Can you use a stethoscope on a dog? Tips and Tricks

Can You Use A Regular Stethoscope On A Dog?

Can you use a stethoscope on a dog?

After you have located the general area, listen to the sounds with a stethoscope. When your dog is ill and has a problem with their heart rate or rhythm, a stethoscope may be useful in addition to a heart rate or rhythm monitor. A dog’s heart is frequently affected by these abnormalities, and these conditions can occasionally be caused by them.

When you wear a stethoscope, you can hear the sounds of both the lungs and the hearts of animals in their natural habitat. Because of the need for a larger bell, paediatric stethoscopes should not be used for most auscultation procedures. Ear pieces, tubing, bell, and diaphragms are the major components of a tube system (Figure 1). Each dog or cat breathes 15 to 30 times per minute. Small dogs and puppies have heart rates of 120 to 160 beats per minute. How long is a dog usually pregnant? For 58 to 68 days, the average is 58 to 68 days. Does dogs dream? If you’ve ever watched your dog twitching, chattering, or moving his or her paws while sleeping, you may be wondering if he or she is dreaming.

Your turn to try using a stethoscope, try the task below!

A normal heart makes two important sounds: lub and dub. These sounds might also be respectively called S1 and S2. The sounds we hear are the different valves closing inside of the heart. If the valves arent closing correctly, this can indicate a problem. A heart rate is how many times a heart beats in 60 seconds. We dont always have to listen to 60 seconds of heartbeats because we can use math to figure out how many beats would be in a minute. First, we listen to the heart for about 15 seconds (1/4th of a minute). Lets say we heard the heart beat 20 times. We could multiply 20 x 4 to get a heart rate of 80 beats for minute. It is always important to listen to the heart during a physical exam. In the video you can listen to 2 examples of normal heart beats and test yourself to see how accurate you are at getting a heart rate!

Normal lung sounds consist of sounds made from breathing in (inspiration) and breathing out (expiration). We do not get breathing or respiratory rates from listening to the lungs but rather from looking at the movement of an animals flank moving up and down when they are breathing and counting the number of breaths. We listen to the lungs to try and find normal lung sounds or any abnormal lung sounds. Normal lung sounds can often sound like a breeze moving through the air but they are typically not very loud, and sometimes we dont hear them very well when listening to an animals lungs during a physical exam. It is important to know what normal lung sounds sound like so we can tell when there is an abnormal sound. Abnormal sounds like wheezes, which sound like someone stepping on crunchy snow, or crackles, which sound like popcorn popping, alert us and tell us that there is something abnormal happening with the lungs. In the video you can listen to an example of normal lung sounds!

How to Check a Dog’s Heart Rate at Home

As I mentioned, its important to be familiar with your own specific dogs average heart beat so you know whats a fast rate and whats a slow rate. Every dog is different, so normal heart rate will be slightly different for each dog.

Studies have shown that dogs age and demeanor will be the most prominent determining factor in their heart rate (source). It was previously thought that a dogs size, and thus the size of their heart, will determine different heart beat ranges, but recent studies found this not to be true (source; source).

Regardless, if your dogs heart rate is less than 60 beats per minute or greater than 140 beats per minute, then theres likely some health issue – contact your veterinarian immediately (source).

While size itself may not be the ultimate determining factor, the breed does seem to matter, which could also mean its their genetics. On average, small dog breeds and puppies have faster heart rates than large dog breeds. Dogs that are overweight or obese will have slower heartbeats than dogs that are in a good physical shape (source).

A normal canine heart rate for an average dog is around 60-140 beats per minute. For large breeds, their heart rate will average at 60-100 beats per minute, while for small dogs, their heartbeat will be in 100-140 beats per minute range (source).

How to Use a Stethoscope

Vets use stethoscopes every day when they are checking a pet’s vital signs and auscultating the various internal organs. Learning about a few reasons to become a veterinarian will help you figure out if this science-based career is right for you.

When you first arrive at a vet’s office, either the veterinarian or vet tech will ask you many essential questions about your pet.

These questions will help guide them as to why you are at the vet’s office. Whether you are at the vet’s office for a routine annual exam or your pet is sick, they will usually begin with asking you, the owner, about coughing, vomiting, or diarrhea.

The next step is for the vet to use their stethoscope to listen to the animal’s heart, blood pressure, lungs, and GI tract. Auscultation will help the veterinarian determine if something is wrong. By using a stethoscope, the veterinarian can compare the normal auscultation of the animal versus any abnormalities.

The best veterinary stethoscopes come in various size options. A veterinarian who works with equine will need a stethoscope with a larger head and longer tube. On the other hand, a veterinarian who works with parrots will need a stethoscope with a smaller head. Some stethoscopes are better for small mammals, and some are better for large ones.

During veterinary students’ first year of vet school, they learn the ins and outs of proper stethoscope use. A vet student also learns how a normal heart sounds. Listening to many normal heart sounds is an integral part of picking up the often subtle abnormal sounds or a heart murmur.

It does not matter what type of veterinarian you want to be, you will learn how to properly use a stethoscope during vet school. It takes practice, just like anything else. There are many articles about being a veterinarian on our site. You can read all about what a veterinarian does by checking out some of our other articles.