Wednesday, 20 April 2016

MUST READ: HOW TO GIVE CPR TO A DOG// SAVE A DOG THAT'S CHOCKING

TLDR: FOR SMALL DOGS hold them upside down by their back and shake vigorously. OR place two knuckles of one hand on the abdomen just below the ribs and the other hand flat on the dog's back to help steady him, then give a quick, hard poke upward with your knuckles. 


     Sometimes my dog eats something too fast or too much grass and he does the hairball cough up thing that cats do. I noticed this and thought about how I don't have adequate information to do CPR or the Heimlich Maneuver if anything serious happens. So here's some research I did.

Prevention and knowledge is key. It's good to read this over so when panic sets in you know what to do. 

How to Give Canine CPR By Lori S. Mohr 
(as referenced by First Aid For Dogs by Tim Hawcroft)

CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is the process of breathing life back into an unconscious human. A similar technique can also work effectively on dogs.

The signs that indicate the need for CPR include unconsciousness, lack of arousal, lack of physical movement, or eye blinking. These symptoms can occur from drowning, choking, electrical shock, or a number of other situations. 

The key to canine CPR is remembering the ABCs: 
A irway, 
B reathing, and 
C ardiac compression. 


To perform the three techniques, follow these steps. 
Lay the dog on a flat surface on its right side and extend the head back to create an airway.

Open the jaws to check for obstructions, and if any exist and are not easily removed, do one of two things, depending on the size of the dog. For small dogs, hold them upside down by their back end and shake vigorously to try removing the obstruction. For large dogs, lay them on their side and, if necessary, use long-nosed pliers to remove the obstruction.

Cup your hands around the muzzle of the dog's mouth so that only the nostrils are clear. Blow air into the nostrils with five or six quick breaths, again, depending on the size of the dog. Continue the quick breaths at a rate of one breath every three seconds or 20 breaths per minute. Small dogs and puppies require short and shallow breaths. Large dogs need longer and deeper breaths.

Check for a heartbeat by using your finger on the inside of the thigh, just above the knee. 

If you don't feel a pulse, put your hand over the dog's chest cavity where the elbow touches the middle of the chest. If you still don't find a pulse, have one person continue breathing into the nostrils (mouth to snout), while another gives cardiac massage.

Give the dog a cardiac massage by placing both hands palms down between the third and sixth rib on the chest cavity. For small dogs or puppies, place one hand or thumb on the chest. 
For large dogs, place your hands on top of each other. Use the heel of your hand(s) to push down for 10 quick compressions and then check to see if consciousness has been restored. 

If consciousness has not been restored, continue the compressions in cycles of about 10 every six seconds for 10 cycles a minute. 

After each cycle of compression, the other person should give the dog two breaths of air in the nostrils. If only one person is present, this procedure can still be done successfully. 

Once the dog has started breathing, contact a veterinarian immediately. 

Source: Best Friends Health Library

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Canine CPR and Heimlich maneuverKnow what to do if your dog stops breathing. 
By Betsy Brevitz, D.V.M.


If you know your dog has a small ball, toy, piece of food, or other object stuck in his trachea (windpipe) and he can't breathe, do the Heimlich maneuver immediately.


How to give the Heimlich maneuver to your dog:
1. Stand (if he's a tall dog) or kneel (if he's a small or medium dog) behind the dog, with the dog facing away from you.

2. Put your arms around the dog's waist. Make a fist with one hand and place your fist, thumb side up, on the dog's abdomen just below his ribs. Wrap your other hand around that fist. 

3. Give a hard, fast jerk or squeeze upward, toward the dog's backbone. Apply enough force to move the dog's whole body. If he's a very small dog, place two knuckles of one hand on the abdomen just below the ribs and the other hand flat on the dog's back to help steady him, then give a quick, hard poke upward with your knuckles. 

If the object does not come out of the dog's mouth on the first try, give another hard jerk. If after three or four jerks the object still has not come out or the dog still can't breathe, rush him to the nearest veterinary clinic, where a vet can do a tracheotomy (cut a hole in the dog's windpipe below the obstruction) to get air into the lungs and then remove the object surgically.

Thanks for reading x

Angel 

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