Table of Contents
Last reviewed · 29 September 2026 · Sources linked throughout
A dog’s normal temperature is 38.3–39.2 °C (101.0–102.5 °F). Between 39.2 and 39.5 °C is above normal but not yet a fever. 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) or above is a fever — contact your vet, and 40 °C (104 °F) or above means a vet today. For a dog with a cough, a fever matters more than the number alone: together with tiredness or going off food, it can be a sign that kennel cough is spreading to the lungs. Here’s how to take an accurate reading at home and what to do with it.
Fever with a cough: when to call the vet
A cough in a dog who is bright, eating and playing between coughing fits can usually be watched at home. A cough with a fever is different. Contact your vet if your coughing dog has:
- A temperature of 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) or above. At 40 °C (104 °F) or above, your dog should see a vet today (VCA Animal Hospitals).
- A fever together with lethargy, loss of appetite, or thick, coloured nasal discharge. The ISCAID guidelines use exactly this combination — fever, lethargy or inappetence together with mucopurulent (thick, coloured) discharge — as the point at which a vet considers antibiotics (ISCAID, 2017).
- A resting breathing rate sustained above 30 breaths a minute, or more than 20% above your dog’s own usual rate, counted while your dog sleeps (CVCA). Up to 30 is normal (Cornell Riney Canine Health Center).
Go now — emergency vet, even out of hours — if your dog has a fever together with any sign of distress, or has any of these signs at all: visible effort to breathe, open-mouth breathing at rest, blue, grey or pale gums, or collapse — at any breathing rate (Cornell Riney Canine Health Center). Our guide to your dog’s breathing rate shows how to count it properly; breathing rate and temperature together tell your vet far more than either does alone.
Puppies, older dogs, flat-faced breeds and dogs with a weakened immune system should be seen sooner at every step. A European review of kennel cough notes that in puppies, and in dogs with a weakened immune system or another illness, it “can be complicated by bronchopneumonia”, with fever among the signs (Day et al., Journal of Comparative Pathology, 2020).
What is a normal temperature for a dog?
The normal range comes from the normal physiological values for dogs in the MSD Veterinary Manual, which gives 101–102.5 °F (38.3–39.2 °C). The fever line at 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) or above is the threshold we use across this site; for context, the MSD Veterinary Manual notes that most true fevers fall between 39.5 and 41.1 °C.
| Rectal temperature | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 38.3–39.2 °C (101.0–102.5 °F) | Normal | Nothing, on temperature alone — keep watching the cough, appetite and breathing. |
| 39.2–39.5 °C | Above normal, not yet a fever | Let your dog rest somewhere cool and quiet, then take it again. If your dog also seems unwell, phone your vet. |
| 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) or above | Fever | Contact your vet. |
| 40 °C (104 °F) or above | High fever | Your dog should see a vet today (VCA Animal Hospitals). |
| Fever with laboured breathing, collapse, or pale or blue gums | Emergency | Emergency vet now (Cornell Riney Canine Health Center). |
These bands apply to dogs and puppies from about four weeks old. Very young puppies can’t yet control their own body temperature properly, so we don’t publish a range for them: a newborn puppy who seems unwell needs a vet the same day, not a home check.
A reading below 38.3 °C is below normal. On its own, in a bright dog, it may just be a poor reading — but a low temperature in a dog who is also flat, weak or off food is not reassuring, and is a reason to phone your vet.
How do you take a dog’s temperature?
Use a digital thermometer in the rectum. In a study that compared home-style methods against a catheter measuring true core temperature, a rectal thermometer was the closest; an ear thermometer and an implanted microchip usually read low, and the ear thermometer gave the most variable readings (Greer et al., JAVMA, 2007). It was a small study — eight dogs — but it matches how vets take temperatures in practice.
- Wait until your dog has been resting. Not straight after a walk, a game, excitement or time in a hot car or room — all of these can push the reading up without a fever.
- Get a helper. One person steadies and reassures your dog, standing or lying on their side; the other takes the reading.
- Lubricate the tip of a digital thermometer with petroleum jelly or a water-based lubricant.
- Lift the tail and insert the tip gently into the rectum, only a short way. Never force it.
- Hold it still until it beeps, then read it and write the number down with the time.
- Clean the thermometer and keep it for your dog only.
Don’t try if it isn’t safe. If your dog is struggling to breathe, in pain, very distressed or likely to bite, skip the reading and phone your vet. A dog who is working hard to breathe should not be held down for a thermometer — that dog needs the vet, not a number.
Are ear or forehead thermometers accurate for dogs?
Less so. In the study above, the ear thermometer read lower than core temperature and varied most from one reading to the next — which is the wrong direction to err when you are checking for a fever. Non-contact forehead thermometers were not part of that study. If you get a borderline or surprising result from any other type, a rectal reading is the one to trust.
Can you tell if a dog has a fever by feeling their nose or ears?
No. A warm, dry nose or warm ears are not a measurement — a dog who has just woken up or been lying in the sun can feel warm with a normal temperature, and a dog with a fever can feel normal to the touch. Only a thermometer tells you.
Is it a fever, or is my dog just hot?
They are not the same thing. The MSD Veterinary Manual describes fever as the body deliberately running hotter: the brain’s “thermostat” is turned up, usually in response to infection or inflammation. Overheating — after exercise, excitement, a hot day, or heatstroke — is different: the thermostat is normal, and the body simply can’t shed heat fast enough.
That’s why the reading should be taken at rest, and repeated if it’s borderline. A raised temperature straight after a run that comes back to normal after rest was overheating. A raised temperature in a dog who has been lying quietly, and who has a cough, is more likely to be fever.
Heatstroke is its own emergency. A dog who is panting hard, distressed, drooling or wobbly after heat or exertion needs a vet now — phone on the way.
Why does a fever matter when a dog has a cough?
Because it helps tell a simple cough from a spreading one. In uncomplicated kennel cough, most dogs stay bright and keep eating, and the ISCAID guidelines note the illness “might resolve spontaneously within 10 days without antimicrobial treatment” (ISCAID, 2017). A fever changes the picture. It is one of the things vets look for when they are deciding whether the infection has reached the lungs — alongside a faster or more laboured breathing rate, going off food, lethargy, and what they hear through the stethoscope.
Canine influenza is a good example. The MSD Veterinary Manual lists fever, lethargy and loss of appetite among the signs of dog flu, and notes that some dogs “become severely sick, with a high fever… pneumonia, and an additional bacterial infection” (MSD Veterinary Manual, canine influenza). Our dog flu guide covers it in more detail.
A written record helps. If your dog is coughing and you take a reading, note the time, the number and how your dog seems — eating, drinking, energy, breathing rate. It is exactly the information your vet will ask for.
Can I give my dog something to bring a fever down?
No — never give human fever or pain medicine. The MSD Veterinary Manual notes that dogs are the species most often involved when pets swallow human painkillers, and that some are given them deliberately by “well-meaning but unknowledgeable owners” (MSD Veterinary Manual, human analgesics).
- Paracetamol (acetaminophen) can damage a dog’s liver and stop their red blood cells carrying oxygen properly.
- Ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin most often damage the stomach, gut and kidneys.
- Cough, cold and flu remedies and decongestants often combine several drugs, and some over-the-counter medicines and cough syrups contain xylitol, which can cause a rapid, life-threatening drop in a dog’s blood sugar (FDA).
There is a second reason, even setting the poisoning aside: the fever is information. A temperature brought down by a tablet hides the sign your vet uses to judge how ill your dog is. If your dog has a fever, the treatment is whatever your vet decides after examining them — not something from the bathroom cabinet. While you wait, keep your dog resting somewhere quiet and comfortable, with water in reach.
Frequently asked questions
Is 39.3 °C a fever in a dog?
Not yet. Between 39.2 and 39.5 °C is above normal but below the fever line. Let your dog rest somewhere cool and quiet and take it again. If it reaches 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) or above, or your dog is coughing and also seems flat or off food, phone your vet.
Is a puppy’s normal temperature different?
From about four weeks old, puppies use the same bands as adult dogs. Younger puppies can’t regulate their own temperature properly, and a newborn puppy who seems unwell needs a vet the same day rather than a home reading. Puppies with a cough should be seen sooner than adults at any age — see our guide to kennel cough in puppies.
Does kennel cough always cause a fever?
No. Many dogs with uncomplicated kennel cough have a normal temperature and stay bright and hungry. That’s why a fever is worth noticing: in a coughing dog it is one of the signs that the illness may be more than a simple cough.
My dog feels hot. Should I cool them down?
If your dog has been in the heat or exercising hard and is panting heavily or distressed, that may be heatstroke — phone your vet now. If your dog has a cough and a fever, don’t try to bring the temperature down yourself; phone your vet, keep your dog resting and comfortable, and leave the treatment to them.
Can I give my dog paracetamol or ibuprofen for a fever?
No. Both can poison dogs — paracetamol can damage the liver, and ibuprofen the stomach and kidneys. Give nothing from your own medicine cabinet unless your vet has told you to, for that specific dog.
Where to read next
- Your dog’s breathing rate — how to count it, and the numbers that mean a vet
- Can kennel cough go away on its own? — what to watch for at home
- Kennel cough treatment — what your dog actually needs, and when antibiotics come in
If you’re unsure, phone your vet. A temperature of 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) or above in a coughing dog, a sleeping breathing rate that stays above 30, or a dog who is flat and off food all mean a call to your vet; 40 °C (104 °F) or above means a vet today. A fever with laboured breathing, blue, grey or pale gums, or collapse means an emergency vet now. This page helps you take an accurate reading and describe what you’re seeing; it isn’t a replacement for an examination.
