Heart Rate Concern

[RossP]

Hi All.

I am it a bit of distress over my 9 week old pup.

I have had her 1 week now and she is great.

Already house trained, has the "Sit" command nailed & leads okay for her age.

Runs a lot and plays with our other dog all the time.

I am concerned about her heart rate.

This is the first pup I have ever had that the heartbeat is so hard and fast to feel when carried.

It seems to race, even sleeping her heartbeat is around 160 BPM.

Took her to a Vet but she wasn't very help full.

She said it may or may not be an issue.

All 4 chambers in the heart are strong.

I have searched for any info about heart rates in pups, but all I can find is that pups have a fast heartbeat that slows as they get older.

I can't find exactly what is a normal heartbeat speed.

Even the Vet didn't give me a figure.

If anyone can give me a figure for BPM that would be great.

After a little running her BPM can be 220BPM or higher.

I am very distressed over this.

Thanks for reading

[persephone]

You have a beautiful pup :)

pups have MUCH higher rates than adult dogs, so don't panic - but someone else who has more expertise may be along soon.

.... :) lovely photo.

[Luke W]

Up to 180pm for puppies up to one year old from here:

http://vetmedicine.a...TP_dogfacts.htm

and here (probably the same source):

http://www.dog-healt...heart-rate.html

up to 220 in young puppies from here:

http://pets.webmd.co...-heartbeat-dogs

Probably shouldn't be worried :)

I hope this eases your mind a little.

Edited June 23, 2012 by Luke W

[Rappie]

160bpm is acceptable for a pup that age. Until they are a bit older, a pups cardiac output is dependent on their heart rate so the rate is necessarily higher to maintain adequate blood circulation. The heart rate will remain high even when they are sleeping, as opposed to adult dogs / humans where it may be quite low at rest.