Oh My Shih Tzu

Small Athletes Breaking Stereotypes

Not a Wordless Wednesday … Pet Safety CPR/First Aid

By

What pet doesn’t love treats. Sometimes in the evening I sit in the middle of my small living room surrounded by 3 Shih Tzus & 1 Peki-huahua, and we begin practicing our individual tricks. The tricks can be advanced such as a sit pretty with a high 10 stretch or as simple as learning and reinforcing sit. The treats of choice are usually regular Cheerios or Zukes Minis. But sometimes accidents can happen, and a treat goes down the wrong way and what are you going to do?

Luckily for me a little over a year ago I took a pet first aid and cpr class and Trixie began choking on a treat, immediately I went into action. I checked her mouth and did a clean safe sweep, no treat, followed by a quick doggie Heimlich maneuver, still no treat, but she was able to cough on her own until she expelled. Yeah!! Shih Tzu saved!

Without any warning tragedy can strike either your cat or dog and you need to be ready. Even if you have taken a regular CPR/First Aid course for humans, the anatomy of a cat and dog are totally different then we are. So what may be proper procedure for us may not be for our pets, and that in itself may be a recipe for danger. This makes pet specific training so important.

There are a couple of things that every pet parent must know. I like to call them my ‘Happy Puppy Vitals’: Respiration, Pulse, Temperature, Hydration, Capillary Refill Time & Weight. I keep a list of these measurements handy so I have a baseline of their vitals, a measurement when my dogs are at rest, and a measurement of when they are at play.

Respiration: small dogs or cats 20-40bpm(breaths per minute); Large/Medium dogs 10-30bpm

Pulse: small dogs or cats 110-120 bpm (beats per minute); Large/Medium dogs 70-160 bpm

Temperature:  under the tail 100.4 – 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit

Hydration: grab the skin at the nape of the neck and release, the skin should bounce back to its former position and not remain in the position you released it at.

Capillary Refill Time: press on the gums and release, the color should return with 1-2 seconds.

Owwie Since Accidents can happen at any time, it is important to keep a separate pet first aid kit handy. I was grateful for my little kit when Riley when through the glass in my front door with her paw.

First Aid Kit Supplies:

  • 4×4 Gauze Squares
  • Rolled Gauze
  • Adhesive Tape or Self-Adhering Bandage
  • Cotton Swabs & Styptic Powder
  • Tweezer
  • Blunt-Nosed Scissors
  • Cold Pack
  • Eye Dropper
  • Needle-less Syringe (in multiple sizes)
  • Antihistamine Tablets (ask vet about proper dosage for your pet if needed)
  • Electrolytes (Pedialyte or K9 Quencher)
  • Towel or Blanket
  • Hydrogen Peroxide 3%
  • Eye Wash or Saline Solution
  • Antibiotic ointment, Vitamin E or Pure Aloe Vera Gel
  • Digital Thermometer
  • Antacid Tablets (ask vet about proper dosage for your pet if needed)
  • Leash

So when do you know the situation has reached a level of escalation needed to seek veterinary care? When your pet has:

Massive trauma to head, chest or abdomen

First time or prolonged seizures

Arterial bleeding (bright red squirting blood)

Bites, puncture wounds or long deep cuts

Fractures or Inability to walk

Bloat

Unconsciousness for any length of time

Shock

Poisoning or snake bites

Anytime you have had to administer rescue breathing or cpr

To find a local class for specific Pet First Aid/CPR I have listed a couple of great organizations for certification.  When signing up for a class, make sure hands on simulations including rescue breathing & cpr (with a dog mannequin), bandage wrapping and proper restraining techniques in an emergency situation are included.

          American Red Cross | Disaster Relief, CPR Certification, Donate Blood

          Pet Tech

          Sunny-dog Ink­­­­

 

 

In the meantime, print out this image and attach it to your refrigerator.

dog_cpr

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michael Hobbs says

    Thanks for this info! Pet CPR should definitely be made mandatory before anyone is able to acquire a pet, whether it is a dog or a cat. There is no excuse not to learn especially now that you can easily find pet CPR classes online.

    • shihtzumommy says

      Awesome!! We forget that we may need baselines for our dogs… I also do bloodwork once a year so I have those baselines too. That way we can really see a change in Kidneys, etc prior to illness.

    • shihtzumommy says

      Ohh Tick key!! I’m not much in the mountains anymore with the Shih Tzu’s I’ll definitely have to put one of those in my case just in case!! Thanks 🙂

    • shihtzumommy says

      Please share away!! We sometimes to over look things with our dogs even though we are the best of doggie parents.

  13. Bethany says

    Thanks for this great pet safety post! I take pet first aid and CPR every year and am always surprised at the pet lovers I know who stare at me blankly like they didn’t know CPR for pets exists! Awareness matters!!
    Bethany recently posted…Wind Breaker Wordless WednesdayMy Profile

    • shihtzumommy says

      Yes!! I forgot to let everyone know they should attend a class every year or two!!

  14. BoingyDog says

    Very important post and I’ve shared it with a good dog news story that’ll post tomorrow. It ties in perfectly, as a man in Australia saved a dog’s life with CPR after the dog was hit by a car. Hope this drives some people to this post – was certainly a much needed wake up call for me! Thank you!
    BoingyDog recently posted…Good Dog News: K9 EditionMy Profile

    • shihtzumommy says

      Ohh thank you so much… trying to find my little niche in the doggy blog world. I really need to start posting my training stuff 🙂

  15. Piranha Banana says

    Thank you for this great post. My chihuahua group (South Suburban Chihuahua) has scheduled a doggie first aid class in early October. People do not know the importance of knowing first aid. When I was little I swallowed a big ol’ pill that fell on the floor and ran away. Because it was late in the evening, my pawrents contacted the ASPCA poison control center – and they told them to give me a 1/4 teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting – WHO KNEW? They were right – within 10 minutes that pill came back up. Had it not, I would have needed an emergency room visit. Pet first aid is important to know. Thanks for posting! WOOF
    Piranha Banana recently posted…Wordless Wednesday: Cirque Shanghai SurpriseMy Profile

Trackbacks

Don't Miss a Post! Subscribe Today!
Join Us!!
As a caring Shih Tzu and small dog lover, you will learn essential tips on care including:
  • Raw Feeding and Nutrition
  • Agility and Lure Coursing
  • DIY Projects and Recipes
Advice on enriching the lives of our small dogs, we will introduce you to wonderful products that will benefit the health of your Shih Tzu and small dog.

Sign Up for our Weekly e-Newsletter to receive updates from Oh My Shih Tzu by email.