CPR for your Yorkie in an Emergency
 

People may read it and remember it in an emergency...I never knew this is how to do it till I saw this....

GIVING DOGS CPR

• Check the animal for a pulse. If there is a pulse, chances are the animal has swallowed something. Moving puppy lungs may indicate a lodged object in the throat.

• Check to see if there is anything in the animal's mouth.

• Cup your hand around the dog's snout and breath air into his nose. This should help air get into his lungs easier. Be careful not to stick your face in the dog's face. Just because it's having problems breathing doesn't mean it can't bite.

• If the dog needs CPR, compressions should be adminstered followed by a count of two and continued in the same pattern. Let the animal's lungs expand before pressing on its chest.

• Get the dog to emergency care as soon as possible.

LEARNING THIS COULD SAVE A DOGS LIFE !

Remember that yorkies lungs are tiny and if you blow too hard or too much they might burst.

I took firstaid for dogs when attending training - and CPR is very handy.

Also if your dog gets something stuck in it's throat clap your hands on each side of its stomach, as if clapping it's lungs (Not too hard). That will most times make the air in the lungs press out the stuck object.
If that doesn't help stick a finger in it's throat. Sometimes this makes the dog gag and get the item out and sometimes you have to fysically remove the object.

THANK you Mette ! Those are good to know too - I've had 2 friends that had to do the Heimleck (sp) manuver and would love to see directions on that too.

THANK YOU GUYS! I have worried about this before, what to do if something happened?? I had no idea what to do. Great info! It should be a sticky thread

Heimlich on such a little dog is dangerous because it could break their ribs. The clapping exercise is a replacement for the heimlich, and should be safe if done correctly. :)

If you decide to do the doggy type Heimlich, make sure the head is lower than the rest of the body so if there is a FB it will come out instead of falling back in..
I want to underscore the part about not blowing too hard..sort of like puffs as we teach in human CPR for infants. For tiny dogs remember, faster and less pressure or air..their heartbeat is so much faster than ours so keep up the speed....

Thank you for the info.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: FANTASTIC INFO! thanks :D

oh my this is good info. I hope i never have to use it. if something would ever happen and i later find out i could have done something to prevent it I would be beside myself. thank you.

I read an amazing treatment for dogs that may have swallowed glass shards, soak a couple of cotton balls in cream and feed them to the dog. The balls will actually pick up the glass shards in the stomach and protect the intestines. A vet said that this method has almost always had success. Of course one watches for blood in the stools etc. for a few days after to make sure that all is ok. Here is the quote

"BEFORE the holiday go to a pharmacy and buy a box of cotton balls. Be sure that you get COTTON balls ... not the "cosmetic puffs" that are made from man-made fibers. Also, buy a quart of half-and-half coffee cream and put it in the freezer.

Should your dog eat glass ornaments, defrost the half-and-half and pour some in a bowl. Dip cotton balls into the cream and feed them to your dog.

Dogs under 10 lbs should eat 2 balls which you have first torn into smaller pieces. Dogs 10-50 lbs should eat 3-5 balls and larger dogs should eat 5-7. You may feed larger dogs an entire cotton ball at once. Dogs seem to really like these strange "treats" and eat them readily. As the cotton works its way through the digestive tract it will find all the glass pieces and wrap itself around them. Even the teeniest shards of glass will be caught and wrapped in the cotton fibers and the cotton will protect the intestines from damage by the glass. Your dog's stools will be really weird for a few days and you will have to be careful to check for fresh blood or a tarry appearance to the stool. If either of the latter symptoms appear you should rush your dog to the vet for a checkup but, in most cases, the dogs will be just fine.

An actual experience: I can personally vouch for the cotton ball treatment. While I was at the vet waiting for him to return from lunch a terrified woman ran in with a litter of puppies who had demolished a wooden crate along with large open staples. The young vet had taken x-rays which did show each of the puppies had swallowed several open staples. He was preparing them for surgery when my wonderful vet came in and said no surgery. I watched him wet several cotton balls, squeeze out the water and pop them down their throats. Within 24 hours every staple was accounted for. This was a lesson I learned in the mid-1960s and have had to use several times on my brats. I wet the cotton balls and smear on some liverwurst and they bolt it down and ask for more. The cotton always comes out with the object safely embedded."http://www.airedaleterriers.org/articles/holidayfirstaid.html

Thanks for posting this safety advice!

Thanks for the great advice! I will keep it in my memory bank, hopefully. :thumbup:

ARTIFICIAL BREATHING

Over 60 lbs.=12 breaths/min
11-60 lbs.=16-20 breaths/min
1-10 lbs.=30+ breaths/min

If there is no heartbeat, begin heart compressions. Depress chest 1.5 to 3 inches with one or two hands. Continue artificial breathing.

HEART COMPRESSIONS

Over 60 lbs.=60 times/min
11-60 lbs.=80-100 times/min
5-10 lbs.=120-140 times/min

If your pet weighs 5 lbs. or less, place hands around rib cage and apply heart massage.


hope this helps if anyone was wondering exactly how many breaths and compressions they'd have to do for their pups.. hopefully you never need it.

-k

AWESOME INFO! Thanks for posting it!

no problem.. i figured i'd post the whole set of info for those of us who also have bigger dogs. but again.. i hope no one ever needs to use it.