This month I will finish up the series on first aid for your pet. The information is provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Shock

Shock is most likely to occur after a severe injury, animal attack or severe fright.

There are several symptoms that can indicate shock. You will often note a weak pulse, shallow breathing, anxiety or nervousness and a dazed appearance to the eyes.

Keep your pet restrained, warm, and quiet. If your pet is unconscious, keep their head level with the rest of the body as this helps maintain a proper airway.

Take your pet immediately to a veterinarian.

Not breathing

If your pet is not breathing, try and stay calm.

If someone else is with you, have them call the veterinarian while you help your pet.

Check and see if your pet is unconscious.

Like with people, the first thing to do is make sure the airway is open. Do this by gently grasping the tongue and pulling it forward out of the mouth until it is flat.

Then check your pet’s throat area to make sure nothing is blocking the airway. If there is something there and you can safely remove it, try and dislodge the object.

If you have to perform breathing for your pet, blow through the nostrils. To do rescue breathing, close your pet’s mouth and hold it closed with your hand.

Give breaths by breathing with your mouth directly into your pet’s nose until you see your pet’s chest expand. Once the chest expands, continue the rescue breathing once every 4 or 5 seconds.

No heartbeat

The recommendations for CPR in pets has changed over the past couple of years.

If your pet has no heartbeat, start chest compressions first. This will keep oxygenated blood already in the heart circulating through the body.

Do chest compressions for 3-4 seconds then check the airway as listed above. Give a breath before going back to alternating 4-5 seconds of chest compressions with your rescue breathing.

To perform chest compressions:

• Gently lay your pet on its right side on a firm surface. The heart is located in the lower half of the chest on the left side, just behind the elbow of the front left leg. Place one hand underneath the pet’s chest for support and place the other hand over the heart.

• For dogs, press down gently on your pet’s heart about 1 inch for medium-sized dogs; press harder for larger animals and with less force for smaller animals.

• To massage the hearts of cats and other tiny pets, cradle your hand around the animal’s chest so your thumb is on the left side of the chest and your fingers are on the right side of the chest, and compress the chest by squeezing it between your thumb and fingers.

• Press down 80-120 times per minute for larger animals and 100-150 times per minute for smaller ones.

Don’t perform rescue breathing and chest compressions at the same time. Alternate the chest compressions with the rescue breaths, or work as a team with another person so one person performs chest compressions for 4-5 seconds and stops long enough to allow the other person to give 1 rescue breath.

Continue until you can hear a heartbeat and your pet is breathing regularly, or you have arrived at the veterinary clinic and they can take over the resuscitation attempts.

Chances of your pet surviving resuscitation are low, so getting to an emergency vet quickly is paramount.

I hope you never have to face this type of situation, but it helps if you know what to do.