THIS IS AWESOME! My favorite dog trainer and dog whisperer of all time has just released a free video online explaining how to eliminate 94% of all unwanted behavior in ANY dog. Her name is Krista Cantrell and I absolutely LOVE the way she teaches. Click on the video to watch. You'll be glad you did...

Seeing a pet lose consciousness would be a very traumatic experience for a pet parent. “Don’t Panic. Keep Calm”! Dog owners know this is necessary in times of emergency but keeping calm would be very hard to do if the pet appears to be dead. It is not surprising for the whole family to panic if the dog is seen unconscious because dogs are highly valued pets.

Loss of consciousness can be caused by a whole range of reasons thus first aid application can be challenging as the owner would have to verify what happened to the pet. Unlike a wound injury that can be easily noticed because of the bleeding, a dog that has become unconscious would be unresponsive to any stimuli. The sight of the dog with pallid gums and tongue, unseeing eyes with dilated pupils and the motionless body would make even the most level minded owner panic. A dog that has lost conscious may or may not breathe. The same with breathing, the dog may have a rapid pulse or have no pulse at all.

Canine unconsciousness can be a symptom of a lot of health concerns. The dog may have ingested a toxic substance or a foreign object has blocked the airway. A dog can fall unconscious because of internal or cerebral hemorrhage caused by serious injuries or because of epileptic attacks. It is imperative that first aid be administered to unconscious dogs given that the pet may not be breathing or may not have a pulse. Unconsciousness can lead to the death of the pet especially if the pet has stopped breathing and no first aid treatment was administered given that all the vital organs of the body will be starved of oxygen.

If the unconscious dog is breathing and has pulse, the dog owner’s first action is to conserve the body heat of the dog. The dogs must be wrapped with a blanket or covered with a jacket while being transported to a veterinary facility. It would also be necessary to position the dog so that the head is slightly lower than the body.

For an unconscious dog that is not breathing, the head must be extended and the airway cleared of any foreign object. Rescue breathing must be initiated at once. Close the mouth of the dog and breathe deeply into the dog’s mouth. This procedure should inflate the chest. CPR must be administered if the dog has no pulse or if the heart is not beating. Ten cardiac compressions must be alternated with two rescue breathing. These first aid procedures must be continued until the dog arrived at the veterinary facility.

Learn more about dog first aid as well as unconsciousness at Sarah’s Dogs.

No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post)

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Tagged with: • • •

Filed under: General Dogs Discussion

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!