Resting respiratory rate in dogs: how to count it
This guide is general information and not a substitute for your veterinarian. For your own dog, your vet is always the right person to ask.
Your vet asked you to keep an eye on your dog's breathing at home, and now you're sitting there not quite sure how. The short version: wait until your dog is resting quietly or asleep, count how many times the chest rises and falls over 30 seconds, and double it. Most healthy dogs breathe under 30 times a minute at rest.
That one number is one of the most reliable early-warning signs you have at home, especially with a heart problem. Below you'll go through how to count it properly, what's normal, when it becomes an emergency, and there's a log you can print. It works the same for dogs and cats. It's written here for dogs.
Why your vet asks you to count breaths
When the heart isn't pumping well, fluid can build up in the lungs, often slowly and long before your dog looks unwell. The first thing that changes is the breathing: it speeds up, even when your dog is doing nothing. That's what makes the resting rate so useful. It can show a decline days earlier than you'd otherwise notice.
Your vet sees your dog for a few minutes in the exam room, where they're keyed up and breathing faster anyway. They never see the quiet hours at home. Your daily number is the window into those hours, and from it your vet reads:
- Whether fluid is starting to gather in the lungs, before your dog coughs or slows down.
- Whether a new heart medication or a dose change is actually working.
- Whether your dog is holding steady over the weeks, or something is slowly shifting.
Memory can't do this. "He's been breathing a bit faster lately" doesn't help anyone. Written down, a feeling becomes a number the two of you can work with.
When the breathing rate is an emergency
First things first. Call your vet or an emergency clinic now if you see any of these:
- Your resting or sleeping dog stays above 30 to 40 breaths a minute.
- The breathing looks like hard work, the whole belly is pumping, or your dog is breathing with an open mouth at rest.
- The tongue or gums are blue, grey, or very pale.
- Your dog can't settle, won't lie down, and stands with the neck stretched out and elbows pushed away from the body to get more air.
Serious breathing trouble is an emergency where every minute counts, and waiting makes it more dangerous. Get your dog to the vet as calmly as you can, because stress burns air they don't have to spare. Staying calm never means downplaying the danger.
How to count the resting respiratory rate
It's easier than it sounds, and all you need is a clock with a second hand or your phone.
- Wait until your dog is truly resting or asleep. Not right after a walk, not mid-play, not in the heat, and not while panting. In all those cases the number runs high and tells you nothing about the heart.
- Watch the chest. Look at it rising and falling. One rise and fall together is one breath, in and out.
- Count for 30 seconds and double it. Count the breaths over half a minute and multiply by two. If you'd rather, count a full minute once, which is the most accurate.
- Don't touch your dog. A hand on the chest can wake them or change the breathing. Counting with your eyes is plenty.
Write the number down straight away with the date. You'll forget it by evening, and today's number only becomes useful once you can line it up against the last few days.
What a normal rate looks like
At rest or asleep, most healthy dogs breathe under 30 times a minute, and many closer to 15 to 25. Cats sit in the same range. What matters more than the exact figure is what's normal for your dog. Measure them over a few good days and you've got their personal baseline.
From there, the direction is what counts. A dog who usually sits at 20 and climbs to 28, 32, 36 over several days is telling you something, even if no single number looks alarming. That trend is exactly what your vet wants to see, and only someone counting at home can provide it. Ask your vet what number they'd want you to treat as a line to call about, because for a heart patient it can differ from the general rule of thumb.
When and how often to measure
At the start, once a day helps, at roughly the same time and always while your dog is at rest. A lot of people count in the evening, when the dog is asleep in their bed and the house is quiet. After a week or two you'll have a solid feel for the normal number, and then a few times a week is often enough while things stay steady.
Measure more closely when something changes: after a new heart medication, after a dose change, or whenever the number seems higher than usual. That's exactly when the daily figure matters most. Keep the good days too, the ones where everything sits in normal range. A run of quiet numbers isn't wasted effort, it's the answer to how well the treatment is working right now.
Notebook, spreadsheet, or app?
The honest answer: the best method is the one you'll actually keep up. All three work, they just have different strengths.
- A notebook on the fridge is always there, never runs out, and needs no battery. For a lot of people that's all it takes. Our printable log gives you a week of rows for the date, time, and number.
- A spreadsheet is easy to carry and can show the trend as a line if you like working on a computer.
- An app can remind you at the same time each day and keep the trend in one place for the vet visit.
That's exactly what we're building Felova for, an app that reminds you about the count and the medication and keeps your numbers in one place for the vet. It's not out yet. You can join the waitlist, and until then a notebook on the fridge does the same honest work. What matters is that you keep it up, whichever way you choose.
Common questions
Does one breath mean the inhale or the exhale?
Both together. One breath is one inhale and one exhale, a full rise and fall of the chest. Don't count the in and the out separately, or you'll land on double the real number.
My dog pants all the time, how do I count then?
You can't count meaningfully while a dog is panting, the number is far too high. Wait until your dog has cooled down and is fully at rest or asleep. That said, if your dog is panting or labouring to breathe at rest without being hot, that's a warning sign in itself and worth a call to your vet.
Is a plain notebook enough?
Yes. It's not the tool that matters, it's that every number is in there with its date and time so the trend shows. A notebook you actually keep beats any app you never open.
Felova is being built for exactly this kind of tracking, a calm place to log numbers like the breathing rate and the medication so the trend is there when your vet needs it. It's not out yet.
Join the waitlist →