How to Check Dogs Heart Rate – Health Monitoring
Who doesn’t love dogs? Those who nurture pets are most likely to adore them all the time. They understand their behavior, gesture, and habits very well. However, sometimes a dogs’ vital signs may get too blurry to catch up for the pet owner. It might happen due to a number of health issues, including heart disease. So, it’s better to learn how to check dogs heart rate at home.
To examine your dog’s heartbeats per minute, place your hand on his rear leg. Get your hand’s position by his mid-thigh on the inside. Then calculate the heart rate in beats per minute by tracking the number of beats in 15 seconds and multiplying by four.
Checking your dog’s normal heart rate is essential to understanding the difference between severe and regular heartbeats. You can also examine their respiration rate, breathing rate, and other factors using various approaches. Nevertheless, if you notice any irregular pulse rate, you may want to apply some basic aid before assigning a vet’s appointment.
How to Check A Dog’s Pulse
As we have already mentioned a general process of checking heart rate for dogs, it’s time you understand the topic in-depth. You may very well know your dog’s physical activity levels, respiratory rate, and other habitual actions. But can you offer help to your pet when it feels unwell?
Dogs are various in shapes, sizes, and physical capabilities. Not every dog has the same pulse rate. So, it’s time you learn the standard heartbeat reading of your dog. Examine your puppy’s heart rate while sleeping. Check on small dog heart rate fast and frequently. Focus more on the crucial timings when they act too odd.
The primary diagnosis process of checking a dog’s/pupy’s pulse rates involves no heavy equipment. But you can use a Fitbark, dogs’ heart/activity rate monitor. It will make the heart rate checking process much easier.
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To get an accurate reading on your dog’s heart rate manually, you can apply these two processes.
First Process
- Put your hand on your dog’s hind leg.
- Place your hand on the inside of your dog’s hind leg.
- Then count its heartbeat every 15 seconds and multiply it by four.
Second Process
- Lightly place two fingers along the inside of your dog’s wrist.
- Gently press against it until you feel a soft vibration.
- Then feel its heartbeat near the large bone.
To gauge whether your dog’s behavior is in a stable condition, see how it feels when running your hand along its back. If your pet is relaxed and comfortable, you’ll feel each heartbeat. Try averaging a week’s pulse rate and note any irregular heartbeat you see. If you find any severe concerning results, discuss those with your veterinarian.
Remember, the heart rate depends on a dog’s physical condition. Smaller puppies show rapid pulse rates, whereas bigger ones have slower rates. You can consider 100-140 beats as a normal range for small puppies. On the contrary, you should consider 60 to 100 bpm in terms of adult dogs.
What Increases Dogs Heart Rate
A few things that can stress dogs’ heart rates are:-
- Excercising
- Stressing
- Being Excited
A stress reaction is not generally concerning unless it’s super severe or happens frequently and causes worse health problems over time. Yet, a little bit of stress every once in a while is okay. Your puppy’s body usually returns to a normal rate after a few minutes.
If you notice that your dog’s resting heart rate is abnormally high or low, you should immediately consult a veterinarian. A shaky or quicker heart rate is a serious disorder in which the heart pumps too quickly or too slowly.
These issues can lead to an abnormal breathing rate, extreme blood conditions, and congestive heart failure. These can also cause dogs to faint and die when not treated well. So, you should always be careful on checking what your pet needs. Get him treated fast and with utmost veterinary care. After all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
How to Decrease Dogs Severe Heart Rate
As you already know, there are mainly three reasons for which your puppy’s heart rate can rise unexpectedly. It could also be a symptom that your pet has severe cardiac problems. However, before jumping to the conclusion of considering it a heart issue. Why not try decreasing the pulse rate with primary medication.
If your dog is facing difficulties with its pulse rate, you should first identify the cause of it. Massaging his hind leg slowly while patting the head can do the trick. That’s what most veterinarians suggest to pet owners.
If your little puppy gets his heartbeat raised through extreme excitement, your pampering tactics will work on him efficiently. You can also offer him water to jerk off the hefty tiredness. But if your puppy isn’t getting back to normal after a few days of first aid support, it’s time to take him to a veterinary clinic.
A vet can prescribe the proper medications and conduct tests to determine the exact cause of the illness and suggest handling it. With the proper veterinary care and professional advice, your puppy will be on its way to a finer health condition in no time.
Conclusion
A dog’s heart rate tells a lot about a dog’s health. Factors like temperature and age affect the heart rate, and changes can be noticed very quickly by dog owners. Veterinarians use heart rate as one of the primary indicators of an animal’s overall health, along with body temperature and breathing rate.
The resting heart rate of dogs is around 60-140 beats per minute (with some exceptions)—the bigger the breed, the lower the heart rate. A dog’s heart rate will change depending on whether or not they are active — a lively puppy might have a heart rate of 150 beats per minute. Aside from physical activity, other factors can affect your dog’s heartbeat: stress levels, age, and weight.
Ensuring that your dog’s heart rate stays at a healthy range is crucial for their long-term health and can help catch serious problems early. While it may be difficult to tell if your dog’s heart rate is average just by looking at them, you can do so with daily practice. We have already shared some of our proven techniques. If you think there are things that we have missed to include, you can comment about that in the below section. We would be glad to hear from you!
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