The most common of all accidents involving dogs is the one in which the dog is struck by a car. To help you prepare as best possible should, you run into this type of scenario with a hurt canine, please read along and take notes of the following steps. And please, take these steps to heart as it can save your dog someday, or someone else’s family pet. Read more

It happens every day – a dog is crossing a street or busy intersection and becomes the target of thousands of pounds of crushing steel – injuring the poor animal to the brink of death. Read more

When a dog goes into shock, what stimulants are safe to give the animal? What exactly should you do in this situation? Life or death is waiting on your decision…

Before going into the differences of professional opinion on these very important questions, note the following basic guidelines:

A) If the dog is conscious then administer sweetened, warm coffee or whiskey.

B) If the dog is unconscious then do not give it anything at all. Instead, rush the animal immediately to the closest veterinarian’s office.

The Shock\Stimulant Controversy

It is interesting to note that many of the popular canine medical books on the market today are in complete opposition regarding a large number of the procedures for emergency first aid. Although these publications are written by knowledgeable, practicing veterinarians, their different views cause more questions than answers.

One major point of controversy is whether emergency first aid procedures should be instituted at all. One faction claims that time wasted looking for blankets or other material to keep an injured dog warm could spell the difference between life or death.

The other faction claims that failure to keep the dog warm could also spell the difference between life or death. The biggest controversy, however, seems to concern the type of stimulant to be used in an emergency situation: coffee, tea, or liquor.

The anti-liquor advocates state that liquor is a depressant, not a stimulant. The pro-liquor advocates counter by saying that liquor is a depressant only when consumed in large quantities, and that in an emergency situation, a shot of booze serves as an effective stimulant.

How can practicing veterinarians, men and women who are highly trained and closely skilled as one another in the same medical field, have such opposing views on something as simple as emergency first aid procedures? Hasn’t veterinary medicine progressed to the point of being an exact science? The answer is an unqualified no!

Make A Choice, Any Choice

It will be most interesting to know your personal opinions on the matter. This issue should warrant debate so that you can choose how to be prepared to help your dog (or any dog) that may be in an emergency situation and has fallen into a state of shock. Any help is better than just leaving the dog to die or mistakenly rushing it to the hospital without shock treatment.

In summary, then, remember the initial steps in the treatment for shock: Keep the dog calm and warm; administer a stimulant if (and only if) the dog is conscious; and rush the injured animal to the nearest veterinarian for the necessary supportive treatment.

Your dog can easily go into a state of shock, caused by any amount of pain, toxin, or injury. And when it comes to the treatment of shock, veterinarians are not in full agreement as to the term “treat for shock.” Read more

I’ll never forget my very first dog. Her name was Scarlet and she was the most well-behaved Golden Retriever anyone has ever seen. Loving, kind, playful and obedient - Scarlet was supposed to last forever – at least in my young mind. Read more

Pet Poisoning should be the concern of every dog owner, as well as having other pets in the house. Some pet owners fear that an unfriendly neighbor might deliberately poison their dog because of some real or imagined misbehavior. But cases such as these are, fortunately, very rare. Read more

If you were to ever be the first person to arrive on the scene after a dog has been injured, are you prepared with the necessary steps to take? The following article will help you become educated as to handling an emergency situation with a dog who has been in an accident. Read more

When coming upon an injured dog at the scene of an accident, it must be transported out of the area immediately and back to safer ground.  This process can be a bit complicated if you do not know what you are doing in terms of evaluating the dog’s injuries and whether or not you have help from someone else to move the animal. Read more

When your dog is injured and there are signs of blood flow, it may be both external and internal.  If your dog was hit by a moving vehicle and you do not see any blood, always assume that there is an internal injury that may be causing bleeding. A veterinarian should be the one to assess the possibility.  However, at the scene of an accident there is no veterinarian and if you notice severe bleeding on the outside, then the following steps will help you be better prepared. Read more

Dogs sometimes have a bad habit of putting anything they find inside their mouths.  Actually, let me correct that statement, dogs always seem to find a way to put objects in their mouth that do not belong there! They tend to pick up all types of stuff, ranging from balls to rocks, small toys to articles of clothing, basically anything they deem fun to play with. Read more