Vital Information!

A few nights ago my dog Bo hurt his leg, not to bad, just enough to make himself limp around for a day. He's done this before, he jumps right off the side of the porch instead of going down the stairs, and I think his age is catching up to him and the landing is harder on him these days. This time however, he seemed a little more agitated than before. When we came in the house and he laid down he seemed to be breathing heavy and faster than normal. I wasn't sure if it was just the heat or if he was really in distress. I ended up calling my friend who is a vet tech and she came by and took a look at him and turns out it was just the heat, thankfully, but she suggested I learn his vitals and what is normal so I can recognize a real emergency and perhaps save myself unnecessary stress.
Dogs have such a wide range of what is considered normal vitals that it is best to take your dogs vitals before an emergency ever occurs and keep them written on a card in your emergency phone. Or do what I did and store them in your phone, I put everything in my phone!
It was pretty easy to take his vitals, I did most of it while he was sleeping. My papillon pepsi is was much harder she never sits still and wanted to know what I was doing!
Here is a list of what vitals you should take and some tips that will help.
TemperatureThis is the only vital that your dog won't like but if you have the right thermometer it will make it much easier. I used a baby rectal thermometer that takes 5 seconds to register the temp. Just put a dab of petroleum jelly on the tip and insert enough to cover the metal tip. A dogs average temp is between 100.5 and 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
PulseThis one was a bit tricky for me, you might have to try it a few times. Place your hand flat against your dogs chest, you should be able to feel your dogs heart beat. Take count for 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to get your dog's number of beats per minute. There is another way to feel the pulse on the leg but it was easier for me to do it on the chest. I also had an easier time when he was standing than when he was laying down. If you don't feel the heartbeat slide your hand lower on his chest until you do feel it. Make sure you do this when your dog is rested so you get his true pulse and not an elevated one after exercise. A dogs heart rate can be anywhere between 60 and 180 beats per minute with larger dogs on the lower end and toy breeds at the higher end. Puppies have an even higher rate around 220 beats per minute.
Respiration Rate
Count your dogs number of breaths, one rise and fall of the rib cage, while he is awake but relaxed. Count for 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to get his respiration rate. Be sure to wait at least an hour after exercise.
Mucous-Membrane Color
Lift your dogs lip and take a look at the pink part of his gums. Some dogs have black on their gums and that is normal, just pay attention to the pink color, you may want to take a picture to compare to later if you don't think you will remember what it looked like when a problem occurs.
Capillary Refill Time
While your still in his mouth, press a finger against a pink area of the gums for a second or two. Once you remove your finger it should take less than two seconds for the area to regain color.
Skin Turgor
This is when you pull up on your dogs skin and let it go, it should snap back immediately. If it stays up still pinched together, it could be a sign of dehydration.
That about wraps it up, this should help you determine if you need to see the vet or not. If in doubt, go to the vet!