FURMERGENCIES—CPR & FIRST AID

YOU are the first responder.

Ya gonna know what to do?

By Teresa Bitler & Penny Lex

Former police officer, EMT, and human CPR instructor Kate Klasen thought she was prepared for any emergency. But when her five-pound dog began choking, she wasn’t quite sure how to perform the Heimlich maneuver. While she was able to save him, that incident made her realize how crucial it is to have the skills to handle a pet emergency. “It’s not enough to know how to perform [CPR] on humans,” she says.

You think you might know how to do it?

“I hear all the time, ‘I know CPR,’” says Klasen, who teaches first aid and CPR for pets through Pet Tech, a national program used by Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, and is also the designated Pet CPR and First Aid Training source for the majority of Pet Care Professional Organizations. “I point to my three-and-a-half-pound dog and say, ‘OK, how are you going to perform it on him?’” The response she typically gets is a quizzical look accompanied by a self-doubting shrug then, “I guess I really don’t know.”

While CPR for humans is similar to what you’d perform on a dog, there are major differences—including hand placement. The technique based on the size of the dog matters, too. You wouldn’t perform CPR on a small dog or puppy in the same way you would a larger dog.

Remember, YOU are the first responder

A number of things can result in the need for CPR—such as electrical shock, poison, trauma, or allergic reactions. “In the human world, you’re told to get help first,” says Klasen. “Call 911, and then start performing CPR or administering First Aid. We don’t have 911 for our pets. We ARE the first responders.”

Even once you get your dog to an emergency clinic, the wait time can stretch into hours, so the care you provide initially can make a tremendous difference. And, you don’t want to be left with that feeling of helplessness just because you had no idea what to do when your beloved pet is in distress.

Learn how to do it

Taking a class in person is ideal since, in addition to having someone readily available to answer your questions and assist you with proper technique, you can learn how and where to feel for a pulse on a real dog. Klasen’s dog is cooperative in allowing students to feel for his beat. Classes feature stuffed dogs to learn proper hand placement and how to do compressions. If you can’t attend a class in person, the Red Cross now offers a Cat and Dog First Aid online course that covers first aid and CPR. Learn more at redcross.org/catdogfirstaid.

Assessing the victim

Check to see if the dog’s chest is moving up and down. No breathing? Begin CPR.

pulse is to locate the femoral pulse on the inside of the thigh of either back leg.

Positioning

For small dogs and puppies, place a hand around the chest over the heart region (thumb on one side and fingers on the other if the dog is very small) and squeeze them together.

When it comes to barrel-chested dogs like Pugs, Bulldogs, or Basset Hounds, they should be positioned on their backs and administered CPR as you would to a person.

For dogs over 30 pounds, position the dog on his side. Kneel beside the dog and place one palm on the dog’s rib cage over the heart and the other palm on top of it. Without bending your elbows, press down to deliver 30 hard and fast compressions.

To deliver the breaths, pull the tongue out past the canines and then, holding the muzzle tightly shut, place your mouth over the dog’s nose making a seal and give two breaths while watching to see if the chest rises.

Continue with 30 compressions to 2 breaths for 2 minutes, then check pulse and reassess. The easiest place to determine the

If there is a heartbeat but no breathing, begin rescue breathing. Give the dog one breath over one second while watching for the chest to rise. Repeat for one minute, then reassess. The need for this type of resuscitation can be due to many things including drowning, head trauma, electrocution, or poison.

Klasen says the goal in performing CPR or administering first aid is to stabilize your dog so you can get him to the vet. “You want to know what to do in an emergency and even have some muscle memory from having practiced CPR on a stuffed animal or mannequin.”

First aid for fido

Say you’re driving down the road and come across a dog that was hit by a car. The dog is conscious, bleeding, and as you approach him, he snarls at you while whining in pain. Do you know what to do? How to improvise by making a muzzle out of just about anything? How to stop the bleeding? Or suppose your dog accidentally fell into the pool and was

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