First Aid Kit & Outline for Your Dog

[new to the flock]

Many of you may know Vicky from the NOBS sit. She has been gracious enough to give permission to reproduce this post here concerning first aid for your dog.

 

For anyone interested Vickie is also starting her own business in Holistic Veterinary Medicine and can be reached at:

 

www.holisticvetsussex.co.uk

 

Thanks Vicky

 

 

 

FIRST AID KITS AND OUTLINE

 

First what should be in the first aid kit? I advise two kits, a small real emergency kit to be carried in the pocket and a larger one for home or car:

 

Pocket Emergency Kit

 

Non-adherent dressing (e.g. Melonin)

 

Bandage padding (e.g. soffban or cotton wool)

 

Cohesive bandage (sticks to itself e.g. vetwrap or human equivalent)

 

Length or cord for use as muzzle or tourniquet

 

2x 4mg piriton tablets

 

Round ended scissors to cut bandage

 

Tweezers (for thorns and splinters)

 

Vets phone number and mobile phone

 

 

 

Main First Aid Kit

 

As above plus:

 

More of the bandaging materials

 

Sterile saline to wash wounds

 

Pain killers (either vet prescribed or human as listed below)

 

Tick remover

 

Sugar solution or honey for weakness/collapse. Keep in pocket kit if your dog has had problems before.

 

Skin glue (This is an additional for very experienced dog owners who can use it on minor wounds.)

 

Wound gels (e.g. intrasite) are useful to apply before a dressing to encourage healing.

 

Wound creams and powders can be added to the kit, but should be used sparingly especially if you think the wound may need stitching.

 

 

Drugs for Dogs

 

 

 

Certain human drugs can be useful for dogs in emergency situations, so I have compiled a list of safe drugs and dosages. However please try to discuss with your vet if these are safe to keep on hand for your dog, and never use this information to avoid a necessary trip to the vet.

 

Aspirin; 10mg/kg once or twice daily (i.e. a 300mg tablet for a 30kg lab)

 

Paracetomol; 10mg/kg once or twice daily (do not use in cats ever)

 

Useful to reduce fever and pain but if symptoms persist for more than 24hours see a vet. NEVER give ibuprofen.

 

 

 

Piriton; 4-8mg for a medium to large dog up to twice a day

 

Keep two in your pocket for stings as they work best if given as soon as possible.

 

Benylin Chesty Cough; 5ml up to 4 times a day for a med to large dog- useful for signs of kennel cough.

 

First Aid Treatment

 

Be wary of performing any more than basic first aid and of giving drugs to an animal which is not your own. Just as in the human world there is a chance these days of getting sued for trying to help.

 

In all cases consider muzzling the dog with a length of cord or a rope lead. Even the most even tempered dog may bite if in pain and you don’t need two casualties.

 

Minor cuts; Clean with salt water, dry and apply a wound cream or powder

 

Deep cuts; Clean with salt water, apply a non-adherent dressing and bandage to stem bleeding and take to vet.

 

Deep cut with arterial bleeding (spurters!)

 

Do not attempt to clean! Place a non-adherent dressing over the wound with lots of padding and bandage firmly. Try to prevent the animal moving more than necessary- carry small dogs or drag larger ones on a coat as a stretcher. In very serious cases consider a tourniquet, most books will warm against them but losing a leg due to an over tight tourniquet is better than bleeding to death! Get someone to call the nearest vet while you make your way there.

 

Cut Pads; The Devil to treat! Stitching and gluing often have poor results as the outer pad is very inert and must heal from the inside out. Clean as for other wounds and bandage, changing the bandage every 1-2day until the pad seems healed.

 

Broken legs; Again stretcher or carry and get to the vet ASAP. If it is impossible not to walk the dog then splint the leg with a stout stick and bandaging material.

 

Stings; Remove this sting with tweezers if a bee, but be careful not to squeeze more poison in! Give piriton tabs ASAP and perhaps aspirin. Rest the dog, but it should be fine apart from some itchiness. If the sting was in the mouth/throat region watch for breathing probs and see a vet if concerned.

 

Collapse; If conscious give sugar solution (or honey or whatever comes to hand!) and then rest. It may be worth a trip to the vet so they can try to find a cause e.g. heart problem or diabetes. If unconscious check airway for obstructions and check heart and breathing. CPR can be tried on dogs but is usually unsuccessful. Get someone to call the nearest vet while you make your way there. A call-out is of no use as the oxygen etc will all be at the surgery.

 

Snake bites; A summer problem! Keep dog as quiet as possible and take to vet. These are seldom fatal but cause nasty necrosis of the skin. Antivenom may be given.

 

Heatstroke/overheating; A summer problem at trials and shows. If conscious use towels soaked in water to reduce body temp and offer small drinks of water or electrolytes. Do not submerge in icy water as this can cause shock. If unconscious use towels and take to a vet for IV fluids.

 

Eye injuries; Wash out with sterile saline, but usually best taken to a vet ASAP as eyes deteriorate rapidly.

 

Vomiting and/or diarrhoea; Not a true emergency, but a common query. So long as the dog is ok in itself starve for 24 hours, offer only water (small frequent drinks if vomiting) or electrolyte solution (1tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt in 1pint water). If ok the next day offer small amounts of cooked white meat and rice in frequent meals.

 

Fits; Keep the dog in the dark and quiet until the fit subsides, remove objects it may bang into otherwise do not touch it. Once the fit is over call the vet for advice.

[lurcherboy]

Excellent post

 

And what a nice lady she is Dan, oh wait a minute, you haven't met her have you

 

 

 

 

LB

[new to the flock]

Excellent post

 

And what a nice lady she is Dan, oh wait a minute, you haven't met her have you

 

 

 

 

LB

 

Are you sure

 

Vic if you have had to put up with my Little Brother I appoligize for both him and Ben

 

NTTF

[lurcherboy]

Excellent post

 

And what a nice lady she is Dan, oh wait a minute, you haven't met her have you

 

 

 

 

LB

 

Are you sure

 

Vic if you have had to put up with my Little Brother I appoligize for both him and Ben

 

NTTF

 

 

OI!!!! Stop that apologising lark matey

 

Seriously though Dan she is a nice lady with a independently minded dog

 

 

 

 

LB

[trollhunter]

NTTF

may i just add a few comments to this fantastic post from my own experience

if using a lead or rope to act as a muzzle you may wish to put something in the dogs mouth to keep it open so it has 2 ways of breathing and could stop the dog swallowing its own tongue

as for collapse that copuld happen from many reasons in a working dog usaly heat or energy exhaustion for heat cold drink and posibly a pond or water course if water not to cold otherwise wet towels like suggested and for energy yes a solution of sugar water or honey but most people carry a mars bar it will work as good and leave the dog to rest even carry it back to the car

and on fits prevent overcrowding as when the dog strarts to comes round this will cause unnessary stress

this like i said is from my own personal experiences

[trollhunter]

going on from what i have said just found this article in an old edition of the shooting times

it reads

it is uncommon for dogs to remain unconscious for longer than a few minutes. many dogs that remain collasped are conscious but unable to stand ,either through pain or weakness.

Hypoglycaemia is a common cause of collapse, so try offering a high-calorie foodstuff

i always carry Glucogel , a fast acting dextrose which can help significantly

do check carefully for wounds, as these are easily misseed

hope this is of help

[getthegat]

Brilliant thread. Will refer to this IF ever need medical help for our dog. Thank you so much

[dazza71]

Great post some good advice there, some days we end up miles away so will be putting a kit together ASAP

[buze]

One thing I've used once on our dog, but I've been using many times on me is... superglue!

For clean cuts, it'll seal the wound and allow you to carry on trucking.. it'll eventually dissolve and leave no scar. Superglue was used during the Vietnam war to treat wounds, it's a really, really nice tool.

Just press the lips of the wound together and let a steady thin strip of glue on it until it sets. Job done.

Our dog had a split paw after walking on a field that had silex stones, and I cleaned it, superglued it and she was bouncing off in 2 minutes flat. A few days later there was no trace of the split cushion.

https://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/superglue