First Aid for Pets
First Aid for Pets
We are all aware that in times of an emergency, immediate action can help minimise damage or even save a life.
This is also true for when your pet has been hurt or suffers any other health emergencies.
Being prepared when it happens can help save your pet’s life or prevent any permanent or long term health issues.
By learning basic pet First Aid you will be prepared when your animal needs it most!
This article refers mainly to dogs and we would suggest you follow this link to get information about other animals including birds and cats.
Pet First Aid is only there to help minimise the damage and it does not replace Veterinary care. You should always take your pet to the Vet after the incident occurred.
Make sure you always have your Veterinarian’s telephone number at hand.
You should also buy or put together a basic pet First Aid kit with essential medical supplies and equipment for when it is needed. Here is a sample of what you might want to put into your pet’s first aid kit.
It is too late to try and go on-line for a solution or try to get someone on the phone when you have an emergency so get familiar with these procedures.
Remember, the most important first step to take when helping an injured animal is to stay calm.
This is especially important when your animal goes in shock due to its injury, because if you are calm, it will help your animal to stay calm.
Here are some basic guidelines on what to do when a specific event occurs.
Bite wounds & bleeding
- Approach the animal carefully, for they might be in distress and bite you. Once you are up close, muzzle the animal.
- Inspect the wound. Make sure there is no dirt or debris in the wound. If necessary remove carefully with a pair of plastic tweezers.
- Clean the wound with a saline or balanced electrolyte solution. If not available, use water.
- If the wound is bleeding excessively, apply pressure (at least 10 minutes) directly to the wound to stop the bleeding. Large wounds can be wrapped, to keep clean.
- When using bandages, make sure that it is not wound so tight, that it cuts off circulation. Bandages should be wrapped firmly, but not too tightly.
Breathing Stops and choking
- Make sure the animal’s airway is not blocked by a foreign object. If you can, carefully remove the object with a pair of tweezers being careful not to push it deeper into the animal’s throat.
- If it is lodged too deeply, place your hands on both sides of the rib cage and apply firm, quick pressure or place the animal on its side and strike the side of the ribcage firmly 3 – 4 times until the object is dislodged.
- If the animal can partially breathe, keep the animal still and calm and take it to the Vet as soon as possible.
- Place the animal on a firm surface with its left side up.
- Place your ear on the animal’s chest where the elbow is attached to listen for a heartbeat.
- If you hear a heartbeat, but no breathing, close the animal’s mouth and blow into the nose until the chest expands. Repeat this 12 – 15 times per minute.
- If there is no pulse, massage the animal’s heart while doing resuscitation. The heart is located in the lower half of the chest, behind the elbow of the front left leg. Place your one hand below the heart to support the chest and place your other hand over the heart compressing gently. For smaller animals, compress with your thumb and forefingers of one hand. Apply heart massage 80-120 times per minute for larger animals and 100-150 per minute for smaller ones. Alternate heart massage with breathing.
- With bigger animals get someone to help you if possible.
Burns
- Flush the burn immediately with cool running water and apply an icepack wrapped in a towel for 15 – 20 minutes.
- If the animal was burned with dried chemicals, brush it off first before flushing the burn area with water.
Diarrhoea
- Don’t feed your animal for 12 – 24 hours, but give plenty of fresh water.
- Home remedies can sometimes make it worse, so take your pet to the Veterinarian if it persists after the 12 – 24 hour period.
Fractures
- Muzzle the pet and look for bleeding. If you can stop the bleeding without harming the animal further, do so.
- Take the animal to the Veterinarian supporting the injured area.
- Do NOT try and set the fracture by pulling at the limb.
Heat Stroke
- Place the animal in a tub of water or wrap in a wet cloth or gently soak animal with garden hose. Continue till rectal temperature is 39 degrees Celsius. Do not over cool the animal.
Poisoning
- Symptoms – vomiting, convulsions, diarrhoea, salivation, weakness, depression, pain
- Try and find out what the animal ingested and how much.
- Call the Poison Crisis Centre (021 931 6129) or your Veterinarian.
- Do NOT induce vomiting.
Seizures
- Symptoms – salivation, loss of control of urine or stool, violent muscle twitching, loss of consciousness.
- Move the animal away from any objects that can cause harm during the seizure – use a blanket for padding and protection
- Do NOT try and restrain the animal during the seizure.
- Time the seizure; they take 2 – 3 minutes.
- After the seizure, keep the animal calm and take him to the Veterinarian.
Shock
- When an animal has ANY injuries, they can go in shock.
- Symptoms – irregular breathing, dilated pupils.
- Keep the animal gently restrained, calm, warm and his lower body elevated.
Vomiting
- Don’t feed your animal 12 – 24 hours and give ice cubes 2 hours after the vomiting stops.
Be extra gentle when your animal is in pain or injured. They are frightened and might react differently than usual. They don’t understand what they are going through and might even bite their owners because they are disorientated and in pain.
Pet First Aid must only be used in an emergency and it is important to ALWAYS take your animal to the Veterinarian afterwards.
For a detailed visual reference for some of the procedures described above, click here.
To print a Quick Reference guide for the First Aid Tips above, click here.
Source: http://www.healthypet.com/