how do you stop a dog from choking?

Question

is there a 'heimlich manouever' that can be performed on a dog?

Answer 1

Yes there is and it is virtually identical to the human method. It is best with two people. Since a dog's head will tend to go limp or flop back and forth if you hold him up-right on his hind legs, you need someone to keep his head up and throat open.

Method #1-hold the dog up-right with someone holding his head up. Feel the bottom of his rib cage and gently but firmly and quickly squeeze in and up with one fist. It is okay if your fist slips below the rib cage. Look for item to be expelled or breathing to ease.

Method #2-lay dog on his back, legs splayed out, head flat bottom jaw facing up. Find bottom of rib cage and thrust firmly and quickly down and forward with fist. Be careful as it is very easy to apply too much force.

Before doing either method make sure dog can not breath at all. If he is hacking let him free the item himself. Never reach into the dog's mouth or throat unless he is unconscious. Even a pet will bite if panicked. Reaching down his throat for a ball or similar item usually just forces the item deeper.

On the sled trails my dogs often "inhale" their food because they have worked very hard and they know it is a race. I have used this and CPR successfully on several dogs.

Answer 2

There is a modified version of the heimlic that can be used for dog, but you should be properly trained before doing so. The red cross offers these classes for 50.00.
I usually use a modified finger sweep method .
To do this you take your pinky finger and while having someone hold the dogs mouth open sweep the throat using a hooking motion. You can also take your palms, one handed and do modified chest compressions that forces wind out of the animals mouth. This is done on the animals side and in a sequence of 5 then attempt a finger sweep.
I recommend(sp) that all pet owners take these classes just in case.

Answer 3

I am hoping your chihuahua is on monthly heartworm preventative so it isn't heartworm. Aside from that, it could be bordatella (kennel cough) or a lot of other things. Do get him to the vet asap for an accurate dignosis. As far as feeding him human food, no lecture needed - just be very sure to feel him lean meat, no sugar, not much salt, plain boiled rice, green beans, carrots - low fat cheese, yoghurt, not much else. He won't die on that kind of food, but why in the world not mix all that with some decent dry kibble like Canidae chicken and rice? I feed all 6 of my small dogs a combination of lean protein and veggies mixed into their Canidae - they do very well. Why take a chance on depriving your dog of needed nutrients in good dry kibble? If he's a picky eater the way my chi was, just mix the lean meat and rice into the dry, bet he eats that.

Answer 4

I don't know if there is a choking manuever, but one time my sister's cat had a piece of cat food stuck in his throat, and I lifted the front of the cat off of the ground and I hit his side of his ribcage gently and the piece of cat food flew out of his mouth. If a dog were to get choke, it probably would be choking on something a bit bigger, I think that this could work on a dog though, depending on the object.

Answer 5

When the dog chokes on food, place yourself behind the choking animal, raised him by his hind legs, embrace his waist allowing the head and shoulders to bend forward. Then close one hand, forming a fist which you will then grab with the other hand and place against the animal's abdomen, in between the belly and ribs. When applying pressure under the diaphragm, the air of the lungs compresses and comes out with force, making the piece of food that was stuck go shooting out.

Answer 6

I have used two methods successfully.
I have used the heimlich maneuver on my dog, once and only once. He was looking at me and I noticed he was panicked and not breathing. I grabbed him and performed the maneuver, a large piece of a toy flew out of his throat. My friend, who was sitting there, was stunned.

For lesser obtrusions, where he is still breathing I have stuck my fingers down his throat and pulled the object out. I have two dogs and one is constantly having problems with objects.

Answer 7

One thing I've always done with my dog is put her on her belly and open her mouth and look at her teeth. Then I give her a treat when I'm done and say "good girl". So if she does choke or I need to get something out of her mouth she is less likely to freak out.

Answer 8

By taken your hands from around his throat.






Lol only joking, am not sure i've never heard of it being done on a dog. You could try I suppose Trying that would be better than the dog choking to death

Answer 9

Your dog needs urgent veterinary attention, please soon. I hope he isn't choking at the moment. You can if necc place him you knee if poss and give a quick sharp squeeze to try and dislodge an item, but i wouldn't do this unless its life or death cos it can cause major problems.
Some animal colleges provide practical first aid courses for pet owners.

Answer 10

Our dog used to choke on his food quite a lot. We got a bowl-stand to raise the food to a more convenient height and switched to a larger chunked typed of food he does it less often now.