First aid isn’t just for people. Like us, animals can be victims of accidents such as intoxication, suffocation, cardiac arrest, bleeding or even seizures and loss of consciousness. How to Respond When Your Faithful Companion Is in Distress? The 30 Million Friends Foundation just published a list of tips for practicing life-saving gestures.
Reassure your animal
When an accident happens and your pet is under stress, you can start by reassuring him. “Touch or voice releases the hormones of well-being”explains Lauriane, a rescuer who offers training to 30 million friends focused on teaching first aid gestures in dogs and cats. “Everyone can even train their pet on a daily basis to reassure him when the time comes. »
Put him in a safe place and check his vital signs
After reassuring your pet, make sure he’s in a safe place and take his wrist in the inner thigh, as shown in this other video from 30 million friends:
Muzzle your dog
It’s no easy feat for dog owners, but muzzling your animal in case of injury is important because if it suffers, it can bite. Don’t have a muzzle to hand? Make one with a piece of fabric.
Responding to choking
Just like with humans, Lauriane explains. To clear the way respiratory hindered by a dog or a cat, it is advisable to hit him with a hard blow on the back with the palm of the hand, specifies the association for the defense of animals. If this is not enough, apply the Heimlich maneuver.
This video shows how to practice it on a dog:
Resuscitate a non-breathing animal
If your dog is not breathing, you should perform a chest compressions. Again, this technique requires knowledge and practice, which you can find in this video:
Teach your pet to stretch
“During a walk with friends, I had to make a homemade stretcher, using jackets and tree branches, to transport a person with a fracture”tells the savior with 30 million friends. “It can be helpful to know how to stretch a large dog, even without equipment! » The idea, for Lauriane, is to practice learning the gestures to be applied in an emergency.
Stop a bleed
To stop heavy bleeding in a dog or cat, the Alforme site provides some details:
- First, press very hard on the wound with your fingers or the palm of your hand and a clean cloth.
- You can then put on a bandage, “fastened with an elastic band or a wide tie long enough to pull it tight enough and stop the bleeding.”
- You can also practice a tourniquet (on the limbs and tail only), but the latter should not be applied for a long time and should be removed by a vet.
Reacting to external bleeding
When we speak of external bleeding, we are actually talking about the flow of blood from the interior of the body to the natural openings of the animal, such as the nose, ear or mouth. In this case, you need to act urgently: cover the animal and call a veterinarian to describe the symptoms and follow their advice as soon as possible.
You have the most important information. When in doubt about your attendant’s health, always have the reflex to call your vet.