own – Buyers weighing a puppy with a murmur should see the full cost picture.
Bring the right questions to the vet
A one-page prep sheet for this condition: the signs, the questions to ask, what to get priced. Unlocks here.
You get: Vet visit prep sheet
No spam. One-click unsubscribe. See our privacy policy.
Preview page 1 before you decide.
Related guides
Comparison
Papillon vs Shetland Sheepdog: Size, Shedding, Cost & Temperament
ComparisonRead guide->
Comparison
Boston Terrier vs Papillon: Size, Shedding, Cost & Temperament
ComparisonRead guide->
Comparison
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel vs Papillon: Full Breed Comparison
ComparisonRead guide->
Cost
Papillon Cost in Charlotte, NC: A Real Budget
CostRead guide->
Comparison
Golden Retriever vs Papillon: Size, Shedding, Cost & Temperament
ComparisonRead guide->
Comparison
Old English Sheepdog vs Papillon: Size, Cost & Temperament
ComparisonRead guide->