Basic Pet First Aid
Hopefully you will never need to know or use this information, but becomeing familiar with it may save the life of your pet, or someone else's. Though the best treatment is prevention, we all know accidents can happen. That is when you must be able to act with confidence and skill. What you do in the first precious moments can make the difference between life and death. Become familiar with this information, or better yet, take a Pet First Aid course and keep your knowledge up to date.
ABC - Airway - Breathing - Circulation
Just like with their human counterparts, the most urgent
need a dog has is ABC = Airway, Breathing, Circulation. An obstucted airway won't allow your dog to breathe, and breathing is hopeless without circulation of the blood supply which takes oxygen to every part of the body, and returns with carbon dioxide.
There is a technique for doing the Heimlich maneuver on a dog to clear an obstruction in the throat, but it varies a little from doing it on humans. Become familiar with it on our Dog Heimlich Maneuver page.
The explanation for the ABC's is listed under Pet CPR. Please become familiar before you even have a need to know about or use CPR.
Also check out our page on First Aid Supplies and make sure you have at least basic supplies in one place that you can easily get to at any time. If you take the time to prepare a First Aid Kit, follow up with a Disaster Preparedness Kit which is also on it's own page.
need a dog has is ABC = Airway, Breathing, Circulation. An obstucted airway won't allow your dog to breathe, and breathing is hopeless without circulation of the blood supply which takes oxygen to every part of the body, and returns with carbon dioxide.
There is a technique for doing the Heimlich maneuver on a dog to clear an obstruction in the throat, but it varies a little from doing it on humans. Become familiar with it on our Dog Heimlich Maneuver page.
The explanation for the ABC's is listed under Pet CPR. Please become familiar before you even have a need to know about or use CPR.
Also check out our page on First Aid Supplies and make sure you have at least basic supplies in one place that you can easily get to at any time. If you take the time to prepare a First Aid Kit, follow up with a Disaster Preparedness Kit which is also on it's own page.