Learning Animal First Aid. Why is it important as a Pet Parent?

We will be offering CPR and first aid training workshops at Aleyr soon, in our amazing Journey Room. This space was created for learning, interacting, and healing. Check out more about our Journey Room here. 

Animals are curious creatures. They love to explore new places and go on adventures. Their curiosity could lead to an emergency and cause issues if they are fast and find themselves in any kind of pain or harm. There are three basic aims in animal first aid:

• To preserve life.
• To prevent suffering. 
• To prevent the situation from deteriorating.

And as a pet parent, how can you do this? By remaining calm. That is the number one rule in administering any sort of care to your pet. Prompt and appropriate response can prevent a minor injury becoming a major one. It can reduce pain, improve outcomes and give you peace of mind that you can do the best for your pet.

Another key point for first aid is learning to recognize a medical emergency. Here are some emergency situations where you should definitely take your dog to the vet. If they:

• aren’t breathing or are having difficulty breathing
• are unresponsive
• have collapsed and can’t get up
• are having a fit/seizure
• may have broken bones
• are having difficulty moving or coordinating movements
• may have eaten something toxic
• have been vomiting or passing diarrhea for more than 24 hours.

Know your animal. Changes in behavior such as change in appetite, bowel movements and even smell can indicate that there is something seriously wrong with your pet. Know the key indicators to look out for so that you can act quickly. It is extremely important to know how to check for a pulse. The easiest place to find the pulse is in the upper third of their thigh. Place your hand over the top of their thigh and gently squeeze your fingers just underneath their leg. You should be able to feel the artery pulsing at this point.  Your thumb has a strong pulse itself so don’t use this to take their pulse, otherwise you will be timing your own pulse rate!  Time the pulse for 15 seconds and then multiply the result by 4 in order to calculate the number beats per minute.

We want to ensure our pet parents have basic training on how to help your animal in need. For many people their animal truly is their best friend so, should your companion need medical help, having the security of completing an animal first aid course can prove to be invaluable.

Here are some items vital for your animal first aid kit:

• Colloidal Silver
• Vetericyn Plus Antimicrobial Wound & Skin Care
• CBD Dog Health - Ease & Calm
• Denise All Heal Salve (available in-store)

Call the store today for more info on our workshop or sign up here!