[Murphys Dad]

I guess I'm just checking, but I really don't think I know how to tell when a dog is running a fever.

How can you tell?

 

[BeagleBabe]

Take a rectal temperature with a thermometer. A dog's normal rectal temperature is 100.5 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert the thermometer about 1 inch and hold in place – two minutes for mercury thermometers or until the digital thermometer beeps.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Are there any symptoms that should tell me I need to check? I mean, Chloe seems fine to me, but I started thinking that I wouldn't know, or wouldn't know that I need to check.

So basically what I'm asking is: when do I check her temp.?

 

[BeagleBabe]

What makes you think that she's not feeling well?

 

[Murphys Dad]

I don't know. The only thing is the allergy/cold thing. I tend to think it's allergy, because she mostly sneeze when we're outside and usually it's after she has a little reverse sneezing episode. I got home earlier and when I pet her, I thought I felt her head a little warm, but that's no indication (unless it's a person), so I started thinking about dogs with fever, and that I don't know how to tell... She is sleeping right now, and earlier was playing as usual, jumping and extatic when I came home. I think she is fine, just trying to educate myself....

I guess the signs for thinking something is wrong would be lack of apetite, drinking less, lethargic a little... she has none of those though...

Anything else I forgot?

 

[BeagleBabe]

Is her nose warm and dry?
What color are her gums?

 

[beaglesmom]

If one of mine gets "lethargic" or "off" their food, that is the signal to get to the vet. I can usually tell if they have a temp - just as I could with kids and grandkids. When Chloe recently started "coughing" (very unusual - and same day started laying around and not eating) I knew something was amiss and got her to vet right away. I don't run to Dr. Randy with everything - but those are all signals that something isn't "right". After I explained her symptoms and said "she's just NOT herself", his first thought was "kennel cough" - but after listening to her lungs and checking her temp, diagnosis was pneumonia. Fortunately we caught it early and she's "all better" now, but will take her in for a re-check next week. Randy knows I'm not just a "nervous nelly" type of mom - and if I call I can almost always get in right away. He's taken care of all my dogs since we moved to Colfax in 1993, and he trusts my instincts with my dogs - just as I trust him implicitily.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Sorry, Jamie, missed your reply... she is fine, no fever or anything.

The first thing I did was to check her gums, pink and healthy. Her nose was warm, but only because it was dry, later on she drank and ate and was all normal. I guess it just raised the question in my head.

Thanks.