While adopting and owning a pet is rewarding, it also comes with its share of responsibilities. You must take care of a dog or cat like you take care of the people in your family. Not only must you provide food, water, and shelter, but you also have to ensure your pet receives the proper veterinary care and help.
Along with these responsibilities, you need to know how to help a pet in an emergency. This includes knowing basic first aid as well as how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), if required.
Why You Need to Get a Pet CPR Certification and Learn First Aid
Getting a pet CPR certification and learning first aid are essential components in caring for a pet. These skills enable you to handle a pet emergency in the home so you can avoid a sad and preventable tragedy.
What is Pet CPR?
Pet CPR involves performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a pet to keep it alive if it stops breathing. Not everyone knows that they can give this type of rescue aid to the pet. Therefore, knowing how to perform CPR can help you treat a pet whose heart has stopped because of a severe infection or a bad allergic reaction.
In some cases, it can be used to keep a pet alive with pulmonary disease. You can use the knowledge, as well, if your pet can’t breathe because it has a piece of food or other object lodged in its throat.
Performing Pet CPR
To perform pet CPR, make sure your pet is not responding by touching them gently and calling their name. Check the femoral artery on your pet’s inside thigh to see if their heart is beating. Or, place your ear against their chest for a heartbeat.
The ABC’s of Pet CPR
When you perform pet CPR, you also have to remember three other letters – ABC. These letters stand for Airway, Breathing, and Circulation.
First, you need to ease your pet’s head back so you can open the airway. If anything is blocking the airway, remove it immediately. Then, check to make sure they’re breathing, and finally, check their circulation to see if they have a pulse.
If your pet’s gums are bluish instead of a healthy pink, this is a sure sign that something is wrong with the circulation.
Turn Your Pet over on Its Side
To start basic pet CPR, turn your pet on its right side. Compress the chest to about 1/2 of its width, giving 100 compressions per minute. Don’t leave the chest compressed, but pull back after each set of compressions and allow the chest to rebound fully. Follow with a couple rescue breaths.
Keep performing CPR until you hear the pet breathing or can hear a heartbeat. Some flat chested dogs, such as pugs, may need to be positioned on their back. Usually, you’ll need help from a partner for performing the compressions.
Sign Up for Pet CPR Now
The above information gives you an overview of performing pet CPR. To ensure you know exactly what to do, take a course in pet CPR online. If you want to adopt or own a pet, you’ll need this skill as well.