How would you help your dog if he had heatstroke? Would you know how to help your cat if it was sting by a wasp? Emergencies like these happen all the time, but knowing what to do before you get your pet to the veterinary surgery may help save your pets life. Below are some top tips on dealing with emergencies, to help you and your pet.
Before treatment, you must make an assessment based on your pet’s appearance;
- Ensure the tongue hasn’t slipped backwards into the throat. Pull forward if necessary
- Check the colour of the gums. If something’s restricting the animal’s airway, the gums will turn blue. If there is no circulation (cardiac arrest) the gums will be pale
- Check if your pet is conscious. Touch its eye, if he blinks he is conscious.
- Check the pulse. The heart is located behind the elbow. On a small dog you can place your entire hand around the chest to feel it. On medium or large dogs, place a hand on each side of the chest and feel the heartbeat. A pulse can also be found inside the back leg. Place your hand on the inside of the leg to feel the pulse. If the heart is weak, there may be a faint heart beat but no pulse.
- Stopped breathing: Don’t be squeamish! Pull the tongue forward. Ensure there is nothing stuck in the mouth or throat. Hold the mouth firmly shut and blow down the dog’s nose, until you see the chest wall rise. Give 7-10 good breaths, and then check for breathing again. If still no breathing, repeat the process, and carry on doing this until you either get the dog to the vets or the vet arrives to take over.
- Cardiac Massage: Firstly, ask for someone to call the emergency vet, while help is being sort, you can perform the massage. On a small dog or cat, squeeze the chest one-handed. On a medium dog, press down with two hands placed one over the other – do not be afraid of pressing too hard particularly when performing this on a large dog. You should squeeze approximately around one beat per second, but don’t do this too fast. Do this for five minutes.
- Heat stroke: There are many causes of this including: hot cars, hot days, long walks, excessive panting. Signs that your pet as heatstroke include an extended neck, blue tongue/gums, frantic behaviour and collapse. To treat this, you must cool your pet down. Put the dog’s paws in water, use an ice pack, a river or stream, hose pipe, cold bath water, and place in the pet in the shade, wrap in wet towels around your pet during transportation to the vet.
- Heimlich Manoeuvre or Drowning: This will remove items lodged in the pet’s throat and also water from the lungs. With small dogs/cats: hold up by the legs and slap the back of ribs or squeeze with both hands. For medium to large dogs: punch up and in, just below ribs in mid-line, and vigorously squeeze as in a hug. Don’t be afraid of hurting your pet – you may break a rib, but this can be fixed, whereas choking or drowning can be fatal.
- Burns: First degree: reddening. Second degree: blistering. Third degree: full thickness skin loss. To treat use copious amounts of water and definitely no insulators (e.g.) oils, butter etc should not be applied. And, for Electric shock: remove from source and do not make the situation worse. You may have to resuscitate and cardiac massage. Exit burns are often found through the pads of the feet, treat these as you would with burns.
- Bee and Wasp stings: For Bee stings use bicarbonate of soda (alkaline) as bee stings are acid. For Wasp stings use vinegar or lemon juice (acid) as wasp stings are alkaline. Always keep any eye on your pet in case of an allergic reaction to the sting.
