Senior Dog Comfort & Care

To know when something is off, you must first know what normal is. Your dog’s vital signs — temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate — are helpful indicators of their health. Knowing what your dog’s range is for each of these when they are healthy and calm is essential so that it’s easier for you to tell when something is wrong.

A dog’s normal body temperature is between 101° and 102.5° F (38.3° and 39.2° C). Some dogs can be slightly out from this range, and knowing this is important, especially when they are sick or may have overexerted themselves. The same applies to their heart rate. This can vary based on your dog’s size. These are the normal heart rate ranges (beats per minute) based on size:

• Puppies and small breeds: 120 to 160 BPM
• Medium breeds (20–55 lbs.): 70 to 110 BPM
• Large breeds (over 55 lbs.): 60 to 90 BPM

Knowing your dog’s resting respiratory rate is important since a persistently abnormal rate can be a sign of something wrong. A normal respiratory rate for a resting healthy dog ranges between 15 to 35 breaths per minute.

Stay in the habit of routinely checking your dog’s vitals when at rest, following activity, and when anything seems wrong.