Welcome back to Talking Tails!
We recently had a good canine friend experience a medical emergency. Quick action on the part of his human helped to reduce the impact of the situation. This was too close to home for us, so we checked with our Mom to be sure she is ready for a canine emergency. We were assured that she has her first aid kit all set for us!!
Here are a few things to add to your dog’s first aid kit (just in case).
- Emergency contacts – Your first aid kit is not a replacement for your vet’s expertise. So have phone numbers for your vet, the emergency vet, and the Animal Poison Control Center in your first aid kit…better yet, add them to your cell phone. Emergencies never seem to happen between 8am and 5pm…at least not at our house!
- Thermometer – We hate where this goes, but it helps our Mom know if we have a fever.
- Gauze and adhesive tape – This stuff is versatile – use to control bleeding, immobilize a limb, or create a muzzle.
- Hydrogen peroxide – Not only is hydrogen peroxide used for cleaning a wound, but it induces vomiting. Does not sound like fun, but needed if we swallow something that could be potentially poisonous.
- Hot and cold packs – Stiff joints or muscular aches and pains react well to heat, while ice packs work great on any sort of swelling.
- Scissors and tweezers – Lots of things to cut and tweeze – bandages, burrs, ticks…
- Benadryl – Don’t give medicine to us until you clear it with the vet, but Benadryl could help in the case of a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting.
- Antibiotic ointment – Keep infection at bay by using an antibiotic ointment on our small cuts and scrapes.
- Sterile saline eye wash – Depending on the severity, you may not have enough time to get us to the vet before serious eye damage may occur. Although we won’t like this, you may need to flush our eye with saline solution.
What else do you have in your dog’s first aid kit? Please, share!
Talk to you soon!
Buster and Joey
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