Skip to main content

Resting respiratory rate

Early access

This endpoint is not generally available yet. The request and response below are the design we're building to, published so you can plan your integration. Contact us to join early access. We'll publish measured accuracy against vet hand counts before general release.

Resting respiratory rate (RRR) is the number of breaths a pet takes per minute while asleep. It's one of the few vital signs an owner can measure at home, and a rising rate can be an early sign of heart or lung trouble. The 2019 ACVIM consensus guidelines on myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs (Keene et al., Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine) recommend that owners of affected dogs track sleeping respiratory rate at home.

How it will work​

  1. The owner films their dog asleep for about 30 seconds.
  2. You upload the video against the pet.
  3. You ask for the respiratory rate. The result arrives by webhook when it's ready.
curl -X POST -H "x-api-key: YOUR-API-KEY" -H "Content-Type: multipart/form-data" \
  -F "file=@/path/to/sleeping.mp4" \
  https://api.thedogapi.com/v1/pets/{pet_id}/videos

POST /pets/{pet_id}/videos is live today (form field file, up to 200 MB), so you can start collecting videos now. Videos are stored on the pet and are not used by the photo analysis endpoints.

The analysis call and result, in early access:

curl -X POST -H "x-api-key: YOUR-API-KEY" \
  https://api.thedogapi.com/v1/pets/{pet_id}/respiratory-rate
{
  "status": "completed",
  "breaths_per_minute": 22,
  "breed_baseline": { "low": 15, "high": 30 },
  "within_baseline": true,
  "video_id": "vid_3kP9",
  "generated_at": "2026-09-30T02:11:04.000Z"
}

The numbers are illustrative, not clinical reference ranges, and field names may change before general release.

Filming tips to give owners​

  • Film while the pet is properly asleep, not resting with eyes open, and not straight after exercise.
  • Hold the phone still, or prop it up, 1-2 metres away with the chest and belly in frame.
  • Keep the room well lit and quiet.
  • One breath is one rise and fall of the chest.

What it won't claim​

A single reading is a data point, not a diagnosis. The value is in the trend: the same pet, measured the same way, over weeks. Any reading that worries an owner, or a pet that is breathing hard while awake, is a reason to call their vet, not to film again.