I am going on a dog first aid course on Sunday night. It's a 3 hour course! I've never thought about going on one, but they are running with a vet it at my agility centre. I'm hoping it will be useful with the amount of cuts Harleys gets from cutting her paws and getting cuts from being in the woods and crawling (yes, crawling!!) into small gaps in the woods. I will let you know how I get on.
That sounds really useful and something lots of us would like to attend. Look forward to hearing more about it.
Brilliant. I was booked on one but work got in the way. I really must find another one. Looking forward to hearing about it
Let us know how you get on. I would love to go on one. I didn't know they run that kind of thing, I must have a look for a course.
Our club runs them but I have never been on one yet. Must make a note to do so! Looking forward to hearing how you get on.
What an excellent idea, I would find that useful as Charlie is always in the wars!! Looking forward to hearing all about it. xx
That's fab, you will definitley find it useful. I did one a few years ago when I was working at the dogs home and still remember loads from it. It's brilliant knowing how to care for and bandage etc minor wounds, saves a lot on vet trips for minor issues that can be treated at home.
Sorry for the delay.....I'm out of action due to my back playing up The course was really useful in my opinion. We were shown some really good techniques for applying a tape muzzle / using a towel if the dog is injured and might bite. if your dog is really hurt they may become reactive due to the pain they are in. These techniques would help stopping yourself / the vet getting bitten. We covered the symptoms which should mean you call your vet asap - difficulty breathing, persistent diorrhea, ataxia, multiple seizures, unable to urinate/pass faeces, repeated vomiting etc. The next part was on wounds:- looking at how to deal with grazes and superficial cuts. Hibiscrub was recommended regarding cleaning wounds/cuts as was cooled, boiled salt water. We were shown how to tape an ear - turn it outward, pin to head and wrap around head infront and behind the other ear to keep it immobile. Torniquet was strongly advised against and should only be used as a last resort as it could cause the dog to loose a limb. Stick injuries were discussed at length. A few people said they always use sticks, but after seeing and hearing about some of the injuries they cause, are goung to look at alternatives. Sticks can get stuck in their mouth and can cause damage under the skin. So.....no sticks! Next was fractures - this I found interesting as immediately my thought was to splint the injury - I was wrong! Putting on a splint could cause more injury. We were advised to stabilise the whole pet on a wooden board / dog carrier / towel and only move if spinal damage isn't suspected. Burns :- chemical, heat, sun, electrical. Cool water should be used - not cold water. The deeper the burn the less painful which is actually worse in the long run. Seizures :- we were talked through what could happen when a dog is having a seizure - vocalising, collapsed, urinating, vomiting etc. unless the dog is in imminent danger where it is, it should not be moved or restrained in any way. Turn the lights etc off and keep quiet and not stimulate the dog. If continues for more than 3 minutes call a vet immediately. Dog fights :- this section was discussed at length as it appeared that a lot of the owners had had dogs attacked at some stage. We talked about how to stop it - throw water over them, bang saucepans, use pet corrector, put a large stick in between them etc. any wounds can be cleaned by ourselves, but a vet visit should take place within 24 hours to assess any wounds as could be worse than we can see. Eye injuries :- we discussed how to wash an eye out and if the eye has prolapsed it needs to be covered with a wet sterilised dressing and taken to a vet asap. We were then shown how to dress leg/paw injuries and had a go ourselves - the dogs were amazing (belonged to the vet nurse and one from the training centre). We also had a go at doing the tape muzzle from a distance. This was actually quite difficult as some tape moves a lot as it's very flimsy. I got there after several tries! Heat stroke :- we discussed the signs and what we should do.....give small amounts to drink, move to near a draught or a fan. To avoid this happening use paddling pools, don't walk at the hottest part of the day, always carry water etc. Stings/ticks :- use a tick remover being careful to remove the whole tick. For stings, try and remove - you can bathe with cool water which may help. Drowning :- remove from the water, hold upside down by hind legs to allow water to drain from airways. For large dogs you can lift the chest up so the head hangs down. We were then shown CPR - blow into nostrils (ensure mouth properly closed), check heart beat (feel chest wall just behind left elbow when leg is in relaxed position. Push on chest here if needed. Bloat :- try and feed several small meals a day rather than one large meal, don't walk for about 2 hours after eating, snapping at water can cause it. We discussed symptoms too. Electric shock :- call a vet.....use non metallic item to remove them if possible. Choking :- try and remove blockage being careful to not push object in further. Expel with air - apply firm pressure quickly to both sides of the body at back of rib cage, or just under ribs. A few people spoke about having to do this previously and one worked, the other didn't. Poisons :- due to this forum I knew most of these . I didn't know that salbutamol inhalers are poisonous.....I've now moved all my inhalers out of reach. Ibuprofen I didn't know either! Finally we looked at how to restrain a dog for them to get treatment if they won't allow it, and how to safely pick up a dog - my husband uses this technique - one arm around chest, other arm under bum bend ones and pick up. Several of the other people didn't know this. It was good to hear we were doing something right Personally I really enjoyed this course and it was good to have other owners share their experiences. Hopefully it will decrease the amount of visits to my vet for superficial cuts and grazes Apologies for the essay
Oh really thorough Ternaya.....prolapsed eye? Eeeeeeeuuuuugh! I'm so squeamish but I love Biology and First Aid courses I've done in the past X
Sounds very good. I believe there is a bit of a black market for salbutamol among greyhound racing enthusiasts. Illegal of course. And I am sure dangerous.
I did one a few months ago. They are really helpful and your write up is brilliant! When they talked about CPR it made me sad because of what happened to Murphy and my dog walker had used CPR on him but they said that if a dogs heart stops, there is only an 8% success rate for CPR. I was really shocked by that.
