PET FIRST AID
Preparation Worksheet
Bark About Scouts
LEARN WHAT IS NORMAL FOR YOUR PET
You cannot recognize what is abnormal if you do not know what is normal to begin with. Read the
normal values listed below and get to know what normal looks like in your pet. Observe such things as
how your pet breathes, eats, drinks, walked, urinates and defecates.
HEART RATES AND PULSES. WHAT IS NORMAL?
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Small, miniature or toy breed (30 lbs or less) heart rate-100-160 beats/minute at rest.
Medium to large breed (over 30 lbs) 60-100 beats/minute at rest
Puppy (until one year old) 120-160 beats/minute at rest
Heart rates outside these ranges could signal an emergency
Normal Breathing Rates
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10-30 breaths/minute
Up to 200 pants/minute
Respiratory Patterns
When a dog inhales normally, the chest should expand. If your dog’s abdomen is actively expanding
instead of the chest, this may indicate a problem. Exhaling should be an easy process, there should be
no work involved. If your pet is making loud, shallow or gasping sounds when breathing, or if your pet is
not breathing, there is an emergency!
HOW TO CHECK YOUR DOG’S HEART RATE
The heartbeat of a dog can be felt at about the point the left elbow touches the chest (the 5th rib)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lay your pet down on their right side
Gently bend the left-front leg at the elbow
Bring the elbow back to where it touches the chest
Place your hand or a stethoscope over this area to feel or hear and count the heartbeats.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR DOG’S PULSE
Pulses can be felt with a light touch using your middle and index fingers at three locations
The Inner Thigh
1. Lay your pet down on either side
2. Gently lift the upper back leg away from the lower back leg
3. Place two fingers as high up as possible on the inside of either leg, just to where the leg meets
the body wall. A light tough should be used; if you press too hard you will not feel the pulse.
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Just Below the Wrist
1. Your dog may either sit or lay down
2. Locate the area just above the middle and index finger at this point
Just Below the Ankle
1. Your dog may either sit or lay down
2. Locate the area just above the middle pad on the underside of either hind paw
3. Lightly place your middle and index finger at this point.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR DOG’S BREATING RATE
1. Have your pet either stand or lie down
2. Watch your pet and count the number of times, in one minute, that the chest rises and falls
In an emergency situation and you are not sure if your pet is breathing, try one of these techniques
1. Hold a tissue in front of your dog’s nose to see if it moves
2. Hold a mirror in front of your dog’s nose and watch for condensation
What is your dog’s normal heart rate or pulse? ________ beats/minute
What is your dog’s normal breathing rate? _________ breaths/minute
TAKING YOUR DOG’S TEMPERATURE
A normal rectal temperature for a dog is between 100.5-102.5
A temperature under 100 or over 104 should be considered an emergency
1. Use a pediatric or digital thermometer
2. Lubricate the thermometer with a water-based lubricant or petroleum jelly
3. With your do g either standing or lying down, insert the thermometer into the rectum to where
the start of the mercury (silver line) is visible on a on a mercury thermometer or to a point just
past the tip on a digital thermometer
4. Leave the thermometer in for 3 minutes for a mercury thermometer or until a digital
thermometer beeps
5. Remove the thermometer for reading
MUCOUS MEMBRANE COLOR
By observing the color of your pet’s mucous membranes, you can determine if enough oxygen is making
it into your dog’s blood stream. To check the color of the mucous membranes, follow these steps
1. Your dog may be sitting, standing or lying down
2. Lift your dog’s upper lip and observe the color of the gums or the upper lip
Some breeds may have black or pigmented mucous membranes. If this is the case, place your
thumb on the skin just under the lower eyelid and gently pull down and observe the color of the
membranes of the inner, lower eyelid.
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Normal color is pink. This means your dog’s tissue is getting enough oxygen. Blue, pale, yellow, white,
brick red or brown mucous membranes are an emergency.
CAPILLARY REFILL TIME
This is the time it takes the gums or inner lips to return to their normal pink color after you press them.
It is a quick way to see if the blood circulation is normal.
1. Your pet may be sitting, standing or lying down
2. After checking the mucous membrane color, press lightly on the gums or inner lip
3. Observe the color as it turn white and then pink again. The pink color should return after one or
two seconds.
Capillary refill times of less than one second or are more than three seconds are an emergency.
HOW TO DETECT DEHYDRATION
Pull up on the skin on the back of your dog’s neck; it should spring back to the normal position
immediately (within 1 or 2 seconds). If this is delayed, your dog may be dehydrated.
Geriatric and thin dogs are difficult to assess in this manner because skin loses some of its natural
elasticity with age and malnourishment. It is also more difficult to assess dehydration in obese animals.
In these circumstances, feel the gums; if they feel dry and sticky, your dog is probably dehydrated.
Dehydrated dogs must be taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment immediately. If you are not sure
whether your dog is dehydrated or not it is better to error on the side of caution!
CONSTIPATION
Signs
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No stool for more than a day
Small amounts of very hard stool
Crying or straining to defecate
First Aid
1. If your dog is still passing stool but it appears to be very firm and your dog is healthy otherwise
(normal eating and drinking), try to add ¼ teaspoon of fiber (such as canned pumpkin or bran) to
the diet.
2. If adding fiber to the diet does not work, or if your dog has not defecated for more than a day or
appears otherwise ill, take your dog to the vet.
Never use commercially sold enemas made for humans! These may be toxic and deadly to dogs!
DIARRHEA
Signs
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Loose stool
First Aid
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1. If the diarrhea continues for more than 24 hours, or if your dog is very young or very old or
otherwise sick, or is vomiting, take your dog to the veterinarian.
2. If the diarrhea contains blood, either fresh (bright red) or digested (black), have your dog
examined by your veterinarian.
3. Check Vital signs. Check for dehydration. If your dog is dehydrated, take your dog to the vet.
4. Take away the possible culprit. Note dietary changes can cause diarrhea.
5. Switch to a high-fiber, low-fat or bland diet. Bland diets can be made at home, using boiled
chicken with skin, gat and bones removed, or boiled, chopped meat with the fat drained off, and
cooked white rice. Homemade diets should be used just until the diarrhea clears up as they do
not have the nutritional value needed as a permanent diet. Special bland or high fiber diets can
also be purchased from your veterinarian. Once the diarrhea subsides, start slowly mixing your
dog’s food back into the home made diet. If attempts to wean to a normal diet don’t work and
diarrhea resumes, have your dog checked by a veterinarian. If you take your dog to the vet,
remember to bring a fresh stool sample.
6. As long as there is no vomiting, provide as much water as your dog desires, although your dog
should not gulp down too much water at one time. In addition, a pediatric oral electrolyte
solution (like pedialite) is a good source of some of the nutrients lost in the diarrhea. If your dog
will drink the solution, this may help to decrease dehydration.
7. Medications should only be given at the onset of diarrhea. Check with your vet before giving any
medications for diarrhea.
EAR INFECTIONS
Signs
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Material in the ear(may be black, brown, white or look like pus)
Bad odor coming from ear canal
Itching ear
Head shaking
Red, swollen ear, with possible blood
Head tilt
First Aid
Have your dog examined by your veterinarian to determine the cause of the ear infection and prescribe
the appropriate medication. You should never try to self-medicate an ear infection or put anything in
your dog’s ears!
Prevention
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If yeast infections have been diagnosed by our veterinarian, you can help prevent these in the
future by cleaning the ear with a mixture of one part white vinegar and ten parts water. Dip a
gauze pad into this mixture and clean ears with it weekly. This helps keep the ear pH low, which
discourages and prevents yeast from growing.
Dry your dog’s ears after swimming, bathing or cleaning.
Keep any animal diagnosed with ear mites away from other animals
Keep your dog’s ears clean. Check them weekly.
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Never place cotton swabs into the ear canal! You may push the debris further into the ear canal.
BROKEN OR BLEEDING TOENAIL
Signs
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Bleeding from toe, especially directly after a toe nail trim
First Aid
1. Apply direct pressure to the nail with a piece of gauze or a clean cloth for 5 minutes or apply a
styptic pencil or styptic powder to the area.
2. If you do not have these items try the following. Take a bar of soap and push the nail into it or
apply some flour or cornstarch to the area for 5 minutes.
3. Wrap the paw with a gauze pad and vet wrap
If you are not able to stop the bleeding or if the nail is cracked in half and hanging, take your dog to your
veterinarian. If you can stop the bleeding wait 24 hours, then soak the foot in an Epson salt bath and
watch closely for infection.
WRAPPING THE PAW
When wrapping an appendage, make sure the wrap is not too tight! Check for toe swelling and feel the
limb just above and below the bandage for coolness, swelling and/or pain. If any of these are evident,
loosen the bandage.
HOW TO INDUCE VOMITING
It may be appropriate to induce vomiting, but do not induce vomiting until you speak to your
veterinarian or the National Animal Poison Control Center. With some toxins, you will do more damage
by inducing vomiting, so check first!! If your veterinarian or the National Animal Poison Control Center
advises you to induce vomiting (see below) you can give household (three percent) hydrogen peroxide
orally, one teaspoon per ten pounds of body weight. This can be repeated every 15-20 minutes up to
three times.
If you are not sure what your dog ate, take the vomit with you to the veterinarian. If you know what
your dog ate, take the container the toxin was in to your veterinarian. In any case of poisoning, take
your dog to the veterinary hospital immediately!
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If you are unable to induce vomiting, the animal’s stomach may need to be pumped.
If ingestion occurred some time ago and the toxin has already been partially absorbed, efforts at
blocking further absorption will need to be made. This may include giving the dog activated
charcoal.
A few toxic substances have antidotes. To determine an antidote, your veterinarian must know
what the dog ate.
Depending on the poison, there may be serious bodily consequences, including organ failure.
These consequences must be treated by your veterinarian with intravenous fluids and
medications.
Dogs Bay Inc. Boarding, Training, Grooming & Daycare www.DOGSBAY.net 269-857-8310
Dogs Bay Inc. Boarding, Training, Grooming & Daycare www.DOGSBAY.net 269-857-8310