Dog Normal Vital Signs, What’s the normal canine heart beat, respiration & temperature?

Ever wonder what's a normal heart beat for your dog or how fast it should breathe? Well, there's a wide range of normals so it's best if you get familiar with how your dog's heart usually beats, and how your dog usually breathes. Then, you'll know if there is a problem. Below is a list of normals. If your dog isn't in the normal range, let your veterinarian know.

Normal Canine Vital Signs
• Large dog respiration: 10-34 breaths per minute
• Small dog respiration: 20-30 breaths per minute
• Large dog heart rate: 60-110 beats per minute
• Small dog heart rate 100-140 beats per minute
• Normal dog body temperature Celsius: 37–39.2
• Normal dog body temperature Fahrenheit: 99.5-102.5
• Skin turgor: skin springs back from a pinch in less than 2 seconds
• Capillary refill time: Press on the gums and they turn white. Normal color returns to the gums in less than 2 seconds.

There is variability in how fast a normal heart will beat and how fast a normal dog will breathe. The smaller the dog, the faster it will breathe and the faster its heart will normally beat. So, Yorkshire Terriers and Maltese have hearts that normally beat faster than the hearts of Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers.

The same is true for respirations: Yorkies and Maltese normally take more breaths per minute that Labs and Goldens.

Puppies have faster metabolism than adults; thus, puppies’ hearts beat faster and they breathe faster than adult dogs do.

Even though little dogs take more breaths and have hearts that beat more often than large dogs, the little dogs live years longer. Amazing.