It is our job as dog owners to make sure that our pets are happy and healthy. However, it is not always an easy job given that our dogs are curious and intelligent creatures with a tendency to get themselves into all kinds of trouble. And when they do get in sick or hurt, it is up to us to examine them and find out exactly what the problem is.

While there is no substitute for veterinary care, especially when your dog is seriously hurt or injured, there are many things you can do to save your dog’s life and make him feel comfortable. The care and attention that you give to your dog during the first few minutes of an emergency can make all the difference between life and death.

Having the basic knowledge of giving first aid treatment is crucial in that time between the beginning of the emergency and upon arriving at your vet’s office. However, do not use first aid treatments as a way of delaying much needed professional help. A more prolonged treatment can only be applied if you cannot reach medical care immediately.

In order to properly administer first aid treatments, it is important to plan ahead and have the necessary supplies on hand placed in a convenient location. Do not wait for the emergency to happen before you start putting together tools and remedies or to start reading “how to do it” manuals. By being prepared, you can help keep small problems from turning into big ones.

First aid supplies

The following are list of supplies that you need to have available in case of an emergency. You can either buy first aid kits at online catalogs or pet stores, or you can stock up on your own.

Here is what a first aid kit should include: Ammonia water, Hydrogen peroxide, Antibiotic treatment, Hydro cortisone ointment, Eyewash, and Antihistamine liquid.

The following are basic materials that you may need: adhesive tape, absorbent cotton, gauze rolls or pads, scissors (preferably with rounded tips), tweezers, a rectal thermometer; syringes (without the needle) for giving oral medications; two blankets (thick and strong), elastic bandages, an enema bag, soap, and a plastic bowl for preparing dilutions.

It is also important to have your vet’s phone number available as well as the phone number of an emergency weekend visit or nighttime vet. You will also need a veterinary first aid manual to know exactly what to do in time of crisis.

Similar to healthy dogs, sick dogs need to eat in order to supply energy and nutrients for growth, for replacement and repair; as well as to meet an ever changing need.  Nutritional requirements for a sick dog usually do not differ greatly from those of a healthy dog.  A sick dog’s dietary needs, however, can become substantially different from those of a healthy dog.

Diseases in which a dog’s diet will need to be changed are often due to true nutritional diseases, in which the diet itself is responsible for the disease.  Most of the true nutritional diseases are deficiency diseases.  What this means is that they are diseases caused by a diet that contains an insufficient amount of one or more needed nutrients.  Most of these diseases were the result of inadequate or improperly balanced home-made food.  Since cost-effective commercial food became more and more nourishing, most of these deficiency diseases gradually disappeared.  Vitamin or mineral deficiencies are rarely seen as a primary disease any more.  Both vitamins and minerals are inexpensive and are needed in such small amounts that today, few commercial dog foods fail to contain them in adequate amounts.

Although energy and protein continue to be a problem with some dog foods, the number of brands that still contain insufficient fat or poor quality, indigestible protein become less and less every year.  When a deficiency of fat occurs, it most often appears as an insufficient amount of total energy in the diet which results in weight loss, sluggishness, dry and dull hair coat, poor physical condition and, in some extreme cases, emaciation and uncontrolled diarrhea.  A deficiency of essential fatty acids may also occur, although it is unlikely.  The total amount of the fats most often used in commercial foods can drop to as low as 1% of the diet and that diet will still contain sufficient fatty acids.  The only exception to this might be in cases of dry foods where larger quantities of fat have turned rancid. 

When a deficiency of fatty acids does occur, it appears as a loss of weight and condition, a dry, dull coat, but more specifically as eroded areas on the skin.  These will most likely show on the pads of the feet, between the toes and over the bony protuberances of the body where pressure reduces the blood supply.  Although these erosions may superficially resemble “hot spots,” they differ from them in four major aspects such as: They do not respond to routine steroid therapy; they appear on both short-haired as well as long-haired dogs; they require an average of three months to heal; and adding fatty acids to the diet promotes their recovery, because a deficiency of fatty acids caused them.

A deficiency of protein in the diet is still sometimes seen.  This causes weight loss and dull, dry hair coats.  It may also produce anemia, reduce the body’s ability to cope with and recover from infections, and, if left neglected, will eventually lead to the dog’s death.