First Aid For Dogs

You just never know when you’ll need first aid for dogs.  Imagine for a moment it’s ten o’clock at night and you are getting ready to climb into bed.  Your four year old collie mix comes into the room, goes to a corner and starts vomiting.  You can see her belly and rib cage contracting violently as she vomits on your rug.

Your first thought is what a mess and you yell at the dog to stop.  But she can’t.  She alternates between making gagging sounds and then throwing up.  Your thoughts have now changed from what a mess, to one of concern for your pet.

Your seven year old daughter is awakened by the noise and comes into your room demanding to know what’s wrong with her dog.  Do you know?  Do you have any idea what the symptoms of poisoning are?  Is this just a case of eating bad grass?  Do you know what first aid you can offer?  Your Vet’s office doesn’t open for 10 hours.  Do you have any idea what to do?

If you are like most pet owners the answer is probably no. 

Our pets, particularly canines who are pack oriented, become important members of our family yet the typical pet owner relies solely on the veterinarian for all things relating to their health. 

Fortunately in the example above it wasn’t poison but simply a bug. 

If you knew how to treat vomiting in your dog you would have cleaned up the mess, put up her regular food bowl, and made sure she had plenty of water.  You might have even warmed up some chicken broth to help replace the fluid a salt lost through her vomiting.  You would know that the next day you should get some baby food, preferably strained rice or rice pudding and offer that to the pooch.  After three days you could reintroduce her regular food, assuming she is not hooked on Gerber’s by now.

Knowing the basics of first aid for dogs and cats will not only help your pet, but will prevent you from going into a panic if there is an emergency.  How important is that to you and your family?

Many common ailments like hot spots, itching, diarrhea, fleas and the like can be treated at home avoiding expensive vet bills.  Knowing the symptoms of serious conditions will alert you to get vet help quicker and possibly prevent a condition from getting more serious.

If you really think about it for a minute, there are a ton of scenarios that can occur like getting hit by a car, or electrocuted, or even a bad dog fight; and without basic emergency first aid knowledge your dog is deep trouble.  There is no 911 for pets with trauma.

There may be however, a Pet Urgent Care facility in your area.  If you do nothing else from reading this article, find the name, phone number and address of the one nearest you