ABCs, shock, choking ABCs – The most basic kind of preliminary assessment at the scene of an accident is ABC, which stands for airway, breathing and circulation. In treating your dog, always check the ABCs first. Treating a wound doesn't help a dog that has stopped breathing or has no pulse. If your dog is unconscious and there are no apparent neck or back injuries, tilt his head slightly back to the neutral position, open the mouth, and remove any foreign debris. Gently pull the tongue forward to open the airway. Next, check to see if the dog is breathing. If he isn't, you must begin rescue breathing immediately. Enclose your pet's nose and mouth in your hands and hold the mouth firmly closed. Place your mouth over the nose, making an airtight seal. With a small dog, place your mouth over the mouth and nose. Take a breath and gently breathe into your pet's nose for two to three seconds, forcing air into the lungs. Make sure you do not breathe forcefully, especially with small dogs. Watch for the chest to expand. If it does not, clear the airway again. Repeat rescue breathing every three to five seconds until the animal is breathing. Watch your dog's chest to see when it begins breathing on its own. Next, check to make sure the dog's heart is still beating by placing your hand just behind his left elbow, on his lower chest. If it is, continue rescue breathing on the way to the vet or for a maximum of 20 minutes. CPR – Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be effective for the dog whose heart has stopped beating. CPR does not guarantee the dog's heart will start to beat, but the quicker CPR is started, the better the chances for recovery. With a larger dog, kneel with his back towards you. With your dog lying on its right side, place the palm of one hand over the palm of the other hand on the left side of the chest, just behind the elbow area. The compressions should be over the widest part of the chest. Extend your arms while locking your elbows. Compress the chest one to three inches. Apply steady downward pressure and release. If you have help, have the other person give one breath per three chest compressions. If you are alone, give five compressions per each breath. After two minutes, stop and check for a pulse. In dogs heavier than 90 pounds, the ratio is six compressions per every breath with two rescuers and 10 compressions per each breath with a single rescuer. For dogs lighter than 30 pounds, lay the animal on his right side. Kneel next to the dog, with his chest facing you. Place the palm of one hand over the ribs where the elbow touches the chest. Put your other hand underneath the right side of the animal. Compress the chest one-half to one inch. Alternate chest compressions with breaths. If there are two people, have one person breathe once per every three chest compressions. If you are alone, give five chest compressions per each breath. Continue for two minutes, then check for a pulse. SHOCK – Shock can be caused by severe trauma, illness, loss of blood, infection or respiratory problems. Signs of shock are bluish or gray gums, a slow capillary refill time, labored breathing, unresponsiveness and cool extremities. You will see a rapid pulse and rapid breathing. Shock is life-threatening. You must act quickly to restore normal breathing. Stop any blood loss and keep your pet warm and quiet. If a fractured spine and head injury are not suspected, elevate the animal's rear end to allow more blood to flow to the head. Keep choking hazards away. T R E A T M E N T S CHOKING – Even seemingly harmless items such as toys, cellophane, sticks, string and bones can cause a dog to choke. Many veterinarians recommend that you do not give your pet any animal bones. A choking dog can be an alarming sight, but don't panic. Check his mouth and throat and carefully try to dislodge the object with your finger. Make sure you do not push it further into the dog's throat. For a small dog, lift him by the front legs, with his spine against your chest. Wrap your arms under his ribs. Make a fist with one hand, place your other hand over your fist and give five rapid abdominal thrusts, lifting your fists in an inward and upward motion. Check the animal's mouth with a penlight to see if the object is dislodged. If the dog is too heavy to lift, place him on his side and extend his head and neck to a neutral position. Place your palms below his ribcage and give five quick compressions (inward and upward). Next, check the animal's mouth. If the dog is unconscious, pull the tongue forward to open the airway. Remove any object you find and give the dog five rescue breaths and five rapid abdominal thrusts. Burns, fractures, more HYPOTHERMIA/FROSTBITE – Generally, a dog's hair is good protection against extreme cold. However, if your dog experiences long exposure to frigid temperatures or a high wind-chill factor, his body temperature can rapidly decrease. Hypothermia can also result from a dog being in freezing water. You may notice shivering, stumbling, drowsiness and unresponsiveness. You must take immediate steps to warm your pet. Bring him indoors to a warm room and wrap him in a blanket. If he is wet, dry him with towels or a blow dryer. Do not apply heating pads or hot water bottles. Continue to take the dog's temperature until it reaches a normal 100 degrees. As his body temperature rises, he will grow more alert. Call your veterinarian if your pet does not quickly recover. Frostbite is the formation of ice crystals in living tissue. It usually affects the paws, ears and tip of the tail. If your dog comes in from the cold and shows any discomfort or begins licking his paws, check for frostbite. Restrain the dog and wrap the affected areas with a warm towel. Frostbitten areas can also be warmed by placing them in a container of tepid water heated to 90 degrees. Do not apply hot packs. Consult your veterinarian for further treatment. BURNS – Burn injuries range from sunburn to extreme blistering and loss of skin. First aid treatment is determined by the severity and the depth of the burn. Remember, the visible signs of a burn may take days to appear. With a first-degree or superficial burn, the hair may be singed but it is still firmly attached. The skin is red or slightly discolored. A second-degree or partial-thickness burn is more serious. The hair is burned off and the skin is blistered. The third-degree, or full-thickness burn, is the most serious. The skin will look white or charred. The hair will fall out and, because the nerve ends are burned, the dog does not feel any pain and may go into shock. For treatment, you must first restrain the dog. Do not break blisters and do not apply any home remedies such as butter or petroleum jelly. A cool wet cloth or cold pack may decrease the pain and slow the penetration of the burn into the tissue. Apply a loose bandage for protection. The larger the burn area, the more serious the injury. This is a potentially life-threatening situation. Watch your pet closely for signs of shock and consult your vet. Heat stroke risks. HEAT STROKE – It does not have to be a hot day for your dog to suffer heat stroke. Even on a mild day, the temperature in a car can quickly soar to more than 100 degrees. Dogs don’t have sweat glands; they pant to cool off. Heat stroke is a threat that too many pet owners underestimate. If you go shopping in hot weather, leave your dog at home. Remember that the sun moves. If you leave your dog tied up in the shade, by afternoon he could be in the direct sun. Having a doghouse is no solution. If it's not in the shade, temperatures inside will be much warmer than the yard. If your dog acts listless or begins to stagger with excessive panting and salivation, act quickly. Rapid breathing and pulse are signs of shock due to heat exhaustion. Move your dog to a cool place immediately and immerse him in tepid water. Do not use ice water. Apply cold compresses to the head. You must slowly bring your dog's temperature down to prevent collapse and brain damage. To see if your dog is dehydrated, pull up the skin at the back of the dog's neck. It should go back to its normal shape immediately. If it feels like stiff bread dough and does not go back into place, cover the dog with a towel and pour water over the towel. If water is not available, improvise – use soda or any nontoxic liquid. Keep the towel moist while you transport the dog to your veterinarian. ELECTRIC SHOCK – Symptoms are burns around the mouth and tongue. These burns may be grayish in appearance and may heal by themselves but should be assessed by a veterinarian. There may be an entry and exit wound. Check the gums. Place clean gauze over the burn site and take the dog to your vet, even if he appears to be normal. Moving the injured dog. SPINAL INJURY – If you suspect a neck or spinal injury, be careful not to move the dog any more than necessary. Doing so could cause permanent paralysis. Muzzle your dog before you move him. Grasp him by the loose skin at the back of his neck and at the hind quarters or by the legs and slide him onto a board or piece of heavy cardboard. Secure him with strips of wide tape or straps. Do not place the straps on the site of the suspected injury. FRACTURES – Fractures can occur from car accidents, falls and other trauma. Determine what caused the injury. Look for swelling, deformity, lameness or a bone showing through the skin. Just because a dog uses a limb after trauma does not mean the limb is not fractured. The only way to be sure is to get an X-ray. But if you are sure a bone is broken, a splint can be made before going to the vet by wrapping the limb with layers of cloth and taping it in place. Wounds, poisoning, more WOUNDS – Many dogs love to chase balls and sticks, but they sometimes focus more on the object than on where they're going. The result can be a serious wound or even an embedded object. If the wound is minor, wash it with mild soap and water and apply antibiotic ointment. Heavy bleeding, however, is a life-or-death emergency. The best technique to stop bleeding is direct pressure. Take a clean gauze pad or a cloth and apply pressure directly to the wound. If the bleeding soaks the pad, do not remove it – that will interfere with clotting. Add extra pads, in layers if necessary, and keep applying direct pressure with your hand. Once the bleeding is controlled, wrap a bandage around the pad to keep it firmly in place. A penetrating chest wound may look like a simple puncture wound, but you will hear air moving through the chest wall as your dog breathes. Take a gauze pad covered with an antibiotic ointment or petroleum jelly and place the dressing over the wound. Hold the dressing in place with a non-restricting bandage and seek immediate treatment. Don’t remove embedded objects. If you find your dog with a knife, stick or other object embedded in his skin, keep him as still as possible. Do not remove the object – secure it with several rolls of gauze and tape. A foam coffee cup makes a good brace. Cut a hole in the bottom of the cup and gently place it over the object. Tape the brace firmly in place. If the object is long, such as an arrow, cut it at least five inches from the wound. Household poisons. POISONING – Just look around your home and you'll probably find several substances that are poisonous to your pet. Antifreeze, for example, tastes sweet but can be fatal. Poisoning can occur from an overdose of acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen and prescription drugs or following an exposure to insecticides and rodent poisons. Even some foods, such as chocolate, can be poisonous to your dog. Poisonous houseplants are another problem to guard against. If your pet has ingested poison, your good detective work will be an important part of emergency first aid treatment. Some symptoms may not appear for hours, while others are immediate. If your dog collapses or has a seizure, severe vomiting or diarrhea and has been near a suspected poison, check the dog's mouth for signs of poisoning. Look for swollen, red eyes, a swollen tongue and burned lips. If you find the source, it is important to keep the container. Look at the label for information about the substance. Call the ASPCA's National Animal Poison Control Center for advice. If you can't find the source, bring a sample of the vomit with you to the veterinarian. A word of caution. If you suspect poisoning by a corrosive product, do not induce vomiting. This will cause further serious injury. If the Poison Control Center advises you to make the dog vomit, it is important that the dog has food in his stomach. If he will eat, feed him a can of moist dog food. Next, give him a 3-percent hydrogen peroxide solution. Administer one teaspoon for every 10 pounds of weight, up to nine teaspoons. To make him drink it, hold his mouth closed with one hand and pull back the lip on the side of the mouth, making a pouch. Tilt his head up a little. Snakes. SNAKEBITES – If your dog sees a snake and gets too close, he could startle it into striking. Evidence of snakebite is most often found on the face or legs, but if the bite is in a hairy area, it may be impossible to see. Symptoms include immediate pain, localized swelling and progressive weakness. Symptoms may rapidly progress from tremors to respiratory paralysis to death. The most common poisonous snakes in the United States are the rattlesnake, cottonmouth, water moccasin and coral snakes. Bites from these snakes are true medical emergencies. If you see the snake or manage to kill it, bring it to your veterinarian for identification. Do not make incisions on a bite site or attempt to suck the venom from the wound. Don't use a tourniquet or apply ice. Flushing the eye. EYE INJURIES – A dog's pawing will aggravate the eye problem, so he needs to be restrained. If a dog is squinting, it may be a sign of pain. Other signs of eye injuries include a swollen eyelid, a closed eye, frequent rubbing of the eye and excess tearing. Look for a cornea that has an obvious wound or is discolored. Look to see if the eyeball is protruding farther out of the socket than the other eye. Pull the lower eyelid down and look for any dirt or foreign objects. Flush the eye with contact lens saline solution or eyewash. If you see a speck or object but cannot flush it out, use a cotton swab to gently remove it. If the eyelid is swollen, apply a moist compress to make your pet more comfortable. Cover both eyes loosely with a bandage and keep your dog quiet. Eyelid cuts and other serious eye injuries should be seen immediately by your veterinarian. Do not attempt to remove any object that has penetrated the eyeball. |
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