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If you have any concerns about how your pet is doing, one of the things that you're going to want to do is measure his heart rate. The heart rate can be an important indicator of how your pet is doing but you have to remember that it varies dramatically depending on the activity level of your pet, the anxiety level of your pet, and also the general health of your pet. So it's really important when we measure the heart rate we measure it in a pet that's at rest. You want your pet to be calm, kind of like Quin is now, so you can get consistent measurements over time. Now a normal heart rate for a resting dog is between about 40 and 100 beats per minute. A resting cat at home may have a heart rate between about 80 and 140 beats per minute. It's really important to remember that these numbers are going to be very different if your pet is anxious or has just finished exercising or if they're at the veterinarian. The numbers your veterinarian get will be different than what you measure at home because that is a stressful environment that can cause them some anxiety and change some of those vital signs. Quin is nice and calm. This is a perfect opportunity for us to get his heart rate. So what you're going to want to do, if your pet is on his side just like Quin is, you're going to want to go ahead and put your hand on the inside of his thigh to measure the femoral artery. The femoral artery, yes, I'm going to show them. The femoral artery runs on the inside of the thigh kind of along the middle of the thigh along the bone. So you're going to want to put three fingers on that area without pulling the leg up. You're going to want to wrap your hand around the front of his thigh, rest your fingers in that position until you feel the pulse. When you feel those pulsations, you're going to want to count them. Counting the number of pulses over six seconds is the best way to do that. So put your hand on the pulse, look at the second hand on a clock or a watch, count for six seconds. One, two, three, four, five, times up. Multiply that by ten. That gives you the resting heart rate. So for Quin, his heart rate is 50 beats per minute. That's a good normal heart rate for him. If however at rest his heart rate were abnormal, meaning outside of the range we talked about, that could be an indication that something wrong so we're going to want to look at everything else. What are his other vital signs? How is he otherwise feeling? Is he otherwise bright, alert, and his other vitals are normal I might not be as concerned. But if something else is wrong this could be an indication that we need to dig deeper and maybe take a trip to the veterinarian.
In this lesson, we'll be digging into the first vital sign you should be monitoring and checking in your pet – resting heart rate.
If you ever have any concerns about how your pet is feeling, the first thing you should do is check his or her heart rate. This is often an important indicator of how your pet is feeling and doing physically.
Your pet's heart rate will vary dramatically depending on a few factors, including:
Pro Tip #1: You may have noticed in the first paragraph that we used the phrase resting heart rate. It's really important that you measure the heart rate of your pet while he or she is at rest and calm, in order to get a more consistent measurement over time.
Why is it important to get a consistent measurement over time? Well, remember, it's all about what's normal vs. what's abnormal. If you measure your pet's heart rate at times when he or she is not at rest, this will produce inconsistent measurements and normal will be unattainable.
The normal heart rate for a dog at rest is between 40 and 100 beats per minute.
The normal heart rate for a cat at rest is between 80 and 140 beats per minutes.
Again, it's really important to remember that these heart rate numbers will be very different if your pet:
Pro Tip #2: Raise your hand if you think your pet gets stressed out at the vet. What pet doesn't, right? For this reason, your veterinarian will always get a different heart rate measurement than what you'll get at home, when your pet is calm. The vet's office is a stressful environment for pets, and all those vital signs may be affected. (You can go ahead and put your hand down now.)
Wait until your pet is nice and calm and laying down. This is the perfect opportunity to measure his or her heart rate.
1. Ideally, your pet will be laying on his or her side, like Quinn was in the corresponding video for this lesson.2. Locate the femoral artery on the inside of your pet's thigh by placing your hand there. This artery runs down the inside and middle of the thigh along the bone.3. Once you find it – you should be able to feel it pulsating – put three fingers on that area and hold it.
Pro Tip #3: You may recall in the video that Dr. Bobbi used the top leg to get that measurement rather than lifting up the top leg to access the bottom leg. Your dog or cat will likely remain calmer if you're not using their legs like a wishbone, so curl your hand under that top leg instead. And remember, practice makes perfect!
4. Once you feel those pulsations, it time to measure. Using a clock or watch with a second hand, count the pulsations for six seconds.5. Multiply the number of pulsations by 10. This will tell you your pet's resting heart rate for one minute.6. Compare your findings with the range listed above for your dog or cat.
Getting to know your pet's normal resting heart rate, along with checking it whenever you suspect something is wrong, will alert you if something really is amiss.
If your pet's resting heart rate is abnormal, as in outside that range and different from what you normally get, this is a pretty good indication that something is wrong. In this case, you should look at other signs of trouble like:
If your pet is otherwise bright, alert, and isn't showing any unusual signs, a slightly elevated or depressed heart rate may not be a concern. However, if you discover other signs of trouble, this could be an indication of a bigger problem and warrants further investigation, and maybe even a trip to the veterinarian.