Knowing your dog's pulse rate can be an immense help for your veterinarian. Any change in its regular rhythm could signal that something' s not right. To learn to take a dog's pulse you must find the major artery in its back leg called the femoral artery. This is the best location to take a pulse on a dog. We will go over the steps on how to take a dog's pulse and what is normal for different sized breeds.
Things You'll Need
- Use of your index and middle fingers
- Pen
- Tablet for recording the dog's heart rate
Instructions
Start by having your dog either lay on its side or remain still in a stand up position. Place your hand and fingers underneath its back leg; this is where the major artery called the femoral artery is located. You can use either back leg to get a pulse reading.
Next go along the dog's back leg where it creases and find the femoral artery you'll know that you located it when you feel a pulse beating. Place your fingers on the artery and then count the number of beats for 15 seconds and then multiply by 4. Make sure that you can feel the pulse beating strongly, this makes it easier to count. Feel around the leg area and find where the beat is the strongest.
Lastly here is a list of what is a normal pulse for different sized dogs. Small dogs have a heart rate of 140-160 beats per minute. Medium sized dogs have a heart rate of 120-140 beats per minute. A large sized dog will have a heart rate of 60-80 beats per minute.