[Choking Dog] What To Do

August 16th, 2017 at 9:00 am EDT
Hello Friend,

A cheery Wednesday to you and your furry/not so furry family.

I had many a dog and cat question, but one in particular inspired this newsletter.  One volunteer at the race recently had a serious incident with their dog choking on a tennis ball.

Fortunately he eventually hacked it out- BUT if he hadn't, he may have died.

You should know WHAT to do..




                  What To Do If Your Dog Is Choking


If your dog or cat was choking NOW..WHAT would
you do FIRST?

Here is a small section from my book on Pet First Aid:

Pet First Aid Secrets: Complete Canine And Feline First Aid Manual is a 275 page manual (in e-book/digital format) on Essential Pet First Aid Skills for Dog and Cat Owners. Covers 64 First Aid situations



SIGNS

The signs of choking are much the same as a person. Your dog or
cat is struggling to breathe, with their mouth open. They may
be pawing at their mouth. 

They may be attempting to vomit.

You may hear an unusual sound as they attempt to breathe and
pull air through a foreign object lodged in their throat.

CAUSES

The causes of choking are with anything that can lodge in the
throat. This is fairly exclusive to dogs – cats are usually
more particular. An example would be a dog fetching a ball,
and having it lodge in their throat. A variety of food objects
can lodge in your pet’s airway.

SOLUTIONS

CALL YOUR VET IF NEEDED. Dogs are notorious for trying to
swallow things that are a little too big. The result can be
choking where an object lodges in the airway.

REMOVE THE OBJECT. When time is of the essence, you must
act quickly.

Open your pet’s mouth:

* Open your pet’s mouth
* Grasp the upper jaw with one hand over the muzzle.
* Press the lips over the upper teeth with your fingers
on one side and the thumb on the other so that the dog’s
lips are between its teeth. Firm pressure may be required.
The dog then can’t close its mouth without biting itself
and is less able to bite you. Pull his tongue out of the way.
* Reach deeply in to the back of your pet’s throat and try to
grasp the object. If it is a ball, and you are unable to move
it, try using some type of instrument; tweezers, pliers or even
a spoon shaped tong.


If this method does not work for extracting the object from your pet’s throat,
try this technique. 

Lay your pet on its side. For small pets, place your palms
behind the last rib on both sides of your pet’s abdomen and press your palms together quickly 2 – 3 times. Repeat if necessary. For larger dogs, place both hands behind the last rib and push down and slightly forward sharply. 

Repeat rapidly until the object is dislodged

If you still can’t remove the object and if your pet can breathe, transport
him to your veterinarian. However, if your pet can’t breathe you must continue to try to dislodge the object either by compression or by using the Heimlich, as your pet is unlikely to survive the delay in reaching veterinary aid.

COMPRESSIONS. Gentle compressions on both sides of the widest point of the chest may help dislodge a ball or other object. Place both hands at the back of your pet over the widest point of the chest while he is standing,
and give 5 firm compressions to dislodge the ball.

HEIMLICH. If after trying to manually remove the object, and after gentle
compressions it won’t move, and your pet is still not breathing, then
proceed with the Heimlich.
TURN your pet upside down, with his back against your chest.

WITH both arms, give sharp thrusts to the abdomen.

AFTER 5 thrusts, stop and check to see if the object is visible
in the airway. If so remove it and give 2 mouth-to-nose rescue
breaths. 

If the breaths do not go in, repeat HEIMLICH.

In some cases, your dog is too large to pick up. You can lay him
on his side, and make a fist. Put your fist into the hollow
beneath the rib cage, then push firmly inward and upward.

Repeat 5 times, and then check to see if the object has been dislodged.
If after a few attempts it is still lodged, but you can still hear wheezing and some noise when your pet is breathing, then you have time to rush to your vet.

CPR. If your pet completely stops breathing, then you will have
to know the CPR steps.

After the airway has been opened, you may need to give artificial
respiration.

CLOSE your pet’s mouth and breathe directly into his nose until
his chest expands. 

If the chest doesn’t expand then go back to STEP 2 – AIRWAY.

VENTILATE at 8 breaths per minute. Two BREATHS every 15 seconds.

PROCEED to STEP 4 – CIRCULATION


If you would like your pet to be the Pet of the Week, please send a picture to
support@fourpawsonlineltd.com
Heal Your Pet At Home!

Best Wishes,

Dr Andrew Jones, DVM
P.S. A few additional points here.

In my opinion every pet owner should be comfortable with basic dog and cat First Aid. 

It's the responsible thing to do- and you WILL need it at some point.

You need to practice.

Get up to speed on ALL the common dog and cat emergencies with 
Pet First Aid Secrets: Complete Canine And Feline First Aid Manual is a 275 page manual (in e-book/digital format) on Essential Pet First Aid Skills for Dog and Cat Owners. Covers 64 First Aid situations - what to look for and what you can do to help in an emergency situation. Comes in ePub (iOS), Kindle and PDF (PC/laptop) formats.





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DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your own veterinarian. Dr Andrew Jones resigned from the College of Veterinarians of B.C. effective December 1 2010, meaning he cannot answer specific questions about your pet's medical issues or make specific medical recommendations for your pet.

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