Dog first aid

Appropriate preparation – what should the first-aid kit for a dog contain

Dressing materials

This is the basic thing you should have on hand in the event of a scratch, cut or more serious accident. Most materials are dressings known to us from our home medicine cabinet. Sterile swabs, in several sizes, will help a lot in all wounds. An elastic bandage or band will be useful for their application.

To protect the pet’s paw when it is broken or dislocated, bubble wrap and a triangular scarf will be useful. Patches created especially for dogs are useful, although optional. Their structure allows free sealing of wounds on dog’s fur, which is impossible with ordinary patches. However, if we do not have them at hand, even a combination of swabs and a band will be enough.

Dog’s medical and hygienic measures

When providing first aid to a dog, do not forget to maintain a high level of hygiene. A wounded pooch can get an infection or inflammation just like a human.

If you want to ensure the sterile conditions possible to help your pet, you should equip yourself with antibacterial soap, which can be used to wash the wound area, as well as your hands.

Other useful decontamination agents are a saline solution, antiseptic solution and antibiotic ointment.

However, we must not forget that our pet may need our help not only during cuts or scratches. For digestive problems, activated carbon or another anti-diarrhoea product is required. If we are dealing with poisoning, it is worth reaching for a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide.

First aid accessories for your four-legged friend

In addition to dressing materials and medical supplies, it is worth equipping yourself with accessories that will facilitate quick and efficient first aid. Items that can be extremely helpful in emergencies include a thermal blanket, towel, gloves, scissors, syringes or tweezers.

Your dog’s documents

The dog’s health book contains a lot of very important information about your pet’s current health status. Stress caused by concern for the life or health of a quadruped can turn out to be so paralyzing that we will not be able to provide the veterinarian with basic data.

Therefore, make sure that your dog’s health book is always at hand in the event of an accident. It will be a great help to place the phone number of our pet’s vet and the hours in which it is received inside the document. You will save valuable time looking for this information on the Internet or a pile of business cards.

Emergency situation with your dog – step by step

Above all, we can’t panic. If our pet senses that we are very nervous and worried, it may affect him negatively. Let’s try to keep calm whenever possible. Before you help your pet, let’s take care of hygiene around the pooch. If the problem was poisoning, move him to a clean, dry place.

If your quadruped has injured let’s check if there are any pieces of glass or other elements causing the cut around us.

If our dog suffers from indigestion or other stomach problems, we should give him appropriate medicines. If we suspect that this is not simply food poisoning or the body’s response to the new food, we should visit the vet. Remember that neglecting stomach problems can lead to dehydration.

The situation becomes a little more complicated if our pooch has an accident or hurt himself. Then an immediate visit to the veterinary clinic is necessary. However, before we set off, we need to give the dog first aid, which in many cases may prove to be crucial in the fight for his life or full health.

Resuscitating a dog can save his life

If the dog does not show vital functions and does not breathe, we must perform resuscitation.

First, close the pooches mouth, and then blow the air through the nose, about 5 times. If the dog is still not breathing, do a heart massage. To do this, place both hands around the heart and make 10 to 15 compressions. If necessary, repeat these steps several times until vital signs are restored. If the dog is injured, disinfect the cut areas and cover them with a dressing.

In the case of fractures, it is necessary to secure and immobilize the paw to minimize the pain of the pooch when moving with him to the vet.

First aid can save your dog’s life

Knowledge of first aid will allow us to rationally handle crises. Quick reaction and taking the right steps will increase the chances of our pet’s survival or his return to full health.

Heart massage or artificial respiration are activities that every quadruped owner should be able to perform. This knowledge may prove to be useful in saving a random pooch who, thanks to our help, will get out of the crisis.