CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, cpr fpr pets

another suppose-to-be old post on how to cpr you pets:

The MOST IMPORTANT First Aid Skill, I have said it before and I'll say it again.

CPR

You MUST know it.
It saves lives.

Thousands of people are ALIVE because of CPR.
Someone took a CPR course and saved a life.

Thousands of pets have died in part because
NOBODY knew HOW to perform Pet CPR.

One of our subscribers, Carol G has a little
Poodle called KoKo who survived with CPR.

She was choking on a round piece of a stick.

She dropped - STOPPED breathing.

Fortunately - Carol knew and had practiced CPR.

She was able to dislodge the stick, and
perform rescue breaths.


Here is WHAT you need to know....
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---

Pet CPR

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is the most important
First Aid technique that every pet owner should
be comfortable with. Chances are that you will
never have to use it, but it will save your pet's
life if a ball is lodged in his airway.

There are some very basic steps:

1. Assess responsiveness
2. Establish a patent airway
3. Perform rescue breathing
4. Cardiac massage - establishing circulation


STEP 1

RESPONSIVENESS

The first step is making sure that your pet is truly
unresponsive.

1. CHECK his breathing by placing your hand in front
of his mouth and nose.


2. CHECK for his heartbeat by placing your ear against
the left side of his chest. This is the area where his
left elbow touches his chest, immediately behind his
left armpit.


STEP 2

AIRWAY

The second step in CPR is obtaining a patent airway.

1. PULL the tongue out of your pet's mouth, but be
careful to not get bitten.

2. STRAIGHTEN the neck by moving the head to be in
line with the neck.

DO NOT HYPEREXTEND IN CASES OF NECK TRAUMA.

3. PERFORM two rescue breaths, by closing the mouth
and performing mouth to nose ventilations. IF they
continue, then proceed to STEP 3, BREATHING.

If there are no breaths, then look into the mouth.

4. VISIBLY inspect the mouth and look down the throat
for a foreign body. If you see something, reach into
the airway and remove it.

5. IF the airway is still not open, attempt HEIMLICH
(shown in following steps).

6. TURN your pet upside down, with back against your
chest.

7. WITH both arms, give sharp thrusts to the abdomen.

8. AFTER 5 thrusts, stop and check to see if the object
is visible in the airway. If so remove it and give 2
mouth-to-nose rescue breaths. If the breaths do not go
in, repeat HEIMLICH.


STEP 3

BREATHING

After achieving a patent airway, perform RESCUE BREATHING.

1. CLOSE your pet's mouth and breathe directly into his
nose until his chest expands. If the chest doesn't expand
then go back to STEP 2 - AIRWAY.

2. VENTILATE at 15 breaths per minute. One BREATH every
4 seconds.

3. PROCEED to STEP 4 - CIRCULATION


STEP 4

CIRCULATION

1. ENSURE there are no major points of bleeding. Control
as necessary.

2. GENTLY lay your pet on his right side.

3. LOCATE the heart, which is found on the lower half of
the chest on the left side, behind the elbow of the front
left leg. Place one hand below the heart to support the chest;
place the other hand over the heart.

4. COMPRESS the chest 15 times followed by 2 rescue breaths.
3 compressions every 2 seconds. Compress the chest 1/2 inch
for small pets and 1 1/2 inches for large pets.

5. EVERY 15 times follow up with 2 rescue breaths.

Continue heart massage compressions and the rescue breathing
until you hear a heart beat and feel regular breathing. Once
your pet is breathing and his heart is beating, CALL your
veterinarian immediately!


Best Wishes,

Dr Andrew Jones, DVM

wanna know how to CPR a dog or a cat?

CPR for Dogs and Cats add to favorites
The following is a simple breakdown of dog & cat CPR. It's written for the average pet owner and in plain language. It uses the common accepted approach to pet cardiopulmonary resuscitation according to excepted standards of Pet First Aid courses throughout the United States. Pet First Aid is not intended to take the place of professional veterinary care. It is recommended that you take a Pet First Aid course from a certified instructor.

ABC's (Airway, Breathing, Circulation)

Airway: Probably one of the most important things you can do after SAFETY is to make sure your dog or cat is breathing. To do this, you want to gently tap your dog or cat and call out their name to see if they move. Then (being careful not to get bitten or scratched) lean down close and LOOK, LISTEN AND FEEL for breathing.

Look: at the chest of the animal to see if it's moving.

Listen: to see if you can hear them breathing.

Feel: on your cheek or back of your hand for a breath.

Breathing: If your dog or cat is not breathing, pull their tongue just a little bit, close the mouth and tilt their head just a little to open their Airway. Give them 4 -5 breaths from your (guess what?) mouth to their nose! This is Mouth-to-Snout resuscitation. You'll want to give them just enough air to make the chest rise. Big dogs need more - little dogs or cats much less. Remember not to give too much air! You don't want to hurt them.

Circulation: This means you're checking to see if their heart is working OK. To do that you must check for a heart beat which is called a pulse. There are pulse points located in various areas on your dog or cat. For a dog the best place to find the pulse is on the inside of the rear leg, towards the top of the leg. This is called the Femoral Pulse. For a cat the best place to find the pulse is on the outside of the left front leg, just behind the shoulder. This is called an Apical Pulse.

Rescue Breathing

Rescue Breathing is when you have to breath for your dog or cat because they are not breathing on their own. You do this when your dog or cat has a pulse but is not breathing.

Step 1:

First do your ABC's, don't forget to LOOK, LISTEN, and FEEL for breathing.

Step 2:

If not breathing, give 4-5 breaths using Mouth-to-Snout resuscitation.

Step 3:

Check for pulse on the Femoral Artery for dogs or check the Apical Pulse for cats or really small dogs.

Step 4:

If there is a pulse, but no breathing start Mouth-to-Snout resuscitation giving 1 breath every 3 seconds. For cats or really small dogs, give 1 breath every 2 seconds.
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

CPR: First do your ABC's, don't forget to LOOK, LISTEN, and FEEL for breathing. CPR can only be performed if your dog or cat is not breathing and has no pulse.

Follow Steps 1,2,3 same as in Rescue Breathing.

If there is no Pulse, start CPR

Step 4: Dog = Place the dog on the ground or other hard surface with its right side down. Take it's left front leg and bend at the elbow, rotating at the shoulder. The point where the elbow of the dog touches the body is where you place your hands for compressions. Put one hand on top of the other and clasp your fingers together. Lock your elbows and start performing compressions. Push approximately 2-3 inches deep. Give compressions first then a breath. After 1 minute check for a pulse. repeat if there's no response.

Giant Dogs = Give 1 breath every 10 compressions.

Medium to large dogs = Give 1 breath every 5 compressions.

Small Dogs = Give 1 breath every 5 compressions.

Cats or really small dogs = Place the animal flat on the ground. Then put your hands on either side of the animal's chest, right behind the shoulder blades with your palms over the heart (sandwiching the animal's chest between both hands). Compress approximately ½ - 1 inch deep. After 1 minute, check for a pulse again.

Cats or really small dogs = Give 1 breath every 3 compressions.

*Check my blog for the illustrations : http://manda2paran.multiply.com/journal/item/50/CPR_for_Dogs_and_Cats