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How to check your pet's pulse: Expert offers tips
Checking your pet's pulse is important to detect health problems timely. Check out important steps to effectively check your pet's pulse.
It's important to regularly check your pet's pulse so that you can learn what is normal for your pet and if you ever need to give them CPR you will know where to check. You can assess your pet's level of pain, injury, or disease by learning to examine his pulse, respiration, and temperature. And it will enable you to choose the best line of action to help him feel better. Taking these measurements when your pet is healthy provides you with a baseline to use to detect problems. You might decide to seek out expert medical assistance if there is a discrepancy between your pet's regular readings and what he is going through while he is ill. (Also read: Diwali 2022: How to take care of your dog's mental health )
Dr Charlie Astle, Veterinarian, shared important steps to check your pet's pulse in her recent Instagram post.
Where to find a pulse:
The easiest place to check for a pulse is by feeling over their heart or checking on the inside of their thighs for the femoral artery. You can also find a pulse on the back of their legs halfway between the toes and the ankle or wrist joint.
Count beats:
Now count how many beats there are in 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to get beats per minute (bpm).
Normal resting rates:
Cats 110-200 bpm
Medium-large dogs 60-100 bpm
Small dogs Up to 140 bpm
Puppies and kittens Can be double the adult rate.
Practice:
It's worth practising finding your pet's pulse so you know what is normal for them. Should the worst happen and you need to give them CPR, you'll know where to check.
Importance of checking pet pulse:
- Respiratory or breathing rate is an important vital sign measuring the rate a dog or cat breathes in a specific time frame.
- Respiratory rates give direct information about the pet’s respiratory function but can also be an indirect sign of illness not related to the respiratory system
- An increase in an animal’s respiratory rate can indicate breathing difficulties, respiratory inflammation, or infection.
- A decrease in an animal’s respiratory rate can be dangerous, as it indicates severely.
