[Nikki+2]

I didn't post about this when it happened because it really shook me up and I didn't want to talk about it. At the beginning of the month I was giving the dogs their Heartguard. I usually cut each into thirds and I give Gracie and Sugar their's and my daughter takes her dog Spike into another room and gives him his. They get so excited it is just madness with all three jumping on each other and trying to steal each other's "treat". My daughter wasn't home so I decided to make it easier and just cut the heartguard in half. Oh God, huge mistake. When it was Sugar's turn he inhaled it and started choking. I could tell he was choking but hardly any sound was coming out of him meaning hardly any air was getting in. I honestly did not know what to do. I grabbed him upside down and shook him a little tiny bit but he is barely three pounds and I was scared to death I'd hurt him worse. I was crying and screaming for my husband and he came in and checked Sugar and said he was breathing and give him a second to see if he'd work it down or up. I was honestly shaking like I was having a seizure- I thought I was literally going to pass out. Sugar was foaming at the mouth and I was frantically looking up the emergency vet's number because of course this was a Sun. night. Anyway he did work it down and obviously is fine.

My husband told me after I had finished having my meltdown that he could tell Sugar was getting air (he was holding him and could feel he was breathing) and if he wasn't he would have tried heimlich which on a 3 lb dog would be terrifying. He got his other half of his Heartguard much later that night cut up into 8ths. I was up half of the night checking on him because I couldn't convince myself he was okay. It was really awful. Please be careful with Heartguard or anything if your dog is a scarfer like Sugar.

I usually give all 3 dogs one half of a Petrodex dental chew everyday but I have been scared to death to let him have anything except dogfood after this. I haven't even let him have a flossie. What do you do when a dog chokes? How can I make sure this doesn't happen again?