.: A Simple Basic First Aid For Your Dog
By:Jeff Clare
Category:Home / Pets and Animals
If your pet runs into trouble and has an accident that has compromised its health, you need to stay calm and assess the situation. Panic spreads and animals sense that fearful urgency quickly, so your voice, tone and movements need to stay calm to reassure your companion. After all, a dog doesn't understand what you're saying, but a dog can certainly understand the sound of your voice. While you reassure your pet, find out as much as you can about its injury or poisoning. What happened and how, and if anything was consumed, how much? The more information you can gather will help you apply some first aid techniques before you can take your dog to a veterinarian.
The same rule of staying calm also applies to the dog, and you should make every effort to try and keep the dog calm while you administer first aid; your efforts will hopefully come to having the dog allow you to treat it. The presence of the dog's owner can often be a calming influence in an emergency situation. Acting as if you're calm and collected can also help injured dogs stay calm.
Never assume that your first aid treatment will be enough to get your dog on the road to recovery. While veterinarians can be expensive, a hidden injury or internal bleeding could be even more costly to treat if left untended - your dog could die. Also, the risk of infection for flesh wounds as time passes is very high, and your veterinarian will be able to provide you with antibiotics for your pet. Advise your clinic that you're on your way with a quick phone call and try to get some fast advice for your pet's situation. When you do put your dog in your vehicle, lay it on something flat and stable, so your pet doesn't get bounced around during the car ride.
Early preparation is a godsend, and easier to achieve than you might think. A first aid kit for humans will have more than a few items vital in treating dogs, so keeping a first aid kit in your home helps you, your dog and anyone else you may know that needs emergency care. Knowing when your dog may face a threatening situation can also help. If you're feeling that a situation might be dangerous for your dog, err on the side of caution and prepare for the worst.
When injured, some dogs become violent or aggressive, requiring that they be restrained with a muzzle to keep them from biting others or resisting treatment. Creating a makeshift muzzle is possible using two to three feet (or 60 to 90 centimeters) of strong cloth. Using the cloth, bind the dog's jaws together and then tie it behind the dog's ears. Don't worry; while your dog may protest noisily by snorting and drooling, it can certainly breathe through its nose despite the wrapping. Other restraints should be used more cautiously, and in emergencies, use only restraints that are absolutely necessary.
Your goal, in an emergency situation with your dog, is to keep it comfortable, stable and alive until a professional veterinarian can apply the proper treatment. This may sound simple, but a hurt and frightened animal can turn your beloved pet into a dog that you can barely recognize, making your job more difficult. Researching possible accidents and how to apply first aid is a responsible way to care for your pet and may just one day save its life.
Article keywords: first aid, dog injury, first aid kit
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
Jeff Clare runs Dog Training News where you can read many more articles on dog training. For more general advice on dog health go to Dogs And Dog News.
.: New Pets and Animals Articles
1). A First Aid Kit For Your Dog
In a time when "always be prepared" is a mantra repeated by everyone, pet owners would do well to take up that mantra as well.
2). Choosing an Obedience Training Class for Your Puppy or Dog
If you have decided to enroll your four-legged friend in an obedience training class, there are a few tips to keep in mind to make sure that your choice is the right one. Choosing a dog trainer requires much more than simply selecting a name at random from the phone book and, when it comes to your pet, nothing but the best will do.
3). The Truth Behind Creepy Guinea Pigs
Guinea pigs are one of the cutest animals on the face of the earth, they are plump little fur-balls that love to play and squeak. However some people say that they have creepy guinea pigs!
4). Tips and Tricks Caring for Adult Size Ferrets
Through the lifecycle of ferrets, they are born quite small, and grow quite quickly until they are fully grown adult size ferrets. When they are at this size they are almost the length of two male hands, and they are quite long and slender with short limbs, which makes them quite humorous to look at.
5). Learn Everything There Is To Know About Parrots Sounds
Nowadays parrots have become very desired and popular pets for bird-fanciers. Of course, one the reasons is the bright colors of the birds plumage. But another and the most important motive is parrots ability to reproduce human speech.
6). Some Reasons To Get Yourself A Pug Mix Breed
Pug mix is a cross between a Pug and another breed. Nowadays a term designer dog is wildly used to name hybrid dogs that have been selectively bred.
7). Dog Beds - Are They Fun Or Functional?
Is a dog bed really necessary or just another toy? Find out the answer and how to select the right dog bed for your dog in this article
.: Top Pets and Animals Articles
1). Winter Dog Agility Training
Yes, its cold outside, but don't stop your dog's agility training. Depending on where you live, there might be snow on the ground from November through March, but thats no reason to give up your agility training. Bring your training indoors, right at your own home.
Get creative with your training locations. Do you have a hallway, basement, or garage? Then you have a place to train! Before it snows and your equipment is frozen to the ground, store some in your garage, shed, basement, or put a tarp over it.
2). Stop Dogs Eating Dog Poop (Coprophagia)
Dogs eating poop is a disgusting and nonsensical habit from our human point of view. Find out why your dog does it, and how to put a stop to it.
3). Dogs That Refuse to Eat - What Causes This and How Can it Be Resolved?
When a pet dog refuses to eat, the problem is either physical or psychological. When a pet dog refuses to eat, his owner pleads with him and tries to tempt him with food fed by hand. If the dog is sufficiently neglected and bored he may try this to get attention. An intelligent owner will counter this common canine play by giving his dog companionship by playing with him and taking him for a daily walk.
4). The Mixed Breeds – More than Mutts
Many of the world’s best pets, most loved companions and smartest dogs are mixed breeds, or "Muts". But think about it, all of today’s most popular breeds were at one time unrecognized. Today’s mixed breeds may very well appear in tomorrow’s dog shows.
5). Stages of Whelphing a Litter of Puppies
Your dog being pregnant can be a nerve racking time for owners who have not had the experience before. Just like with human babies the first is the most challenging and if you intend on doing this often – don't worry it gets easier with practice.
Follow some of these tips for making the birthing process as easy as you can for your dog.
Labor
Generally dogs give birth after about 63 days of pregnancy.
6). The Oranda Goldfish
Learn about this beautiful gold fish that has been fancied for centuries.
7). How To Stop A Dog From Chewing
Most normal dogs will bite and chew. While you cannot completely erase this behavior, you can regulate it and influence the dog’s behavior.