Irregular Heartbeat in Dog

Gosh... there's nothing to think that I am a vet. Let me, at the very outset, clear out one confusion. I write about dogs, dog behavior, dog emotions, dog food, dog breeds etc. You can also find some articles on dog diseases in this blog but I am not a veterinary practitioner. I am a dog lover, and love spending most times studying about them. I have dogs - who are my major sources of information. All I write here are what I have been learning by staying in close relation with dogs for over 15 years. The last week I received an email from somebody called Tina, who has a male Dob. She said that she is a regular reader of this blog... Thank you Tina and all my visitors for dropping by my blog! Tina said that her dog seems to be a little uncomfortable before he fall asleep. Whenever her dob is lying, he seems to be discomfort due to irregular heartbeat. She want an advice from me as she thought that I am a vet. No, I am not a vet... just a dog lover like you guys. Well, I had a similar experience! Tina's email reminded of my Cizar (Pronounce 'Scissor'), who had the same problem. This post is all about the dog heart rate and irregular heartbeat in dogs. Here are certain information about irregular heartbeat in dog that I could gather from my vets and other sources when Cizar was alive. I continued studying about heart issues in dogs from various sources. So, here's something that you might find really helpful!

Dogs don't always show rhythmic beats; a slight break in the rhythm of heartbeats of dog as he inhales and exhales is quite normal, although the heartbeat should be strong, prominent, steady, regular and evenly spaced rhythm. Factors like fear, anxiety, fever, excitement, increases the heart rate in dogs. Exceedingly fast heart rate in dogs also indicates anemia, severe loss of blood, shock, dehydration, heat stroke, and/or cardiac and pulmonary diseases. On the other hand cardiac ailment, pressure on the brain, or in worse cases it indicates an advanced morbid condition leading to collapse of the circulatory system are the indicative of slow pulse rate. Excessively irregular, i.e. unevenly spaced heartbeats or disordered pulse in dogs under normal situation is a sign cardiac arrhythmia.

Vets use stethoscope to listen to the dogs heart beats. We can do it ourselves without a tool. Just place your era against the dog's chest and you can get the heart sounds clearly, provided there's no external noise around. The sound s should be distinctive and number of beats of most adult dogs at rest position range between 60 to 160 per minute depending on the breed size. The puppies in normal condition shows the heart rate around 220 beats per minute.

The heart sounds shouldn't heard all over the chest region. If it happens you dog has probably an enlarged heart and it's the time to give a call to your vet. You can hear heart murmurs... common thing, if the murmurs are not too intense. Slight heart murmurs are normal and caused by speedy blood flow through the heart. Serious and intense murmurs are indication of heart disease and/or anatomical defects. Anemia also causes heart murmurs. Your vet is the right person to diagnose what kind of murmur it is and what should be the steps of treatments. The seriousness of the heart murmur can only be determined by a chest x-ray and/or an echocardiogram (ECG) or an echocardiogram.

"Cardiac Thrills" in dogs are again serious issue. Cardiac thrill is describe as the palpable high-frequency vibration felt on the wall of the chest over the heart. If a dog has a structural defect in heart the speedy flow of blood causes vibrational sound called Cardiac thrills, which may accompany cardio-vascular ailments and cardiac murmurs. A thrill indicates serious cardiac condition.

If your dog seems to have any of these condition(s), you should call for a vet. No wait, no experiment, no taking time... just be serious about your dog's cardiac health. Most likely heart conditions in dogs are heart murmur, enlarged heart, Dilated Cardio Myopathy (DCM) etc. and are caused due to deficiency of L-Carnitine (antioxidant - natural protein) and Taurine (amino acid found naturally in the muscles of the body and heart tissues) deficiency. Bad news is that there's no way to say, except conducting a biopsy of heart tissue, if a dog is deficient in these essential nutrients. And sadly this investigations cannot be routinely carried out on living dogs. You can find L-Carnitine and Taurine pet supplement, that many vets are preferring to maintain the cardiac health in dogs.

You might like to read about Blood Pressure in Dogs, Canine blood pressure measurement. I thought you will also be interested in how YOUR stress can affect your dog!

Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) in Dogs

Have you ever wondered why your dogs sometimes do what they do sometimes? Why do they sometimes dig excessively, bark for nothing, chase their own tails and tear newspapers, biting their own feet continuously. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a behavioral problem in dogs that stems out from stress, boredom, separation, anxieties etc. Obsessive Compulsive Disorders in dogs – OCD usually gets manifested in the subjects, who are stressed, bored and anxious, and often leads to destructive consequences directed towards the dogs themselves or any other objects in motion like, car, bikes, running kids, or even flying crows or any other pack members.


Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Caused by Stress

It is very important to see your vet as soon as you suspect you dog to be getting such behavioral problem due to stress. Dogs in stress are not safe for you and the other pack members. If the stressed dog is a large breed, he can be potentially threatening. Experienced vet can come up with the cure with right medications.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Caused by Boredom

This is again another serious issue that cannot be taken for granted. Boredom will lead to certain typical problems such as tail chasing, digging, seemingly purposeless barking, chewing his own lead, and even sometimes trying to destroy things. I would like to mention why actually I used the phrase “seemingly purposeless barking”. Putting it simply, apparently it may seem that your dog is barking at nothing and for nothing. But theirs is an underlying reason and that is he wants an end to his boredom, and he finds nothing to do but barking.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Separation

Separation from his loved ones – his owner and other family members can expose him to the risk of OCD. Separation causes anxiety (separation anxiety), which in turn may cause this behavioral problem in your dog. Remember, dogs are pack animals and they always love to live in close contact with their family members or other pack members. When they are forcibly deprived from what they want by instinct they tend to develop OCD. The "velcro dogs" (the dogs that are severely dependent on their owners) are more prone to develop OCD, if they are separated. Dogs are social animals and love to see you (owners and pack members) pass around in front of them. Thought of abandonment is one of the major reasons that most dogs get OCD attacks.


Once your dog gets afflicted to OCD it is really hard to bring him in the main grids of life, if not impossible. Better to prevent him from getting attacked by such a crucial behavioral problem than to cure. The more you let him play off the leash, the more you expose him to exercises, better for him. Tired dogs usually do not develop OCD, since they are content. Play fetch with him. Treat him as a member of your family and make feel being loved.

Check out my posts on:

Dog's Emotion
Dog Care Tips

When we talk about responsible dog ownership we think of canine health. Love is blind! And most novice owners tend to bring harm to their dogs by giving them things that are really dangerous. Don't let your love for your pooches become a threat for them. I have come across some really great articles in k9 Health Solutions. Many owners give their dogs Easter Candies and Chocolates without knowing the potential dangers of Easter Candies. Make yourself aware of common household things that are poison to your dogs. k9 Health Solution have also come up with great info regarding dog maintenance.

Most dog owners, do not care about their dogs' dental health. Doggie Dental Health is what every dog owner must consider quite seriously. Dogs starts of their lives with 28 teeth, and at around 4 - 6 months of age the milk teeth are replaced by 42 permanent teeth. Bad breath, inflated gum, cracks in teeth etc are the indications of fragile dental health. Administering of sufficient Calcium strengthen the teeth, but regular brushing is essentially necessary for maintaining good dental health.

Regular walk and play off leash is again another important way to maintain the overall canine health. Good food, fresh water, sufficient play, and pure love will keep Rover happy, healthy and most active member of your pack! Swimming is great pleasure for dogs and the most effective way to put them on exercise. Although certain breeds like Shar Pei dislike water, yet still little bit of swimming is great for the health too.

Summer time is most dangerous time of the year for pets... especially large and giant dog breed. Responsible dog ownership also requires effective steps to Protect Your Dog From Summer Heat.

Last, but not the least, give them enough water to drink. Remember most dogs do not drink enough water. It's your responsibility to make them drink more water by the way of mixing with food, soup etc. The more they drink, better will it be for their health. It will help them flush off the body toxins and will keep them well hydrated and maintain good health.

Responsible Dog Owners must be aware of the fact that dogs can be well maintained with proper plans. With right kind of planning, and regular medication programs like de-worming, vaccinations, and other routine check up ensure good health and long life.

Here's a brief Dog Owner's Guide on Canine Blood Chemistry

I am sure you have read out my post on CANINE BLOOD PRESSURE thoroughly. This post is all about the components of blood in dogs and some important blood tests for dogs. Just keep in mind that the chemistry of blood in dogs may vary to a little extent from these ranges according to dogs’ age, state of dogs’ health, dogs’ lifestyle, food habits, and even sometimes the breed. These are just an approximate overview of the normal values for blood chemistry elements in canines that may come come to help as a Dog Owners' Guide. These values can differ a bit from what your vet has mentioned.

Approximate normal values for blood chemistry in dogs:

• Glucose: 67 - 125 mg/dL
• ALT: 15 - 84 U/L
• Total Bilirubin: 0.0 - 0.4 mg/dL
• Total Protein: 5.2 - 7.8 gm/dL
• Urea Nitrogen: 9 - 27 mg/dL
• Phosphorous: 2.6 - 6.8 mg/dL
• Sodium: 140 - 153 mmol/L
• Chloride: 106 - 118 mmol/L
• LDH (Lactate dehydrogenase): 10 - 273 U/L
• Magnesium: 1.5 - 2.7 mg/dL
• Lipase: 200 - 700 U/L
• T4 (Thyroxine): 1.0 - 4.7 ug/dL

Haematology study in dogs:

The study of haematology in dos shows the counts of the canine blood cells along with the measurement of their shapes and sizes. The study showed that particularly Deerhounds (and also Greyhounds) usually have very high number of red blood cells (RBC) per unit volume of blood. Most interestingly, the red blood cells (RBC) are comparatively smaller than most of the other dog breeds that are existing today.

Approximate normal values Derived from the study on canine Haematology:

• Red Blood Cell Count (RBC): 5.5 - 8.5 X 100,000/L
• White Blood Cell Count (WBC): 6.0 - 17 x 1000/L
• Mean Corpustular Hemaglobin (MCH): 19.5 - 25.5 pg
• Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) : 14 - 19 percent
• Hematocrit: 37 % - 55 %
• HgB (Hemoglobin) g/L: 120-180
• Reticulocytes: 0-1.5%
• Segs (x1000/ul): 3.6-11.5
• Bands x1000/ul: 0.0-0.3
• Lymphocytes (x1000/ul): 1.0-4.8
• Monocytes (x1000/ul): 0.15-1.35
• Eosinophils (x1000/ul): 0.01-1.25
• Platelets (x100000/ul): 2-9

In order to determine the actual values of the blood chemistry elements in your dogs, you need to go for the following tests…

General Metabolism Test

• GLU (Glucose)
• LDH (Lactate dehydrogenase)
• CPK (Creatine phosphokinase)

Kidney Function Test

• BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen)
• CREAT (Creatinine)

Electrolytes Test

• Na (Sodium)
• K (Potassium)
• Cl (Chloride)
• CA (Calcium)
• PHOS (Phosphorus)

Liver Function Test

• ALP (Alkaline phosphatase)
• ALB (Albumin)
• GGT (Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase)
• SGPT (Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase
• TP (Total Protein)
• CHOL (Cholesterol)
• GLOB (Globulin)
• TBILI (Total Bilirubin)

Thyroid Test

• T3 (Triiodothyronine)
• T4 (Thyroxine)

Pancreas Test

• AMY (Amylase)
• LIP (Lipase)

Pfizer's Palladia - The first canine cancer drug ever!

Here’s another good news for dog lovers and their dogs! It wasn’t until June 3, 2009 that the dog world people had been struck with such a great surprise. The Food and Drug Administration of America announced the approval of the first canine cancer medicine ever on Friday, June 3, 2009. ‘Palladia’ (toceranib phosphate), the first cancer treating drug for dogs created a buzz across the globe – especially revolutionized the veterinary world. Good news is that the now the dog owners got something to fight cancer in their dogs, but bad news is that it cannot treat all types of cancers in dogs.

‘Palladia’, manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health Inc., New York City, can treat only the cutaneous mast cell tumors (MCT), which is a type of cancerous tumor, which is commonly found in about 1 out of 5 canine cutaneous tumors. ‘Palladia’ has been approved to treat the cutaneous mast cell tumors with or without regional lymph nodes involvement. Al the cancer drugs that have been in use for the veterinary purpose so far were all developed to be used for humans and not for animals. Until Palladia surged into the market canine cancer were treated with steroids and antihistamines and various oncology drugs for human. As allowed by the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994, the cancer treatments meant for the veterinary purpose are used in an “extra-level” manner. Bernadette Dunham, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine said: "This cancer drug approval for dogs is an important step forward for veterinary medicine. Prior to this approval, veterinarians had to rely on human oncology drugs, without knowledge of how safe or effective they would be for dogs. Today's approval offers dog owners, in consultation with their veterinarian, an option for treatment of their dog's cancer."


How Palladia Works?

Remember, the mast cells have a positive role to play for dogs. The mast cells help to protect dogs from allergies and inflammation. But if over-stimulated, they discharge certain chemicals, like heparin, histamine, prostaglandins and serotonin, which damage the dogs’ immunity system. Unfortunately, what causes the tumors to turn to be cancerous is still not discovered. Palladia (toceranib phosphate) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor and works in two distinctive ways:

• Its kills the tumors cells and makes the tumor disappear or stop growing further
• It cut off the supply of blood to the tumor region and makes it disappear or stop growing.

In a clinical test, Palladia proved to be one of the most effective drugs by showing shrinkage in the tumor. A radical difference has been witnessed when compared with Placebo.
Palladia has brought a radical change in the veterinary science, but its not devoid of side effects. The most common and probable side effects associated with Palladia are lameness, diarrhea, decrease or loss of appetite, weight loss and sometimes blood in the stool.

Cancerous mast cell tumors are actually categorized into three grades according to severity....

• Grade I MCT is least severe and limited to just a tumor itself with no risk.
• Grade II MCT is when the tumor begins to metastasize, but it’s still considered treatable.
• Grade III MCT is when the tumors becomes aggressive and spreads through the lymph glands to the other parts of the dogs’ body.

Palladia is actually meant for Grade II and III.