Comparing alternatives to canine rectal thermometry at the axillary, auricular and ocular locations

Body temperature is an important component in the diagnosis and treatment of disease in canines. The rectal temperature remains the standard of obtaining temperature within the clinical setting, but there are many drawbacks with this method, including time, access, animal stress, and safety concerns. Interest in using infrared thermometry in canines to obtain body temperature has grown as animal scientists and veterinarians search for non-invasive and non-contact methods and locations of obtaining canine temperatures. Here, we review evidence on axillary, auricular, and ocular region canine thermometry and the degree to which measurements in these locations are representative of rectal temperature values. Instrumentation refinement and development, as well as morphologic differences, play an important role in the potential correlation between the rectal temperature and these other locations. These caveats have yet to be fully addressed in the literature, limiting the options for those seeking alternatives to rectal thermometry.