What is a normal respiratory rate for dogs and how do you actually track it?
Your vet probably mentioned keeping an eye on your dog's breathing at home. Sitting there counting breaths while she sleeps is stressful and honestly kind of impossible. Maven tracks your dog's resting respiratory rate automatically, all night, every night, so you don't have to.
What is the normal resting respiratory rate for dogs?
A dog's resting respiratory rate (RRR) is simply how many breaths she takes per minute while she's fully relaxed or asleep. A normal resting respiratory rate for dogs is between 15 and 30 breaths per minute. If you're regularly seeing more than 30 breaths per minute at rest, that's worth a call to your vet.
For dogs with heart murmurs, congestive heart failure (CHF), or other cardiac conditions, monitoring resting respiratory rate is literally what your cardiologist is asking you to do at home. It's one of the earliest signs that something is changing before symptoms show up.
Generally fine. Consistently below 10 bpm alongside lethargy — call your vet.
This is the healthy target zone while your dog is sleeping or fully relaxed.
Consistently above 30 at rest is a warning. Over 40 bpm needs urgent attention.
Michelle M. -- Verified Trustpilot review
Why monitoring your dog's resting respiratory rate could save her life
Changes in your dog's resting respiratory rate often show up days before any other visible symptom. For dogs with heart disease, fluid starts building around the lungs and her breathing rate creeps up. Catching that trend early gives your vet time to adjust medication instead of treating an emergency.
The challenge has always been that counting breaths manually is a mess. Your dog wakes up, you lose count, you stress yourself out, and you maybe do it three times in a week before giving up. Maven does it automatically while she sleeps, every single night.
Heart murmurs and MVD
A rising RRR is often the first sign fluid is building near the lungs. Early detection means medication adjustment, not an ER visit.
CHF management
Tracking RRR trends tells you and your vet whether treatment is actually working or a dosage change is needed.
Data your vet can actually use
Maven exports respiratory rate as a spreadsheet. Bring real trend charts to cardiology instead of saying "she seems okay."
Personalized alerts
After 7 days Maven knows your dog's normal. If her breathing starts creeping up, you get an alert before you'd ever notice.
How to measure your dog's resting respiratory rate (and why most people give up)
The manual method: wait until she's asleep, creep over, stay completely still, count chest rises for 30 seconds, multiply by two. Except she woke up when you walked over. Start again. This is what vets ask people to do every day at home, and it just doesn't stick.
Set it up tonight. She's monitored by morning.
Attaches to whatever collar she already wears. Tiny and lightweight. Most dogs stop noticing it within an hour.
Maven learns what's normal for your dog specifically. Not some generic average. Your dog, her baseline.
The app shows daily and weekly respiratory rate patterns in plain language. Breathing higher than usual? You'll get a notification.
Export as a spreadsheet or share screenshots. Show up to cardiology appointments with actual numbers, not guesses.
Watch Maven in the real world
What dog parents say about tracking resting respiratory rate with Maven
"Maven saved Hazel. She had a relapse from heart failure and Maven caught it before we even noticed any changes in her breathing. Her care team adjusted her medications and pulled her back out of failure. Thank you Maven."
"My 12-year-old was diagnosed with a heart murmur and MVD. Now I can see when he's within a safe resting respiratory rate or creeping into unsafe territory and make a better call."
"I used to wake up every hour worrying about whether Bella was panting. Since Maven, I get a nudge when her breathing changes, and now I actually sleep."
"Very reassuring for dogs with heart disease. Having RRR tracked automatically is so much easier than counting breaths myself while she's sleeping. The vet loves the trend data too."
"My dog has CHF. I've been able to react quickly to medicine changes thanks to the weekly respiratory rate graphs. I have every intention of using Maven for a long time."
"He was diagnosed with HCM and asthma. This is the only device I've seen that tracks both respiratory and heart rate. I have not found anything else that compares."
"My dog has a level 5 heart murmur. This device helps me monitor his resting respiratory rate and heart rate. I wish I had known about Maven a year ago."
"We noticed he was having resting respiratory spikes, which gave me something concrete to bring up with his vet. I can't imagine not having Maven."
"I asked how to export my dog's respiratory rate data for the vet. They sent me an Excel file right away. My vet found it so much more useful than screenshots."
Everything about dog resting respiratory rate
Start monitoring her breathing tonight
One sensor. One app. All the data your vet wants from home. Cancel anytime, 30-day risk-free return policy.
Plans cover 1 pet. 2 and 3 pet options available at checkout. Works for both dogs and cats.
Your vet told you to watch the breathing. Now you actually can.
Maven is the only pet tracker that measures resting respiratory rate automatically. Set it up tonight. By morning you'll have your dog's first readings.
Start for $13.99/month See how it works30-day risk-free return · Free worldwide shipping · Cancel anytime