Pet First Aid
Have you ever wondered what to do when dealing with a pet emergency? What happens when your dog, Fido, gets a cut from running in the woods with you? What should you do if your cat, Fluffy, suddenly stops breathing? All sorts of activities can lead to your furry pal getting an injury, and sometimes there are basic emergency care procedures you can do for them to ease their pain or save their life in an emergency situation.
First of all, there are some everyday precautions that you can take to prevent some common threats to your pet, which include:
- Crate train your dog correctly.
- Pet-proof the house to prevent accidental poisoning.
- Keep your pets living in the home with you. Cats, especially indoor-outdoor cats, create a higher risk of being attacked
- Always make sure to have your dogs under your control. Dogs should be kept on leashes at all times when outside to help prevent tangling with another animal, getting hit by a car, etc
If one of these things should happen, or anything that requires at-home first aid, make sure to follow the rules of pet first aid:
- Make sure it’s safe for you to enter the area near your pet
- Check the ABC’s
ABC's of Pet First Aid
AIRWAY
If you find your pet unconscious, it’s very possible that it could have choked on an item or food. Open its mouth and check for any obstruction of its airway, and try to remove it, but do not put your hand in its mouth, as scared or injured animals often bite. You may also attempt to dislodge it by performing abdominal thrusts or back blows.
BREATHING
If your pet isn’t breathing and you’ve been unable to find an obstruction, you’ll need to assist them with their breathing. Dogs and cats are different in this regard… with cats and small dogs you can usually put your mouth over their entire muzzle and breathe into them, but for larger dogs you will need their mouths held closed while you breathe only into their noses.
CIRCULATION
If your pet is unresponsive or unconscious, you should check for a heartbeat near where the elbow of the left front leg meets the chest. If you still cannot find a heartbeat you’ll want to lay the pet on its right side. Every size of pet requires a different amount and type of compressions.