Pet First Aid - Act, Don't React

What would you do if
...your dog ate the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips that was left out on the table?
...your cat had a seizure right in front of you?
...your dog fell down the stairs and started limping?
...your cat got into a fight and was bleeding?

I know from personal experience that cats and dogs (and other pets, too) can get into trouble at the drop of a hat and it can be really scary to see them in distress!  So, what can you do to help your pet immediately while getting them ready to go to the veterinarian or emergency hospital?  Just like with humans, there are a couple of steps to take.

1 - Assess the situation.  What has happened to your pet?  Are they bleeding, limping, falling over, vomiting, having trouble breathing, crying?  Once you know the symptoms, you can look to the next step.
2 - Determine what you can do for your pet.  Is there a towel nearby or a first aid kit?  Is there someone else in the house who can help you or can you lift your dog by yourself?  Will your pet be able to walk on its own to the car?  Determine what you can do immediately to give your pet the best chance of making it safely to the veterinarian's office or emergency facility.
3 - Apply first aid if necessary.  This can be the scary part.  We here at the animal hospital know that when your pet is hurt, they are also scared and may not react well to being restrained or cared for.  Animals may bite, thrash around, run, cry, scratch, or refuse to be touched.  Your pet can also pick up on your fear and anxiety, which may make the situation worse.  Calmly and gently, get a hold of your pet and apply first aid, preferably with the help of another person.  Remember to keep away from the pet's mouth and face, and keep your motions slow and calm to prevent alarm.

- IF YOUR PET IS BLEEDING: Apply a towel or bandage to the site and apply direct pressure for at least 3 minutes to stop the bleeding.  Add towels on top of previous layers if they are soaking through, but do not remove them as it may disturb any clot formation.  For heavy bleeding or severe injuries, get your animal to a veterinarian immediately. 
- IF YOUR PET IS INJURED: If possible and safe, try to stabilize injuries before moving an injured animal by splinting or bandaging them.  *Keep in mind, however, that a poorly applied bandage or splint can do more harm than good; if in doubt, leave the bandaging/splinting to professionals.  If there is a foreign body in the wound, do not remove it.  If necessary, carefully cut it short without moving it to leave 3-6 inches sticking out before transporting your pet to the veterinarian.  While transporting your injured pet, keep him/her confined to prevent further injury. 
- IF YOUR PET IS BURNED: Apply a muzzle to your pet's snout/face and flush the burn with cool (not cold) water.  Do NOT apply ointments or medications to the burn, as these may agitate the burn further.  Seek immediate veterinary care.  
- IF YOUR PET HAS HEATSTROKE: If you cannot immediately get your pet to a veterinarian, move him/her to a shaded area and out of direct sunlight.  Get a rectal temperature with a non-mercury thermometer if possible to determine your pet's temperature (if it's over 108, seek emergency care immediately).  Place a cool, wet towel around your pet’s neck and head (do not cover your pet’s eyes, nose or mouth).  Remove the towel, wring it out, then re-wet and rewrap it every few minutes.  Use a hose or faucet or bucket to keep cool water running over the animal’s body (especially the abdomen and between the hind legs). Then, use your hands to sweep the water away as it absorbs the body heat.  Transport the pet to a veterinarian as soon as possible. 
- IF YOUR PET IS BITTEN BY A SNAKE: Assume the snake is poisonous and seek veterinary attention immediately.  Try to identify the snake if it can be done without risk; do not attempt to capture or kill the snake.  Do not bring the snake into the veterinarian’s office – a photograph will do.
- IF YOUR PET IS POISONED/INGESTED A TOXIC SUBSTANCE: If you know or suspect your pet has consumed something that may be harmful, call your veterinarian, emergency veterinary clinic or the Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435 – available 365 days/year, 24 hours/day; a consultation fee applies) immediately.  If possible, have the following information available: Species, breed, age, sex, weight and number of animals involved; Symptoms, Name/description of the substance that is in question, the amount the animal was exposed to, and how long it’s been since your pet ate it or was exposed to it.  Also have the product container/packaging available for reference.  Collect any material your pet may have vomited or chewed, and place it in a plastic sealable bag to take with you when you bring your animal in for veterinary treatment.  **Do not try to induce vomiting or give any medication to your pet unless directed to do so by Poison Control or your veterinarian.**
- IF YOUR PET IS HAVING SEIZURES:  Clear the area of other pets, furniture, and any other objects that may cause injury.  Do not try to restrain your pet or startle him/her out of the seizure.  Time the seizure (they usually last 2-3 minutes, but can be as short as 30 seconds).  After the seizure has stopped, keep your pet warm and quiet and contact your veterinarian.

And there are a few more that are a bit more scary than 

the previous emergency situations.  These require taking quick action 

and remaining calm.  If you do not feel you can apply first aid, go to 

your veterinarian or the emergency center immediately.

- IF YOUR PET IS CHOKING: Choking pets have difficulty breathing, paw excessively at their mouths, make choking sounds when breathing or coughing, and may have blue-tinged lips or tongue.  If your pet can still breathe, keep him/her calm and seek immediate veterinary care.  Look into your pet’s mouth to see if a foreign object is visible.  If you see an object, gently try to remove it with pliers or tweezers, but be careful not to push the object further down the throat.  If it’s not easy to reach, do not try to remove it - get your pet to a veterinarian immediately.  If your pet collapses, place both hands on the side of your pet’s rib cage and apply firm quick pressure, or lay your pet on his/her side and strike the rib cage firmly with the palm of your hand 3-4 times to sharply push air out of their lungs and push the object out from behind. Repeat this until the object is dislodged or until you arrive at the veterinarian’s office.  **However, we highly recommend letting a veterinary professional take this course of action.**
- IF YOUR PET IS NOT BREATHING: Open your pet’s airway by gently grasping its tongue and pulling it forward (out of the mouth) until it is flat.  Check the throat to see if there are any foreign objects blocking the airway.  Perform rescue breathing by holding your pet’s mouth closed with your hands and breathing directly into its nose until you see the chest expand.  Once the chest expands, continue administering one rescue breath every 4-5 seconds.  
- IF YOUR PET HAS NO HEARTBEAT: **Do not begin chest compressions until you’ve secured an airway and started rescue breathing.**  Gently lay your pet on its right side on a firm surface. The heart is located on the left side in the lower half of the chest, just behind the elbow of the front left leg. Place one hand underneath the pet’s chest for support and the other hand over the heart.  
      • For dogs, press down with quick, firm pressure to depress the chest one inch for medium-sized dogs.  Use more force for larger animals and less force for smaller animals.  For cats and other small pets, cradle your hand around the animal’s chest so your thumb is on the left side of the chest and your fingers are on the right side of the chest, and compress the chest by squeezing it between your thumb and fingers. 
      • Press down 80-120 times per minute for larger animals and 100-150 times per minute for smaller ones (less than 25 lbs).  Alternate the chest compressions with the rescue breaths: perform chest compressions for 4-5 seconds and stop long enough to give one rescue breath.
      • Continue until you can hear a heartbeat and your pet is breathing regularly, or you have arrived at the veterinary clinic and they can take over the resuscitation attempts.
      • Please refer to this infographic of pet CPR for visual reference if it's easier for you - Saving Your Pet with CPR


Always remember that any first aid administered to your pet should be followed by immediate veterinary care. First aid care is not a substitute for veterinary care, but it may save your pet's life until it receives veterinary treatment.

I hope you don't have to use these first aid methods any time soon, but it is very good information to know!  As the Boyscouts say, "Be Prepared!"  I know that I am much better off living at the hospital because all my minions know exactly what to do in case of an emergency situation!  I hope that this information will help you be better prepared for applying first aid to your pets in case of an emergency, too. 
  
Til next meow,



MASON



Great Falls Animal Hospital

703-759-2330

POISON CONTROL HELPLINE

PET POISON HELPLINE: (800) 213-5774

ASPCA POISON CONTROL: (888) 426-4435

24 EMERGENCY FACILITIES

THE HOPE CENTER- Vienna: (703) 281-5121

THE LIFE CENTRE- Leesburg: (703) 777-9968

VCA SouthPaws Veterinary Specialists & Emergency Center Fairfax: (703) 752-9100 

Joint Disease and Pets - We Can Fix It!

Good morning, humans!  (Well, it's morning for me, as I just woke us from my mid-morning feeding nap)  Today we are going to talk about something that's been affecting me lately, and lots of other dogs and cats I see at our hospital: Joint Disease.

As our pets grow older, it becomes more probable for them to develop some form of joint disease.  It can be mild, even unnoticeable to the pet owner, or it can be debilitating, severely affecting the pet's quality of life; joint pain may even cause partial or complete lameness.  While some pets may develop joint disease in their younger years due to injury or over-exertion, signs of joint pain usually do not appear until the later half of life, depending on your pet's breed.  Dogs are more susceptible to arthritis than cats, and the larger dog breeds are more vulnerable than smaller breeds.  So, what should you be looking for?  The most common signs of joint disease include stiffness, limping, or favoring a limb (especially after sleeping or resting), inability or trouble getting up, reluctance to jump or climb stairs, and noticeable pain.

There are many diseases and problems that affect the joints of pets, such as:

1 - Ligament, tendon, or muscle problems and joint fractures
2 - Inflammatory joint diseases, like Lyme
3 - Congenital/genetically inherited disorders
4 - Degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis)
5 - Dietary and hormonal disease, like hyperparathyroidism or obesity

There are far more causes of joint disease in pets than are listed here, but fortunately there are just as many methods of managing and treating joint pain.

Weight management is one of the first things we look at.  All surgical and medical procedures will be more beneficial if the animal is not overweight.  Considering that up to half of the pets in the U.S. are overweight, there is a fair chance that many of the dogs and cats with hip dysplasia/osteoarthritis are also overweight.  Helping a pet lose weight until they reach the recommended weight and maintaining that weight may be the most important thing an owner can do for a pet.  This may be the hardest part of the treatment, but it is worth it.  You, as the owner, have control over what your dog eats.  This method also goes hand-in-hand with exercise.  Activities that provide a good range of motion and muscle building and limits exertion on the joints is the best.  Leash walking, swimming, walking on treadmills, and trotting are excellent low-impact exercises.  In general, too little exercise can be more detrimental than too much, however the wrong type of exercise can cause further damage.  While watching a dog play Frisbee or catch is very enjoyable and fun for the dog, it is very hard on a dog's joints.  Remember, it is important to exercise daily; only exercising on weekends or just occasionally may cause more harm than good if the animal is sore and reluctant to move at all.  Beyond losing weight and exercise, sometimes a little physical therapy is in order.  Our veterinary staff can show you how to perform simple physical therapy and massage on your pet to help relax stiff muscles and promote a good range of motion in the joints.  Remember, your furry friend is in pain, so start slowly and build trust.  If therapy isn't an option for you to perform on your own, we have a few wonderful Pet Therapy Specialists in the area who would be happy to help rehabilitate your companion animal!

Most of us humans who have arthritis find that the pain and other symptoms are worse in cold, damp weather. The same is true for pets!  Keeping your pet warm and insulated will be much more comfortable.  You may want to consider keeping the temperature in your home a little warmer, or provide your pet with a warming pad or cushy orthopedic foam bed.  Orthopedic or dense foam beds distribute weight evenly and reduce pressure on joints.   Another option for pain management is medication.  Medical management is appropriate for both young pets with clinical signs (mostly dogs in this case) and for older animals with chronic osteoarthritis.  Because of the high cost involved with many surgeries to correct ligament injuries or joint fractures, medication is most times the only affordable option for many pet owners.  Anti-inflammatories and joint supplements may be used in tandem to help treat joint paint, and you may even need to use pain control medications and analgesics.  Glucosamine and chondroitin found in joint supplements give the cartilage-forming cells in the body what they need to synthesize new cartilage and to repair the existing damaged cartilage. These products are not painkillers; they work by actually healing the damage that has been done.  They generally take at least six weeks to begin to heal the cartilage and most animals need to be maintained on these products the rest of their lives to prevent further cartilage breakdown.  These products are very safe and show very few side effects.  Anti-inflammatory medications (known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs) are strong and effective painkillers and anti-inflammatory agents.  They are prescription products and, because of potential side effects, careful adherence to dosing quantity and frequency must be followed.  The manufacturers and veterinarians recommend periodic bloodwork to be done on pets that use these medicines to monitor any developing liver problems resulting from their use.  And, of course, pain control medications are used often in pets with joint pain to do just that - control the pain.  It may seem as though your pet is getting a lot of medication and pet owners may be resistant to giving medications to their pets, but it really does wonders to help pets with joint pain and arthritis feel so much better!  We have seen significant improvement in painful pets with prescribed pain control medications - they are happier, move more easily, and seem like their young selves again.

**It is very important while speaking of medical pain management to mention that you may never give human medications such as Ibuprofen or Tylenol to a pet!  These are toxic and fatal to your pet!  Please ask a veterinarian for a safe, pet-approved medication to help treat joint disease pain before consulting Dr. Google.**

In the event that the above options do not work, or that your pet has a congential issue or ligament/muscle/bone injury, surgery may be the best option to correct and treat the problem.  We work with several surgical experts who can have your pet up and running via surgical procedures to correct cruciate and ligament tears, bone problems, hip dysplasia, and more.  For pets who do not need surgical repair and only display more soft tissue or muscle related joint disease,
Acupuncture may be a good treatment option.  Our own Dr. Garrood is a certified pet Acupuncturist and sees many pets who are having problems with walking, lameness, and degenerative joint pain.  Many of her patients experience great recovery within a few sessions!

So, if you see your pet exhibiting stiffness, lameness, limping, problems getting up, problems jumping or climbing stairs, weight gain issues, inactivity and sleeping more, urinating around the house or other behavioral issues, call your veterinarian promptly.  We can evaluate your furry friend and see if their problems are stemming from joint pain or related issues and get them the treatment they need to be happy and healthy again!

I personally am happier when I have my Metacam dose - it helps me a lot and keeps me jumping!

Til next meow,



MASON



Great Falls Animal Hospital

703-759-2330

POISON CONTROL HELPLINE

PET POISON HELPLINE: (800) 213-5774

ASPCA POISON CONTROL: (888) 426-4435

24 EMERGENCY FACILITIES

THE HOPE CENTER- Vienna: (703) 281-5121

THE LIFE CENTRE- Leesburg: (703) 777-9968

VCA SouthPaws Veterinary Specialists & Emergency Center Fairfax: (703) 752-9100 

May Greetings

Happy April, my fellow Masoneers!  Did you look into adopting a rescued guinea pig during Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig month?  I did, but they did a

thorough background check and found out that I was a cat and therefore ineligible.  When I meowed that I felt I was being discriminated against, they asked if I had a steady income that would allow me to provide food, shelter and medical care and I had to be honest and say no.  They also asked if I rented or owned my residence and how much I pay per month; well, I actually cost my roommate’s money to keep me but they do because they love me.  J  We all came to a mutual agreement that owning a pet was not going to be in the pet’s best interest. 

Speaking of which, did anyone else look up information on guinea pigs after reading about it?  Although it was focused on guinea pigs, the message is VERY important to anyone looking to have any kind of pet: what kind of pet is right, is it even the right time or place to have a pet right now?  That has to be the #1 reason for pets ending up in shelters and/or neglected.  The owner never did or no longer has the time or means to care for them and unfortunately, many don’t care enough to rectify the situation.  Please, please make sure that before you take on the responsibilities of having a pet, that you have the ability to meet that pet’s needs.  If you think that an adoption fee is expensive, that may be a good indication that adopting a pet is probably is not the right thing to do right now.   Food, medical care, pet rent (where applicable) and supplies are all expenses that will be in addition to your current cost of living.  When making this decision, ask yourself how long the pet would be alone during the day, how much space you have to accommodate them, type of environment, and if living with others, is everyone on board?  Let’s help shelters and animals by educating people about pet ownership so that we can reduce the number of homeless pets!



Kindal and Mason



Another very popular reason for pets being surrendered to shelters are allergies.  Dog and cat dander (really pet dander in general) are top reasons that many people do not own animals and why so many pet owners are on lifetime allergy medication.  Having a pet means that you are most likely having to clean more often and, depending on what you have, how much extra cleaning you need to do.  Even if you think your dog or cat doesn’t shed, think again.  Humans shed.  Sorry, the truth hurts.  How much they shed varies so if that’s an issue for you, do your research before you bring a pet home. 

Kindal playing is up for the camera

If you have the financial means, many people find that having hardwood floors (or something other than carpet such as tile, laminate, etc) helps tremendously for people with allergies and can also be much easier to clean.  Speaking of, is it possible to keep a clean house while being a pet owner?  The answer is a most definite yes, though a lot of that depends on the upkeep.  VeterinaryPartner.com has some good ideas; for areas that are harder to keep clean, try and cover with something that can be fairly easily washed like a small rug or furniture throw.  It also helps tremendously when you can clean up before dirt or mess spread throughout the house.  I know those dogs can be awfully messy, mud and dirt everywhere and who knows what else.  OK, I’ll admit it cats sometimes get litter in their paws and walk around the house too but we at least have a “grace” about it.  You can use baby wipes or a warm washcloth to periodically wipe our paws if you feel so inclined.  We may act like we hate it but secretly we enjoy the cleanliness!



BTW Kindal is looking for a home!



So is there a stain on the carpet that we may or may have not contributed to somewhere?  It would probably be advisable to try again and see if maybe another method or product can take it out.  Word around the campfire is that pets have a habit of returning to the scene of previous crimes; other’s or our own, we’re not prejudiced. 

Here’s another newsflash:  a lot of us love to be groomed.  It also keeps some of the fur under control and not all over the rest of the house.  It’s good for bonding too.  Believe it or not, we have our Hallmark moments too!

For more information on keeping it tidy, visit:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1614

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=208

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=962

Speaking of cleaning, I’m going to go try and get out of the way of my staff cleaning.  I sometimes feel kind of bad that they have to do it around me. 

Til next meow,



Mason