I cancelled classes at When Hounds Fly weeks ago so that today, I could complete a course on Pet First Aid, issued by Walks ‘n Wags Pet Care and taught by Renee DeVilliers of All About Dogs. The course covered topics ranging from preventative strategies, emergency restraint and transport, bandaging skills, bleeding, airway obstruction, mouth-to-snout, CPR, ingesting toxins, overheating, and a lot more. It was a long day!
Here are pictures of my handiwork applying bandages to my stuffed animal:
My ear's been torn off! Ouch!
I broke my dewclaw... AGAIN
How did I impale myself with this blue pen?
Here, Renee is showing us how to dress a wounded tail. Cadence is wearing a pair of granny stockings and is handling it quite well.
Mustard is not my color, lady.
It was a content heavy course so I won’t even try to summarize what was covered in any great detail. But, here are the top three interesting and easily digestible facts that I learned today that I wanted to share with you though:
- In the event of a medical emergency where you need to rush your dog to the vet or emergency – call ahead to let them know you are coming and describe the nature of the emergency. Unlike people hospitals, they may or may not be ready for “anything”, so giving them advance warning allows them to be ready to treat your dog. Every minute counts.
- Hurt dogs can bite (we know this!). Condition your dog to being muzzled so that later in life, if the emergency calls for it, you can safely muzzle your dog and prevent him from biting you or someone else.
- Shaving down long-haired dogs in the summer to cool them off actually can increase the likelihood of them overheating. Their hair, when brushed out, acts as insulation and allows cool air to travel to and around their skin.
Bonus point!
- Pet First Aid is not just for dog industry professionals. Sure, there are plenty of dog groomers and dog walkers at the class today, but there were also two couples – one of which was about to get their first puppy. I think every dog owner could benefit from taking a Pet First Aid course.
Pet First Aid is taught almost monthly at All About Dogs so contact them about getting on the list for the next session if you’re interested! And if you’d like me to dress your dog’s head like the stuffed animal I did for photos, just for fun, let me know.
Andre