Our pets, especially young ones, are in many ways similar to kids. Their curiosity can sometimes lead to an injury and sometimes an emergency can happen. If your pet has been poisoned, suffered an electric shock, head injury or is choking it’s good to know what to do until the vet arrives. Although such a situation can be very stressful, always try to keep calm. In this article we discuss some First Aid Tips For Dog Owners that you should be familiar with.
First Aid Tips For Dog Owners: Choking and Resuscitation
What To Do If Your Dog Is Choking?
Dogs can choke on a number of different things – a treat, a toy, something they stole out of the bin. If you find your dog in this position then it’s important to take action to try and remove the item.
1. Firstly make sure you are safe to try and open their mouth.
2. Check to see any obvious items that you can remove with a finger and thumb.
3. You may need to raise their back legs to try and dislodge the item.
4. A Heimlich manoeuvre is a last option before you take them to the vet.
Remember always take them to the vet to check for any damage to the mouth or throat after you have removed the item.
The following video shows you how to deal with a choking dog.
How To Resuscitate Your Dog
If you find a dog unconscious then you can take the following steps to help them.
1. Approach carefully, especially if they are not your dog. A dog can get very scared and potentially aggressive if they are sick or injured.
2. Check for response with the back of your hand.
3. Check their airway by opening their mouth and easing the tongue forward.
4. If there is anything there carefully remove it.
5. Check if they are breathing and then put them in the recovery position.
6. Get them to a vet as quickly as possible.
If they are not breathing then:
1. Check for a pulse near the back leg.
2. If there is a pulse then ease their tongue into their both, close the jaw and breath into their nose.
3. Administer 4-5 breaths, followed by 30 compressions.
The following video gives you step by step instructions on how to help an unconscious dog.
Should I Take My Dog To The Vet?
It’s always preferable to have a trained expert deal with emergency situations such as choking or unconsciousness. However, if you are not close to a vet then learning these skills might just save your dog’s life.
Always get your dog to the vet for a check-up after the event to make sure there is no damage to them and find out if they need any further medical treatment.
