Did you know?
Healthy Dog - Normal Values
These are some of the guidelines used by your
vet to assess your dogs health.
Temperature - 100.5 to 102.5
Heart rate - 180 beats a minute for puppies
60-160 beats per minute for most adult dogs
180 beats a
minute for toy breeds
Respiration 10 to 30
The normal respiratory rate for dogs is 16 to 20 breaths per minute. The normal heartrate is 70 to 160 bpm. Large dogs tend to have slower heartrates. This varies according to the cardiovascular fitness of the dog, too. The more active the dog is the slower its resting heartrate will be.
Pulse - 60 to 120
Gestation - 62 days
Estrous Cycle - 4 to 6 months
Estrus - 9 days
Average lifespan - 10 to 14 years
Weight range - Smallest - some toy breeds are as small as 2-3 lbs
Biggest - some of the giant breeds are over 150 lbs
The "ideal" weight for a dog is approximately the weight where the last 3 to 5 ribs are just barely visible or can be felt with a very light touch. Many dogs are overweight and many dog owners feel their dog is too thin if they can see any ribs. It is better from a health perspective to be a little too thin than to be a little too heavy, though. Breed size determines when bone growth stops. Little breeds may be fully grown by 6 or 7 months of age while giant breed dogs may continue to grow for 18 to 24 months.
