dog-cpr related question?

Question

i went to a cpr class, in which i asked about what if a dog stops breathing, and my instructor said to do cpr on the dog, how can i do that, and is that what i really should do

Answer 1

The ABCs of CPR...All dog owners should know.

In both humans and animals, you must follow the ABCs: airway, breathing and circulation, in that order. If you suspect your pet is in distress, immediately look at his posture. Note the presence of blood, vomit or feces; his breathing pattern and other bodily sounds; and any materials, such as possible poisons, around him.

It is vital to know for sure that your pet isn't breathing or doesn't have a pulse before beginning CPR; it is dangerous to apply CPR to an animal (or a person, for that matter) if he is breathing normally and has a pulse.

Look for the chest rising and falling or place a mirror in front of his nose and watch for condensation. When checking for a pulse, remember that animals do not have a distinct carotid (neck) pulse. To determine if the heart is still beating, place your hand on the left side of the chest.

Airway

If your pet has stopped breathing, check to see if the throat and mouth are clear of foreign objects. Be careful about placing your fingers inside the mouth. An unresponsive dog may bite on instinct. If the airway is blocked, do the following:

# Lay your pet down on his side.

# Gently tilt the head slightly back to extend the neck and head, but be very careful: Do not overextend the neck in cases of neck trauma.

# Pull the tongue out of your pet's mouth.

# Carefully use your fingers to sweep for any foreign material or vomit from the mouth. Unlike CPR for humans, you can reach into the airway to remove foreign objects.

# If necessary, perform the Heimlich maneuver.

Breathing

If your dog is breathing, allow him to assume the position most comfortable for him. If he isn't breathing, make sure the airway is open, and begin rescue breathing. Again, remember that even an unresponsive dog may bite on instinct.

# Make sure the neck is straight without overextending.

# For medium to large dogs, you will be performing mouth-to-nose breathing. Close the mouth and lips by placing your hand around the lips and holding the muzzle closed.

# Place your mouth over the dog's nose. For dogs under 30 pounds, cover the mouth and lips with your mouth. Your mouth will form a seal.

# Exhale forcefully. Give four or five breaths quickly.

# Check to see if breathing has resumed normally. If breathing hasn't begun or is shallow, begin rescue breathing again.

# For dogs over 30 pounds, give 20 breaths per minute.

# For dogs less than 30 pounds, give 20 to 30 breathes per minute.

Now check for a heartbeat. If no heartbeat is detected, begin cardiac compressions with rescue breathing.

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/cardiopulmo...

Answer 2

The American Red Cross offers a Pet First Aid class where you can practice CPR on a dog manikin!

You DO perfomr mouth-to-mouth and CPR on dogs, you just need to know the right technique for it.

You can find the basics in most books on pet first aid, but a class is always going to be better.

Answer 3

You are gonna want to do 5 compressions undernieth the ribs on the stomach, then close the mouth and put your mouth over the dogs snout (the whole snout/nose while holding the mouth shut) this is the only way to do CPR on an animal...its the same for cats as well

Answer 4

if the dog is truly not breathing and has no heartbeat then yes... it's basically the same concept as with people, the only differences being that when you do rescue breathing you have to cover their nose and mouth, and on smaller dogs basically do the same thing as with children and only use a couple fingers for compressions versus the palm of your hand

Answer 5

I found your question interesting. I have often wondered how to do it myself. I found a couple of good sites. Or at least they seem good to me. I like the fist one in the list best but all seem good.