What To Do For A Choking Pet

--------------------------------
If your pet is CHOKING
-------------------------------

The signs of choking are much the same as a person.
Your dog or cat is struggling to breathe, with their
mouth open. They may be pawing at their mouth. They may
be attempting to vomit. You may hear an unusual sound
as they attempt to breathe and pull air through a foreign
object lodged in their throat.

CALL YOUR VET IF NEEDED. Dogs are notorious for trying to
swallow things that are a little too big. The result can be
choking where an object lodges in the airway.

REMOVE THE OBJECT.

When time is of the essence, you must act quickly.

Open your pet's mouth:

For a dog
-Open your pet's mouth
-Grasp the upper jaw with one hand over the muzzle.
-Press the lips over the upper teeth with your fingers on one
side and the thumb on the other so that the dog's lips are
between its teeth. Firm pressure may be required. The dog then
can't close its mouth without biting itself and is less able
to bite you. Pull his tongue out of the way.
-Reach deeply in to the back of your pet's throat and try to grasp
the object. If it is a ball, and you are unable to move it,
try using some type of instrument; tweezers, pliers or even a spoon
shaped tong.

For a cat
-Grasp the cat's head so that your palm is over the cat's eyes
and ears, and your thumb and index finger are behind the canine teeth.
-Tilt the cat's nose upwards. In most cases this causes the cat to
automatically relax the jaw muscles so that you can open the mouth easily
-You can then use the index finger of the opposite hand to gently
open the mouth. Place the fingertip on the lower incisors
(the small teeth between the canines) and gently push the lower jaw down.
-Examine the mouth and if you can see the object it may be possible to
remove it with your fingers, tweezers or small pliers immediately.
Do not attempt to remove a needle embedded in the roof of the mouth
but take your cat to your veterinarian.

COMPRESSIONS. Gentle compressions on both sides of the widest point
of the chest may help dislodge a ball or other object. Place both
hands at the back of your pet over the widest point of the chest
while he is standing, and give 5 firm compressions to dislodge the ball.

HEIMLICH. If after trying to manually remove the object, and after
gentle compressions it won't move, and your pet is still not breathing,
then proceed with the Heimlich.

TURN your pet upside down, with his back against your chest.

WITH both arms, give sharp thrusts to the abdomen.

AFTER 5 thrusts, stop and check to see if the object is visible in
the airway. If so remove it and give 2 mouth-to-nose rescue breaths.
If the breaths do not go in, repeat HEIMLICH.

In some cases, your dog is too large to pick up. You can lay him on
his side, and make a fist. Put your fist into the hollow beneath the
rib cage, then push firmly inward and upward. Repeat 5 times, and then
check to see if the object has been dislodged.
If after a few attempts it is still lodged, but you can still hear wheezing
and some noise when your pet is breathing, then you have time to rush to your vet.

CPR. If your pet completely stops breathing, then you will have to know the CPR steps.
After the airway has been opened, you may need to give artificial respiration.

CLOSE your pet's mouth and breathe directly into his nose until his chest expands.
If the chest doesn't expand then go back to STEP 2 - AIRWAY.

VENTILATE at 15 breaths per minute. One BREATH every 4 seconds.

PROCEED to STEP 4 - CIRCULATION

Visit Pamper Pet Care for more information on pet health care.