Would you know what to do if your beloved pooch was choking? Samantha Laurie learns some life-saving skills
In a basement studio in Balham, ten of us are gathered around Caspar the labrador.
“Now for mouth-to-snout resuscitation,” beams Yvonne, our trainer, as she hands out ‘optional’ face shields.
Fortunately, Caspar is a rubber mannequin rather than a wriggling, warm-nosed beast and once we’ve located his femoral artery (inside the hind leg) and pulled out his tongue (not to be tried on humans), we all do a rather good job of this doggie crash call.
Pet first-aid courses such as I’m experiencing are so mainstream in the US and Canada that they are offered by the American Red Cross and St John Ambulance, Canada. Here, the market is in its infancy but demand is growing rapidly, and it’s easy to see why. Of the 10 of us on this hands-on, human-only course there are dog walkers, groomers and daycare providers – a host of canine professionals who didn’t exist a decade ago.
Half of us are here as plain old dog owners, keen to know how to recognise when something is serious (and thus avoid whopping vets’ fees for unnecessary visits), as well as to find out what to do in an emergency.
First up is Getting to Know Your Dog: a top-to-tail survey of eyes, ears, nose and vital signs. If you know what’s normal for your dog you can recognise when things are awry, explains Yvonne. We look out for danger signs such as a blue tinge to the skin around the eyes and mouth (low on oxygen) or slow capillary refill (if you press on your dogs’ gums and it takes more than two seconds to regain colour, it can indicate the dog is going into shock).
Choking comes next and my classmates have no end of horror stories involving socks, balls, dog toys, light bulbs and corn on the cobs. Pretty much everyone in the room has a near-miss choking story and it’s the topic everyone is keen to hear more about. When course organisers, firstaidforpets.net posted an online video showing how to help a choking dog, it had 75,000 hits. The child choking video reached 1,500.
Methods to help a choking dog differ according to the size of the dog (see box). We try out the Heimlich manoeuvre using a choking vest on a full-size, stuffed black labrador. It’s not easy to get the right trajectory on the thrust, and we all agree that a practice run in a classroom makes good sense.
Next we’re onto another popular topic – poisons. Chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions and artificial sweeteners are all potentially fatal for dogs (although many tolerate them without any effect). Some, like onions, take days to manifest so it’s best to get your dog to the vet asap if you suspect they’ve eaten something dangerous. Don’t try to make a dog sick – leave that to the vet.
Over the rest of the three-hour course we whizz through eye injuries, fractures, shock, embedded objects (never remove: dogs have far less blood than you’d imagine and easily ‘bleed out’) and what to do if your dog is hit by a car. There’s a stack of good tips such as using a crepe bandage as an improvised muzzle, and rinsing your pet’s paws after a walk in winter to wash off poisonous rock salt.
By the end of a fast-paced morning I feel rather lucky to have navigated eight years of dog ownership without a sliver of emergency know-how. My fellow classmates clearly feel the same, so much so that many want to know if there’s a cat course. It’s on the cards, Yvonne assures us. Just one small problem – no one as yet has manufactured a cat mannequin.
Sam attended a practical course run by firstaidforpets.net in Balham. It also offers bespoke courses for businesses, families or friends (with your own dogs present if you wish), as well as free online courses (see its free online guides for choking and poisoning). Courses: 10am-1pm, April 2, May 20 and July 23; £65, including a free guide First Aid for Dogs by Emma Hammett (also available to buy on Amazon).
Top Tips
Choking
- For a small dog, hold it upside down by the thighs and gentle shake.
- For a larger dog, pick up its back legs in a wheelbarrow position.
- If this doesn’t help, do the Heimlich Manoeuvre: stand behind the dog, place your fist under its abdomen, put your other hand over the fist and pull upwards and forwards.
Shock
- Raise back legs to get blood to the brain. Keep it warm and dry. Call the vet.
Seizures
- Protect from danger, keep noise to a minimum and turn lights low. Call the vet.
Breathing difficulties
- Remove collar, open mouth, check for obstructions. Place in recovery position, on its right hand side, tip head back slightly and pull tongue forward.
Artificial respiration
- Pinch mouth shut and seal with your mouth around their muzzle, give five breaths into its nose blowing in as if you were blowing up a balloon. Give 20 breaths for one minute and if it doesn’t start breathing, begin compressions.
Chest compressions
- If you cannot feel a pulse (femoral artery is inside hind leg), push on the chest behind the front legs at a rate of 100-120 times a minute. Push down approx a quarter to a third of their chest depth. Give two breaths for every 30 compressions, and keep going until at the vet.
More first aid courses..
- firstaidfordogs.co.uk has courses in Wimbledon (Raynes Park Library, March 25, April 29, June 10) and Guildford (Tongham Village Hall, dates tbc), £45
- thecaninefirstaidcompany.co.uk runs courses at Pets Corner Woking Horsell branch on April 15 and May 20, £55. It also has more advanced accredited courses for dog professionals and will be launching a feline course in April, and an equine one to follow.
Check out another one of the pet-tacular features from our special March Pet Issue
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