First Aid For Your Dog

With all of these first aid measures you must bear in mind the dog may be excited or distressed and may bite its owner.

Is the dog's inability to cope with the surrounding temperature in its environment. This may be obvious by panting, salivation, distress and possible collapse. Reduce the animals body temperature by hosing down with cool water or a bath. Contact your vet immediately for further advice.

Do not touch the dog and isolate the animal from the electrical source if possible.

Move the animal away from the electrical source with a wooden pole and if the animal has stopped breathing give artificial respiration.

Check that the dog has actually stopped breathing by seeing if the chest is rising or not. If there are no signs then check the airways of the dog are clear and the tongue is not causing an obstruction.

Place both hands on the chest over the rib area and push down firmly but gently to expel air from the lungs. Release the pressure immediately so that the chest expands and draws fresh air in.

Apply direct pressure on the injury with an absorbent pad or tea-towel. Do not remove any objects from a wound. If possible, elevate the injury site above the level of the heart. Contact your vet immediately.

DO NOT BECOME A CASUALTY YOURSELF. If the dog can be safely brought out of the water then the first step is to remove water from the lungs as soon as possible.

Free the tongue, open the mouth and pump the chest. If the dog is small it can be held upside down, or a larger animal can be draped over a shoulder. Carry out artificial respiration if the animal has stopped breathing.

Heat burns can be soothed with cold compress pads or running under cold water. Chemical burns such as bleach should be rinsed as thoroughly as possible with water. Contact your vet for further advice.

Try to find out exactly what poisons have been taken by the dog and immediately contact your vet. If you have the container available in which the poison came in take that with you.

Do not make your dog vomit without speaking to a vet first. If the poison/contaminant is on the dog's coat clean off as much as you can to prevent the dog licking and poisoning itself further.

If the sting is visible remove it. If it was known that the sting came from a bee then constricting the end of the sting furthest from the skin area will pump more bee venom in. Remove by pulling out the base of the sting nearest the skin.

A bee will give an acidic sting which needs to be neutralised with an alkali, such as a bicarbonate solution. A wasp will give an alkali sting which needs to be neutralised with an acid, such as vinegar.

A vet should be consulted as sometimes an allergic reaction may set in.

Let the fit pass ensuring the dog cannot do any further injury to itself. Stimulants such as noise and light should be kept to a minimum. Try to see if there is any other cause for the behaviour such as an injury or poisoning.

 

Contact your vet as soon as possible.

 

First aid courses for dogs are run by animal welfare charities such as Wood Green Animal Centre in Huntingdon. Telephone 01480 830014 for further details.