Cardiac and Respiratory Arrest (CPR)

Respiratory arrest means that your dog is not breathing.  Artificial respiration can help restore your dog’s ability to breathe.

Cardiac arrest means that you cannot feel your dog’s heart beating.  Cardiac resuscitation can help restore your dog’s heartbeat.

Both situations are emergencies requiring immediate action.

Artificial Respiration

• Look in your dog’s mouth to see if anything is blocking the airway. Remove any objects you see with your fingers, if possible, or by using the Heimlich Maneuver. Be very careful to ensure that you do not accidentally further trap any object you might find in your dog’s airway.
• Lay your dog on his side, and tilt his head and neck back to straighten the airway passage.
• With one hand, hold your dog’s mouth shut. It is very important that you ensure that no air will get into his mouth.
• Place your mouth over your dog’s nose. Make sure that you are creating a tight seal.
• Blow into your dog’s nose with your mouth for 1 to 1.5 seconds. Check to see if his chest expands.
• If your dog’s chest expands, remove your hand from his mouth so he can exhale. If your dog’s chest does not expand, that means he is still not breathing. In this case, continue to blow into his nose every three seconds until he begins breathing or until you reach your vet’s office.

Cardiac Resuscitation with Respiratory Arrest

• Place your dog on his right side.
• Give your dog two artificial respiration breaths as described above.
• Place the base of your palm on his ribcage right behind his elbow. Put your other hand on top of your first hand.
• In one fluid motion, press down on your dog’s ribcage. Press down firmly, but be careful not to fracture your dog’s ribs. The compression should last less than 1 second.
• Alternate between giving your dog two breaths via artificial respiration and then five chest compressions. Ideally, you want to be able to deliver 15 to 20 artificial breaths and 100 chest compressions per minute. Continue doing this until your dog gets medical attention.

Source:  First Aid for Pets and Doggedhealth.com

Heimlich Maneuver

The Heimlich Maneuver is an emergency first aid technique designed to help dislodge an item stuck in your dog’s throat that is impairing breathing.

The Heimlich Maneuver should only be used if you are sure that your dog is actually choking. Some signs that your dog is choking include breathing difficulty, attempting to cough or hack, eye bulging and pawing at the face or mouth.

Before beginning the Heimlich Maneuver, try to remove any objects you see with your fingers. Be very careful and do not attempt to remove any object where there is a risk you will accidentally further trap any object in your dog’s throat. If you cannot remove the object safely with your fingers, perform the following steps:

• For small dogs, kneel behind your dog with your dog standing and facing away from you. For larger dogs, stand behind your dog with your dog standing and facing away from you.
• Place your arms around your dog’s waist so your hands are underneath your dog’s stomach. Use one hand to make a fist, and place the fist, thumb-side facing up, just below your dog’s ribs. Clasp your other hand around your fist.
• Jerk inward and upwards towards your dog’s back. Use a quick and strong motion. If this action does not dislodge the object from your dog’s throat, repeat the jerks several more times. If the object still does not dislodge, rush your dog to the veterinarian.