3 Items To Create a Quick DIY Pet First Aid Kit

Have you ever thought about having a first aid kit on hand while you are working out with your dog? As #petparents we have a responsibility to keep our pets happy and healthy, which normally includes shelter, food, water & regular vet checks. And though most of us keep first aid kits in our homes, or cars, have you ever thought of keeping small essential first aid items when you are out working out with your pet? 

Last Saturday Hubby and I took Riley to a lure course practice at our agility field. This was a fun trip because my hubby was with us which is no longer the case for sporting events. Why? Well a few months back we decided to go to an agility fun match. My husband had pitch the tent outside in the parking area from the agility field which was a very convenient spot to watch all the runs, yet be separated from the action. As Riley and I started her jumpers run she completed about 3 jumps and a tunnel when she got a whiff of my husband, and I don’t know about your house, but in ours Daddy is all about fun, love and kisses. Any way she got one whiff of him and she was off! Never mind about the jumps and agility, she had only one thing on her mind and that was Daddy. So from that day on Daddy is no longer allowed at sporting events. But because of her enthusiasm with lure coursing, I thought lets give it a shot and see if she will be distracted by him.

So you may be wondering about the Pet First Aid kit right? Well shortly after Riley was done with her last run it was time for the Grey Hound to run! The Grey Hound took off with lightening speed and after coming around the first turn lost footing and went through the safety barrier fence, and once he up-righted himself he was holding his back leg up, INJURY!! At the time this happened I was doing a live feed on Periscope. If you have a smart phone I suggest you download this app ASAP, its super cool and you can watch live video. Unfortunately I did not save the video of the live feed and can not show you the crash. But I did learn a couple of things that are very important for the accident.

Yes we keep first aid kits in our homes and sometimes in our car but how often do we keep them on our person? Now I’m not talking about carrying a ton of items like you would in a normal first aid kit but a couple of essentials. It would have been great as I ran over to the injured dog to make sure that he was okay that I wouldn’t have had to turn around and run to my car to get supplies to address the situation. In this instance a couple of essentials would have been perfect, including:

Tweezers – When exercising you don’t know when a piece of glass or other foreign object might get stuck in a paw. 

 

Gauze Pad – to help stop bleeding place a gauze pad and apply pressure for 5 to 10 minutes and/or wrap with Vetrap.

Vetrap – made by 3m this wonderful elastic wrap does not stick to fur! Wrap over gauze pad and take your dog immediately to the vet!!

 
Since normally I carry a treat bag with me, and water when out and about, it’s very easy to stick these couple of items into a snack bag sized Ziploc and into my treat bag. And if you were wondering why I didn’t include any type of anti-septic,  believe it or not, water from your fresh water bottle can be the best way to clean a wound! Items such as Betadine (povidone-iodine) and Nolvasan (chlorhexidine diacetate) can be irritating to soft tissue, so rinse well, don’t scrub.

Now next time an emergency happens, I won’t lose valuable time getting to a first aid kit because I will have emergency essentials with me.  Remember I am not a doctor, I am just supplying this information as a suggestion. If you have any ideas or items to have that you can easily carry with you and can fit in a snack bag let me know in the comments!!

Don’t forget that we are currently have a GIVEAWAY in progress! Enter to win a Deluxe First Aid Kit today in our post 6 Easy Dog Safety Tips for July 4th.