AGREED ‘TPR’ REFERENCE RANGES

FOR THE BVM&S DEGREE

You should be aware:

1. These figures will vary according to the age, size, breed, fitness and degree of stress that the animal is under at the time of examination, and clinical judgement should be applied to
your interpretation of these values according to each individual case.

2. Different clinicians (and different textbooks) are likely to have their own individual ‘preferred ranges’, however, this table lists the agreed and endorsed* range that should be used by
staff and students for teaching, learning and assessment throughout the BVM&S degree at the R(D)SVS.

Horse Cat Dog

Rectal
37.5 - 38.5 38.0 - 39.0 38.0 - 39.0
Temperature (⁰C)
Heart Rate
30 - 42 160 - 220 60 - 120
(beats/min)
Respiratory Rate
8 - 12 18 - 30 15 - 30
(breaths/min)

Cow Pig Rabbit Sheep

38.0 - 39.0 38.5 - 40.0 38.5 - 40.0 39.0 - 40.0

60-80 90-110 180-300 70-90

15-30 10-20 30-60 20-30

* agreed and endorsed by the BVM&S Learning and Teaching Committee, September 2014 ‘TPR’= Temperature, Pulse, Respiration