Video:How to Take a Dogs Temperature

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Transcript:How to Take a Dogs Temperature

Hi. I’m Dr. Corinne Majeska, Companion Pet Hospital, and today I have the lucky job of showing you how to take your dog’s temperature.

When to Take Your Dog's Temperature

Now, why would you want to do that? Well, maybe your dog’s not feeling that well. Maybe we’ve been out in the sun too much and we’re worried about, um, overheating. But basically, they’re not going to appreciate it either way.

What You'll Need

So, first you need a thermometer. Any thermometer will do. Digital goes a little faster, and flexi-tip is a little friendlier. You need your lube, generic is fine. And you’re just going to go ahead and take it, and put just a little dash on your gauze or your paper towel.

Hold Dog Under the Belly

So, today we have our doggie actor, Kimbrough, who’s going to help us. We have our friend, Alyssa, and she’s holding. So she just has a gentle hold on, under his belly, because the last thing you want with a thermometer is to have him sit down. And also around his neck, basically very gentle, just so that he doesn’t run away. And he’s being so brave with me.

Yes, he’s a good boy.

Lift Up Dog's Tail

So we need to figure out where we’re going, so we’re going to go ahead and say hello to Kimbrough so that he doesn’t freak out. And we’re going to grab his tail, not grab hard, take his tail – (to Kimbrough) thank you very much sir – and use it as a handle to find where we’re going.

Add Lube to Thermometer

Then we take our thermometer and our lube, which we have already looked at, and we lube it up. Be generous. And we just go ahead and say hello! The measuring part of your thermometer is just the tip.

Hang on! You’re almost done! Almost done!This is where a quick-grade thermometer is very helpful.

Beep! Yay! Yay! Good boy.

What's a Healthy Temperature?

All right, we see that 102.1. So, perfect.

The temperature for a dog that’s normal is 102 to 102.5. So don’t freak out if your dog has a temperature of 102. That’s very, very normal. However, if your dog is laying, doing nothing, and has a temperature of 103.5, call your vet. So we all survived, and that was how you do it. Not so hard. I think, uh, if you needed to take your dog’s temperature, you may want to contact your vet anyway. In the meantime, from About.com, I’m Dr. Majeska, this is Kimbrough…and I’m Alyssa.