Pet First Aid

Hopefully some of these tips will help yoor hoomans cope wif any problums we mite haf.

Brief and basic furst aid

Furst up is CPR. Lifesaving procedure to save our lives. Wot evfurry hoomum and dad shud know. If we stop breathin!


Act fast! Your knowledge of Canine CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver may save your dog’s life!

Most dog owners understand that Murphy’s Law is a constant and whatever your dog can do, he most certainly will do. Sometimes this canine mischief is innocent, other times not so much- and your best friend may end up in a life threatening position. It is always wise to be safe, rather than sorry; so I haz put together a simple guide with two tried and proven techniques to save your dog’s life. Immediate action can mean the difference between permanent brain damage or death and your canine companion living out his golden years by your side. I haz also listed some basic furst aid procedures for da most common fings wot can happen to our furpals to help da hoomans lurn how to care for us.

Canine CPR

The first thing you must learn about CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) are the three principles, easily remembered by thinking “ABC” or Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

Step 1
Open Your Dog’s Airway

In some cases there may be an obstruction to your dog’s airway that is the causal factor in his inability to breathe- obstructions can be anything from blood to vomit or even saliva. Regardless of what is blocking his airway you must clear his throat before proceeding. Veterinarians recommend using your index and middle fingers to swab the back of the throat as best as possible.

In other cases it may simply be the positioning of your dog’s neck that is keeping him from breathing. The optimal position to inhibit breathing is to place your dog on his side, tilt his head back and pull his tongue forward. Sometimes this may immediately solve the breathing problem, either way you should at least be prepared for the worst.

Step 2
Breathing Air In


Hold your dogs mouth shut and blow air in through his nostrils.
To breathe air into your dog’s lungs you must hold his mouth shut and place your mouth over his nostrils, breathe in a total of four times.

You should breathe in with enough force to raise your dog’s chest. If you are breathing with enough force you will feel resistance and hear air entering his lungs.

Step 3
Circulating the Blood

The most important step in the entire process is kick starting circulation to get your dog’s cardiovascular and pulmonary functions operating again. To circulate the blood you must first make sure that your dog is positioned correctly; he should be on his right side and be laying on a hard surface.
Place the heel of one of your hands on the ribs over his heart (where his left elbow would touch his chest when bent) and then place the heel of your second hand on top of the first and push down. The right amount of pressure will compress the chest about half way to the ground, you should do this 15 times and then breathe into your dog’s nose twice. Repeat the process.

The ideal amount of compressions in one minute is anywhere from 80-100. It has been proven to help if you count out loud – e.g. “one and two and three and four”. Remember the song 'Staying Alive' and sing that to yourself as you're compressing the chest.

It is recommended that you continue CPR on your way to the vet, continuing CPR for 20 minutes until your dog is able to breathe on his own.

How to Save a Choking Dog

In the unfortunate instance that your canine friend finds himself choking your immediate and knowledgeable action can save him from permanent brain damage or asphyxiation. Pay close attention to the techniques below in case you need to utilize them one day.

The first action you should take is to attempt to dislodge the obstruction that is causing the choking. If your dog is a larger dog you first place your arms under his belly and slide them back until they are just in front of the hind legs (around the groin area), secondly you must lift his rear legs while leaving his front legs planted on the ground, after you have done this the next step is to firmly shake your dog. For simple toys and other chewed items this should do the trick and dislodge whatever was obstructing his airway. Alternatively, if you own a smaller dog follow the first step mentioned above but instead of lifting his hind legs you should lift him off the ground in the upside down position and commence the firm shaking.

The Canine Heimlich Maneuver


Once you have placed your arms below the last rib give a forceful squeeze.
If the first technique does not solve the issue your next action (if your dog has not fainted) is to perform the Canine Heimlich Maneuver.

If your dog is standing you must tightly wrap your arms around his stomach just under his rib cage and give a quick, forceful squeeze. The majority of the time the item disrupting airflow will come right out.

In the event your dog has fainted you can still help him! Place him on his side and feel for his last rib near his stomach- place both hands, palms down just behind the last rib and firmly (but quickly) press down a couple times.
It is important that if neither of these techniques do not work you must immediately take your dog to a vet!

So now yoor hoomans know how to save yoor life if yoo stops breavin.

Now for some furst aid tips for dem.

Emergencies and First Aid

When your pet has an emergency, being prepared is very important. Before an emergency strikes, be sure you have your vet's contact number easily to hand and have a plan of how you will transport your pet to the surgery. You can also stay prepared for emergencies by putting together a first aid kit for your pet.

You SHOULD NOT get on-line during a pet emergency or when your pet is seriously ill. In an emergency, first aid is not a substitute for veterinary treatment. However, before you are able to get your pet to a veterinarian, knowing some basic first aid can help. Always seek veterinary care following first-aid attempts.

Emergencies to call your vet immediately about include:

Birthing difficulties
Bloat or Gastric Dilation
Breathing Difficulties
Choking
Eye injuries
Fitting
Heatstroke
Persistent vomiting or diarrhoea
Poisoning
Road Traffic Accidents
Severe bleeding
Any other condition that appears to be making your pet acutely ill

Basic First Aid

Your Basic First Aid Kit

Wound spray
There are all kinds of ways that your dog can get cut, scratched, or otherwise suffer injury to their skin, both around the house and outdoors. Vetericyn, for example, is non-toxic, won’t sting, and is designed to clean and speed healing.

Self-cling bandage
If your dog suffers a serious laceration or other injury, you’re probably going to want to cover it with a bandage after using the wound spray. Look for self-cling bandages that won’t stick to your dog’s fur to avoid painful removal later.

Bandage scissors
Unless you want Fido looking like a mummy when you bandage him, include a pair of bandage scissors in your kit that are designed to cut through gauze, clothing, and (yes) bandages.

Eye wash and ear wash
If your dog gets some kind of pollutant or other contaminant in her eyes or ears, it can cause itching, stinging, burning, or worse. Dog-safe eye wash and ear wash can help you flush out the problem materials with a dropper nozzle and can even be used on any dressing needed.


Dog cone
The problem with eye and other head-related issues is that your pup is going to do whatever he can to scratch and rub at the area with his paw. Prevent this from happening by using a dog cone, which will also prevent your dog from being able to chew at stitches from surgery or lick at a hot spot during treatment. Your vet may also refer to this as an Elizabeth Collar, or e-collar for short.

Muzzle
Even a normally calm and balanced dog may lash out when injured, and he may also bite at a wound, making it worse. Muzzles, like the Funny Muzzle, serve the dual purpose of keeping a nervous or aggressive dog from harming others or bringing harm to himself.

Leash
The leash is an important tool to have on-hand because it’s a way to gain control of your dog at a time that she might be panicking and try to run away. You want to be able to focus on the injury, not just keeping your dog from fleeing.

You can add to these items with things such as antihistamine tablets (human brand is fine), eye dropper etc.

Now to treat minor injuries

Poisoning and Exposure to Toxins

Pet poison hazards

Poisoning is a pet emergency that causes a great deal of confusion for pet owners. In general, any products that are harmful for people are also harmful for pets. Examples include cleaning products, rodent poisons and antifreeze. But you also need to be aware of common food items that may be harmful to your pet, such as grapes, chocolate, some house and garden plants etc. So be aware of what is harmful. Forewarned is forearmed.

If your pet's skin or eyes are exposed to a toxic product (such as many cleaning products), check the product label for the instructions for people exposed to the product; if the label instructs you to wash your hands with soap and water if you're exposed, then wash your pet's skin with soap and water (don't get any into its eyes, mouth or nose). If the label tells you to flush the skin or eyes with water, do this for your pet as soon as possible (if you can do it safely), and call a veterinarian immediately.

If possible, have the following information available:

Species, breed, age, sex, weight and number of animals involved
Symptoms
Name/description of the substance that is in question; the amount the animal was exposed to; and the length of time of the exposure (how long it's been since your pet ate it or was exposed to it).
Have the product container/packaging available for reference.

Collect any material your pet may have vomited or chewed, and place it in a plastic sealable bag to take with you when you bring your animal in for veterinary treatment

Seizures

Keep your pet away from any objects (including furniture) that might hurt it. Do not try to restrain the pet.
Time the seizure (they usually last 2-3 minutes).
After the seizure has stopped, keep your pet as warm and quiet as possible and contact your veterinarian.

Fractures

Muzzle your pet.
Gently lay your pet on a flat surface for support.
While transporting your injured pet to a veterinarian, use a stretcher (you can use a board or other firm surface as a stretcher, or use a throw rug or blanket as a sling). If possible, secure the pet to the stretcher (make sure you don't put pressure on the injured area or the animal's chest) for transport—this may be as simple as wrapping a blanket around them.
You can attempt to set the fracture with a homemade splint, but remember that a badly-placed splint may cause more harm than good. If in doubt, it is always best to leave the bandaging and splinting to a veterinarian.

Bleeding (external)
Applying bandage to stop external bleeding

Muzzle your pet.
Press a clean, thick gauze pad over the wound, and keep pressure over the wound with your hand until the blood starts clotting. This will often take several minutes for the clot to be strong enough to stop the bleeding. Instead of checking it every few seconds to see if it has clotted, hold pressure on it for a minimum of 3 minutes and then check it.
If bleeding is severe and on the legs, apply a tourniquet (using an elastic band or gauze) between the wound and the body, and apply a bandage and pressure over the wound. Loosen the tourniquet for 20 seconds every 15-20 minutes. Severe bleeding can quickly be life-threatening—get your animal to a veterinarian immediately if this occurs.

Bleeding (internal)

Symptoms: bleeding from nose, mouth, rectum, coughing up blood, blood in urine, pale gums, collapse, weak and rapid pulse.
Keep animal as warm and quiet as possible and transport immediately to a veterinarian.

Burns

Chemical
Muzzle the animal.
Flush burn immediately with large quantities of water.
Severe
Muzzle the animal.
Quickly apply ice water compress to burned area.

Choking

Symptoms: difficulty breathing, excessive pawing at the mouth, choking sounds when breathing or coughing, blue-tinged lips/tongue.
Use caution – a choking pet is more likely to bite in its panic.
If the pet can still breathe, keep it calm and get it to a veterinarian.
Look into the pet's mouth to see if a foreign object is visible. If you see an object, gently try to remove it with pliers or tweezers, but be careful not to push the object further down the throat. Don't spend a lot of time trying to remove it if it's not easy to reach—don't delay, and get your pet to a veterinarian immediately.
If you can't remove the object or your pet collapses, place both hands on the side of your pet's rib cage and apply firm quick pressure, or lay your pet on its side and strike the rib cage firmly with the palm of your hand 3-4 times. The idea behind this is to sharply push air out of their lungs and push the object out from behind. Keep repeating this until the object is dislodged or until you arrive at the veterinarian's office.

Heatstroke

Never leave your pet in the car on warm days. The temperature inside a car can rise very quickly to dangerous levels, even on milder days. Pets can succumb to heatstroke very easily and must be treated very quickly to give them the best chance of survival.
If you cannot immediately get your pet to a veterinarian, move it to a shaded area and out of direct sunlight.
Place a cool or cold, wet towel around its neck and head (do not cover your pet's eyes, nose or mouth).
Remove the towel, wring it out, and rewet it and rewrap it every few minutes as you cool the animal.
Pour or use a hose to keep water running over the animal's body (especially the abdomen and between the hind legs), and use your hands to massage its legs and sweep the water away as it absorbs the body heat.
Transport the pet to a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Shock

Symptoms: weak pulse, shallow breathing, nervousness, dazed eyes.
Usually follows severe injury or extreme fright.
Keep animal restrained, warm and quiet.
If animal is unconscious, keep head level with rest of body.
Transport the pet immediately to a veterinarian.

Chocking
Use the Heimlich Maneuvre mentiond above. You may not have time to get your dog/cat to the vet so you need to know how to perform this to save it's life.