Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the most common acquired cardiovascular diseases in dogs. Please read thru these links really well. The Neapolitan Mastiff Stresses out worse than any other breed I have known, and Stress can play a huge roll in the development of DCM. We already know that when dogs stress out, their B and C vitamins get depleted, your dog could be stressed just from riding to the mountains for the day, and you not pick up on the signs, I say supplement your B and C vitamins everyday. When you go out for the day and come back and your dog has a simple runny stool is a sign of stress. Buy a good quality dog food, not a store bought brand. And notice if your dog has any signs that they may have an infection that is going unnoticed, this disease, DCM has been known to be brought on from an infection that has went unnoticed for a long period of time. Also try to keep stress to a minimum. I had a client that bought a puppy after losing her two year old Neo to DCM, she had a specialist in Chicago, IL tell her that the vacation she took, and left the dog at the kennel is more and likely what brought the disease on. She had never left the dog before and when he turned two her and her husband went on a two week vacation and kenneled the dog. The Neo is the most clingy need their owner breed I know of. This breed can stress out if you leave the room, let alone leave them in a strange place and leave for a period of time. They had never left the dog before. Their vet said the stress of being put in the kennel, and missing them is what probably brought on the DCM. I tell new owners to not spoil the puppy to something they are not going to be allowed to do when adults. And if you take vacations regularly, get them use to being crate trained, and seeing you leave for periods thru out their lives. I hope these links help. Copy and paste them into your search engine.
