heart murmurs in puppies

Question
Our family adopted a female boxer from a breeder,she was pregnant, no way we could have known. We now have 8 week old puppies, 2 to be exact, first health exam today...girl boxer is healthy, vibrant and would be a nice pup for a loving family.  Boy pup was diagnosed with a heart murmur which is common for the breed.  Girl pup is 2 lbs heavier than the boy and boy pup is shy.  We have a home ready for boy, I feel this person should take the girl but the family doesn't want the responsibility of spaying the girl, which I feel would be irresponsible of them not to.  Our vet has been extremely helpful, we already have their mother whose 6 1/2 yrs old and another dog whose 6 yrs old, we had planned on keeping the girl and raising her but now feel that the boy needs to stay and find a home for the girl.  The question is how serious can this diagnosis of him having a heart murmur be? I'm reading online information, some say it could be or not be serious until the age of one. We take very good care of our dogs, vet visits, plenty of love and their actually pretty spoiled, the thought of taking on 2 pups to raise is overwhelming.  As a mother, I would want to have a family take care of them like we would but our vet said that is unrealistic.  I do know that purebred boxers are predisposed to cardiac issues, at least that's what I've read.  If you could please help with information on heart murmurs it would be greatly appreciated.  Thank You.

Answer
Hi Rayann,

First of all...'this person' has no business taking either pup.  Here's why:  they don't want the responsibility of spaying the female yet they are willing to take on a puppy with known cardiac issues which may get worse over time?  Red flag!!  Keep looking!

As far as the heart murmur, what you are reading is correct...it may disappear completely, stay the same or get worse.  Your vet (or someone's vet) will want to monitor him for the first year, probably every 2 to 3 months, to see if there is a change.

At 8 weeks old it is truly too soon to tell.  There is no more information that I can provide you other than what you've been reading online.  You really need to wait until he's about 12 months old, see what his status is then and then start to research HIS particularly type of murmur should he still have one.

If raising two puppies is daunting to you don't do it.  You also, though, need to keep realistic expectations.  No one thinks another person is going to raise their dogs as good as they would.  You've made mistakes, no doubt, and someone else will.  They'll learn from them like you did.  That's not saying you shouldn't find the best home for them, just that if you continue on with your current train of thought, no home will be good enough.  (And you'll have 2 puppies to raise).  ;)