How to Check Your Dog or Cat's Pulse Rate

You will learn how to check your pet's pulse rate to determine whether or not they are in distress.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A clock with a second hand

1. The best place to check a pulse on a cat or dog is the major artery in the groin area. Put your fingers around the front of the hind leg and move up the crease between the thigh and the abdomen. (See picture)

2. Move your fingertips back and forth on the inside of the thigh until you feel the pulse. It may feel like a very light beating, or it may be very strong. Try to tune out everything else and even close your eyes to focus if you can't feel it beating right away.

3. Count the number of pulses in 15 seconds and multiply by 4. (I find a wrist watch with a second hand is the handiest clock to use.) This will give you the pulse rate in beats per minute.

Tips & Warnings

• Know what is normal for your pet before a crisis happens. You may want to take all of these readings while your pet is healthy and write them down. Then you'll know when something is abnormal.
• Normal for Dogs: Pulse should be 70 to 120 beats per minute (higher after physical exercise, or excitement). Smaller dogs will have a higher pulse rate than larger dogs.
• Normal for Cats: Pulse rate should be 110 to 130 beats per minute (higher after physical exercise, or excitement).
• If you dog or cats is experiencing a higher than normal pulse rate, proceed to your Veterinarian immediately.

Resources

• Be Your Own Doctor

[LizD]

on 2/17/2009 Thank you. This is great information for any pet owner.

[Pamelateda]

on 1/23/2009 Thanks! I didn't know how to do it.

[AprilThomas]

on 1/18/2009 Very interesting, I had no idea how to do that.