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Heart rate

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Tracked over time, resting heart rate is a good indicator of health: it can reveal pain, a fever or a heart problem before any other visible sign.

The app helps you measure it, records it with the date and the animal's state, and can analyse it taking into account its species, breed, age, weight and previous measurements.

Where to measure in the app

  • From the menu, Tracking section, Heart rate entry (or the Cardio button in the bottom bar if it is one of your buttons).
  • From the animal's profile: in the Identity card, the heart box shows the latest measurement. It offers Add a measurement if there is none yet, and the History link.

In the Breeder, Shelter and Boarding apps, the menu entry is hidden by default: show it again from Customize the bar (tap the eye next to the Heart rate entry). In the Shelter app, the heart box on the profile is replaced by the animal's status for shelter animals.

Choosing a measurement method

The screen opens with the question How would you like to measure?:

Bluetooth heart rate belt

Automatic measurement via a connected belt. The most accurate method.

Count the beats

You feel the pulse and tap the screen at each beat; the app calculates the rate and regularity.

Manual entry

You already know the value: record it directly with the date and the animal's state.

Two other entries complete the screen: Measurement history and Where and how to measure (the guide to pulse points).

Preparing the measurement

  • Choose the Animal.
  • Enter the Animal State: Sleeping, Resting or Active.
  • Choose the Measurement duration: 15 s for a quick check, 30 or 45 s for a good average, 60 s for in-depth monitoring.
Tip: Always measure under the same conditions, preferably when the animal is calm or asleep, so the values stay comparable from one time to the next.

Count the beats

  1. Find the pulse (see "Where to feel the heart" below).
  2. Tap the large Tap here button at each beat you feel, until the chosen time runs out.
  3. The app shows the Current rate (in beats per minute), the Regularity and the number of Beats.
  4. Tap Save, or Restart measurement if you lost the rhythm.

Regularity estimates whether the beats are evenly spaced. Above 70%, it is satisfactory. Between 40 and 70%, the measurement may be inaccurate: take it again.

Measuring with a heart rate belt

This method requires the mobile app and a belt registered under My devices (see Connected devices). Without a belt, the screen offers the Add a belt button.

  1. Place the belt around the animal's chest, at the level of the sternum, with the electrodes touching the skin.
  2. Choose Bluetooth heart rate belt. The app connects to the belt (Connecting…, then Connected).
  3. Tap Start measurement. The rate is shown live for the chosen duration.
  4. At the end, the average rate and regularity are prefilled: tap Save.

Most belts send the interval between two beats, which gives an accurate regularity. If yours does not, the app says so ("Estimated regularity") and accuracy is reduced.

ECG with a Polar H10 belt

Consumer belts calculate the rate with settings designed for humans, which can be wrong on a dog. The Polar H10 belt also sends the heart's raw electrical signal (ECG). When it is connected, the app uses it automatically:

  • the Live ECG trace is shown during the measurement;
  • two rates are shown side by side: the Belt rate and the Computed (ECG) rate worked out by the app, with a warning if they diverge;
  • messages flag contact problems: "Signal clipped" when the belt no longer touches the skin, "ECG signal lost", or sections discarded because of movement;
  • the signal is saved with the measurement and can be exported.

During an activity recorded with a Polar H10, the ECG signal is also kept: the activity's details then offer an ECG button to show the ECG trace (Corrected or Raw view). See Activities.

The ECG is used to make the heart rate more reliable. The app does not interpret the shape of the trace and makes no diagnosis.

Analysis of the measurement

After a measurement by counting beats or with a belt, and if you are online, the Veterinary Insights box comments on the result. The analysis is produced by artificial intelligence based on:

  • the animal's species, breed, age and latest known weight;
  • its state at the time of the measurement, the rate obtained, the duration and the regularity;
  • its last 10 recorded measurements.

It gives the normal rate range for this profile, a short interpretation, and recommends seeing a vet if something looks abnormal. If the analysis did not complete, tap Retry Analysis. Offline, the measurement is saved without analysis.

This analysis is an aid, not medical advice. An abnormally high resting rate can signal a fever, pain or a heart problem: if in doubt, call your vet.

Where to feel the heart

MethodHow to do it
On the thigh (femoral artery)Place two fingers on the inside of the hind thigh, where it meets the body, and feel for a regular pulse.
With a stethoscopePlace it on the left side of the chest, behind the left elbow.
Heart rate beltAround the chest, at the level of the sternum, with the electrodes touching the skin.

Measurement history

The Measurement history (or the History link on the animal's profile) lists all of the animal's measurements; the details of each show the rate, date, Duration, Regularity, the animal's Status and the analysis.

  • Tap a measurement to show its details and analysis.
  • To correct it, tap Update in the action bar, then Save.
  • To delete it, tap Delete and confirm.

Comparing measurements over the months helps spot a slow change, which you can show to your vet.