Hello, CEO Olivia here today to yap about how to read your good dog’s & furbulous cat’s heart, respiration rates & temperature.
This can be pawsitively crital information to nose in an emergency situation. Learning your dog’s & cat’s normal vitals which includes temperature, pulse, & respiration is helpful for dogtecting health problems, or when tracking your fur legger’s response to medication. These details are wagnigficent to pawvide when calling your veterinarian or an emergency clinic to make an urgent appointment for your fur legger; the more information you can pawvide over the phone, the more efficient your veterinary visit will be.
Normal Heart Rate for Dogs & Cats
The normal heart rate for dogs is 70 to 120 beats per minute. This is what is called a “resting” heart rate, which is how fast your goof dog’s heart beats when she/he is just relaxing in a normal situation. Keep in mind, stress & exercise will both cause our heart to beat faster.
Did you nose that larger dogs will often have a heart rate on the lower end, while smaller dogs have a faster resting heart rate? It’s true. Our fitness also will impact our resting heart rate. Much like humans, athletic dogs tend to have a slower resting heart rate. Obesity increases our heart rate & increases our chance of heart disease.
You can evaluate the heart rate of your good dog a couple of different ways. A stethoscope is pawtastic, but you probably don’t have one lying around. If you want to pawchase one you can on amazon. We sniffed out them anywhere from $7 to $400.
If you don’t want to pawchase a stethoscope you can simply place your hand over the lower left side of your good dog’s chest just under her/his left elbow to feel her/his heartbeat. If you pup is let say on the chubby side this may be difficult. Count the number of beats that you feel in 15 seconds, then multiply that number by 4 to get the beats per minute.
The normal heart rate for your furbulous feline at rest is between 160-200 beats per minute. Similar to how you count your dog’s heart rate, you can count your cat’s heart or pulse rate at home. Place your hand over their chest just behind their elbow and try to count the number of beats in 15 seconds and multiply it by 4.
You also can feel your dog’s or cat’s pulse. The inside of the thigh is a pawriffic spot to feel a our pulse, or you may be able to feel it on the back of our carpus (wrist).
A heart rate that is abnormally too high or too low should cause you to seek veterinary attention.
Normal Respiration for Dogs & Cats
The normal resting/sleeping respiration breathing rate for dogs and cats in general is between 15-30 breaths every minute. Lower rates are even possible and are no cause for concern as long as your fur legger is otherwise healthy.
Each inhale & exhale equals one breath. Count breaths for 15 seconds and then times it by 4 to find your good dog’s or furbulous felines respiration rate.
Normal Dog & Cat Temperature
The normal dog or cat temperature is 100°F to 102.5°F or 37.8°C to 39.2°C. Knowing our normal body temperature will help you gauge if we have a fever. The most accurate way to take our temperature is with a rectal thermometer. A digital thermometer is recommended (they are much faster than mercury thermometers, plus safer if broken) & clearly labeling it for dog/cat use only so it isn’t confused with your human thermometer.
Knotty Toys for Good Dogs 