I recently attended a full day of Pet First Aid through St John Ambulance and I learned many things about what to do in a pet emergency. The course was focussed mainly on dogs but we did discuss cats and small animals too. I highly recommend the course especially for dog owners.
The following are a few things that I learned and will to share with you.
PLEASE NOTE: I am in no way trained in veterinary care so please take these tips as suggestions only. Please take your pet to your veterinarian if you have any concerns with his or her health.
1.Diarrhea: To treat diarrhea, feed your dog canned pureed plain pumpkin with no other additives. If this doesn’t clear up the diarrhea within a day or if there are any other signs of illness please take your pet to the vet.
2. Hot weather: If your dog is panting excessively, place your dog’s paws in cool water and squeeze water from a wet cloth over his head, ears and neck repeatedly . A kiddie pool in the back yard for your dog to lie in or even stand in is a great idea for hot days.
3. Sprayed by a skunk: If your dog gets sprayed here is a great recipe to get that brutal smell off of him. I have used this recipe and it works: If your dog gets skunked at point-blank range he will have a soaking-wet face and eyes that are watery and red from irritation. Act quickly and keep your dog outdoors so he doesn’t run into the house to rub his face all over your furniture in an attempt to ease the agony. Wrap him in a towel and bathe his eyes with a soothing eyewash solution available from your drugstore. Then it’s bath time. Wear rubber or latex gloves to protect your own skin from odor and wear your oldest expendable clothes because they will be garbage after the bathings. Mix up the recipe and shampoo your dog immediately and thoroughly — again, preferably outdoors but I used our laundry room sink as it was midnight and dark outside. Rinse and repeat as often as possible. I had to bathe our dog 4 times over 2 days.
The homemade concoction of the following ingredients is effective:
1 quarter cup of baking soda
1 tbsp. liquid soap (after the first bath I used 2 tablespoons of pure coconut oil instead of the dish detergent as I could see the detergent was bothering his eyes)
1 litre of 3% hydrogen peroxide
IMPORTANT: Do NOT make the above mixture in advance and store it, as it will explode if left over even a short time.
West End Dog 