A puppy’s belly can feel hot because it’s supposed to be hotter than human hands. Normal dog temperatures range from 99.5 degrees to 102.2 degrees F, which is warmer than human’s 98.6 degrees F.
Sometimes a puppy can have a fever for any number of reasons. Infections, vaccinations, and poisoning can be culprits in raising your puppy’s temperature.
So how do you know the difference between the usual warm, toasty puppy’s belly and a fever situation? Also, is there anything you can do to get your pup’s temperature back to normal?
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Is My Puppy’s Belly Supposed to Feel Hot?
A puppy’s body temperature is normally a few degrees higher than a human’s. This can be more noticeable due to a few reasons:
Your Hand Being Cold
Things usually feel warmer when your hands are cool or cold. So, the normal 102-degree F body temperature of your puppy can feel much hotter to the touch.
Heat From Exercise
If you’ve just taken your puppy on a walk, odds are they ran a little and got some decent exercise. Your puppy’s body temperature right after he’s exerted some effort can be a couple of degrees warmer, and that’s normal.
This effect usually doesn’t last long as the puppy cools off from his workout. That’s why you should keep an eye out for that heat lingering for longer than usual.
Belly Having Less Fur
Fur is an excellent insulator, so when you touch your puppy’s body it usually doesn’t feel too warm. However, the puppy’s belly doesn’t have that much fur, so you can feel your pup’s true body temperature.
If you want to test this, touch your puppy’s back and then take your hand off for a second, then touch his belly. You’ll notice how his belly feels warmer than the rest of his body.
When Do I Suspect My Puppy Has a Fever?
In most cases, feverish puppies show symptoms other than high temperature. They might experience one or more of the following signs:
- Lethargy and no desire to move
- Excessive panting
- Refusal to eat or drink, even when they’re too hot and hungry
- Vomiting
- Whimpering
What Can Cause Fever in Puppies?
Fever in puppies can be due to one or more of the following reasons:
Vaccinations
Your puppy might show fever symptoms right after getting his shots, and it’s totally normal. Vaccines work by encouraging the body to fight a weakened or dead virus to create antibodies ready to fight a real infection.
While this protects the puppy from future illness, vaccination can be taxing on the body in the short term. Just know it’s no cause for panic and is an expected outcome.
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Infection or Inflammation
Infections aren’t uncommon among puppies, and they usually lead to a rise in body temperature. A couple of reasons for fever are ear infections and UTIs.
Ear infections are usually the result of water being trapped inside the ear, making it a good environment for bacterial and fungal growth. Ear mite infestations can also cause ear infections.
You’ll notice your puppy shaking his head vigorously or trying to scratch it with his paws. This is a very strong sign you should check the inside of his ears.
As for UTIs, or urinary tract infections, they are infections of the urethra and sometimes the urinary bladder. The most common cause for them is E. coli bacteria found in fecal matter.
A puppy with a UTI will show discomfort and even whimper while urinating, or drip urine when they’re walking, even if there’s no “accident.”
Exposure to Toxins
Puppies are curious creatures with a keen sense of smell, but sometimes they get into things they shouldn’t get into.
Unfortunately, a fever could indicate the puppy ingested some kind of toxin his body is trying to fight.
Cleaning products, prescription medications, and even some houseplants and human foods can be severely poisonous.
That’s why you should rule this out as soon as possible and act quickly if you find out that’s what happened to your puppy.
Try to narrow down the cause of poisoning as this can help your vet treat your puppy.
Look for open medicine bottles, cleaning products lying around unsupervised, or signs your dog might have eaten toxic human foods.
These foods include avocados, Macadamia nuts, and xylitol (a sweetener also known as Birch sugar).
How to Take a Puppy’s Temperature
If you’re not sure whether your puppy is feverish or in the normal temperature range, you can try taking his temperature. You can do that using a rectal thermometer or an ear thermometer.
Rectal thermometers are usually more accurate, but they can cause some discomfort. It’s advisable to use a digital thermometer, as they’re faster and cause less trouble.
To use a rectal thermometer:
- Cover the thermometer with a plastic cover (optional).
- Use a lubricant like baby oil or petroleum jelly on it.
- Insert it in the puppy’s anus, just enough to cover the tip (about 1 inch).
- Take the reading, remove the covering, and then sterilize the thermometer using ethyl alcohol.
To use an ear thermometer:
- Lift your puppy’s ear.
- Insert the thermometer inside the ear canal as close to the eardrum as possible. This is usually one inch in small dogs, two inches in medium breeds, and three inches in larger dogs.
- Take the reading and sterilize the thermometer.
If the puppy sustains a fever of 103 degrees F, take him to the vet to get the reason for the fever checked.
If the fever reaches 106 degrees F, then you should rush him to the nearest animal ER, as this can cause permanent organ damage.
How to Cool Down Your Puppy
If your puppy isn’t feverish but still feels warm and lethargic, try these methods to make his temperature drop:
- Put a bowl of water nearby so he can drink whenever he wants.
- Use cold compresses on his paws and the back of his ears.
- Spray him with a garden hose to cool him down.
- Keep him inside or in the shade in a well-ventilated area.
Paul has been creating content for the dog niche for many years. The information he shares comes his first hand experience growing up in dog lovers household and then owning multiple dog breeds of his own as an adult. Paul enjoys doing the hard research to collect, analyze and present our dogtemperament.com readers with the best answers to their questions.