First Aid to the Rescue! Your Guide to Emergency Care

• Abrasion (scrape) - Clip hair and wash with warm water.

BITES

• Animal - Control the bleeding and wash with soap and water. Bandage loosely.

• Snake - Check ABCs*. Give CPR if needed. Keep the dog calm, carry him to the car and take him to the veterinarian. Don't cut an open wound, suck out venom or use a tourniquet or ice packs. Dogs won't sit still for this painful procedure. Tourniquets can cut off the blood supply, causing permanent damage.

• Insect stings or bites -These may cause severe allergic reactions in some dogs. Check ABCs. Check for shock. Brush the stinger off if present. Apply a baking soda and water paste and take the dog to the veterinarian. In a phone consultation, your veterinarian may recommend Benadryl, one milligram per pound orally, if your dog has hives.

• Bleeding - Apply direct pressure on blood vessels near the wound. Elevate the wound. Tourniquets are dangerous - apply them only as a last resort and if the limb will probably be lost. You can also wrap the wound with a towel and tape.

• Broken back - Check ABCs. Give CPR if needed. Slide the dog on side onto large board or plywood, secure him to the board with tape or cloth strips, and take to the veterinarian.

Burns

• Superficial - Apply a cool compress for 30 minutes.

• Deeper - Treat shock and take to the veterinarian.

• Chemical burns - Flush with cool water for 20 minutes and transport.

• Car, hit by - Give CPR if needed. Treat shock. Stop bleeding. Stabilize fractures. Transport.

• Carbon monoxide - Provide fresh air and CPR if needed. Treat shock. Transport.

• Choking - Remove obstruction with a finger sweep or Heimlich maneuver. Perform CPR if necessary. If the dog is conscious, remove the obstruction if visible. One person holds the mouth open. Another removes the obstruction. If the obstruction isn't visible, perform Heimlich.

• Coma - Keep the airway open and monitor ABCs. Transport.

• Diarrhea - Check for dehydration and shock. If either is present, take the dog to the veterinarian.

• Drowning - Hold the dog upside down with your aims around his lower abdomen, and gently sway him for 30 seconds to get the water out. Perform CPR if necessary.

• Electric shock - Cut the power if dog's still in contact with electricity. Give CPR if necessary. Treat for shock. Transport.

• Eye injury - Keep the dog quiet. Cover and loosely bandage the injured eye. Transport. If it's a chemical injury, flush with cool water at least 5 minutes, cover, bandage loosely and transport.

• Falls - Check ABCs. Give CPR if necessary. Carefully transport.

• Fish hook - If the barbed end is exposed, clip it off with wire cutters and remove the hook. If the barb is embedded, a veterinarian should remove it, but if you're far from help and must remove it yourself, carefully push hook through exit wound, cut the barb off and slide the hook out the way it went in.

• Fracture - take to the veterinarian.

• Frostbite - Don't rub it. Apply warm water, 105-108 degrees Fahrenheit, for 15 minutes. Cover with a loose bandage and transport.

• Gunshot - Check ABCs. Check for shock. Stop the bleeding. Transport as gently as possible. The dog may have internal injuries.

• Joint injury - Stabilize with a padded splint and transport.

• Poisoning - Call the veterinarian or poison control for advice.

• Puncture - Apply cool compresses (not ice} on the first day; warm compresses after 24 hours.

• Seizures - Don't put anything in or around the dog's mouth. Keep other dogs away. Keep the dog calm afterward. Confine and monitor breathing, temperature and pulse. Notify the veterinarian immediately if the seizure lasts more than few minutes or if the seizures occur repeatedly with little rest in between.

• Shock - Signs of this life-threatening condition. are labored breathing, pale gums, rapid pulse. Act quickly to restore normal breathing. Stop blood loss. Keep the dog warm. Immediately take him to the veterinarian.

• Splinter - Remove with sterilized tweezers and wash the skin. If the splinter breaks off, cover with sterile pad and have the veterinarian remove it.

• Sprains, strains - Apply cool compresses on the day of injury, warm compresses after 24 hours.

• String, tinsel - If the end protrudes from the mouth or rectum, take the dog to the veterinarian for removal. Don't try to remove it yourself.

• Unconsciousness - Check ABCs and for shock. Give CPR if necessary. Transport carefully,

• Vomiting - Check for dehydration and shock. If the dog isn't dehydrated, withhold food for 12 to 24 hours; but offer water. If the dog is dehydrated, in shock, has blood in vomit or vomiting lasts more than 24 hours, take him to the veterinarian.

WOUNDS, open (cuts, gouges, amputations)

• Severe - Stop bleeding, treat for shock and take to the veterinarian.

• Minor - Remove debris, clip hair and clean the skin around the wound with soap and water. Flush the wound with clear water and bandage.

*ABCs are:

Airway - Is it open? If so, check for breathing. If the airway is blocked, clear it.

Breathing - Is he breathing? Hold a cotton ball or tissue near his nostrils and see if it move or hold a mirror to his noise and see if it fogs.

Circulation - Check for a heartbeat - place your hand or a stethoscope at the point where the dog's left elbow touches its chest. Feel for the pulse with a light touch of the middle and first fingers high up on the inner thigh, where it meets the body or at the underside of rear or front paw just above the heal pad.

You should add one more letter to the emergency ABCs. D = Doctor. After administering first aid, call your veterinarian. A dog injured severely enough to require first aid will also need professional treatment.