What to do in an emergency - choking
i just found out yesterday that a dog that i saw regularly at our local park, sadly passed away because he choked on his ball.
it was a freak accident. the dog was a standard large poodle and was one of the clever and smartest dogs ive ever met. he use to play with his ball and fetch everyday.
somehow, the ball got lodged in his throat (i dont know the exact details), and the owner and other people were frantically trying to help dislodge or grab the ball. the ball was on of those really bouncing, rubber balls, so i think would have been very slippery and difficult to grab.
the dog ended up choking to death and dieing. extremely sad =(
since i heard about it, i was thinking to myself... what would i do if my dogs were in that situation. and to be honest i had no idea.
does anybody have any good links to what to do? i saw a video on putting a roll of tape in their mouth to keep it open and using some thing to try and dislodge. but what do u do if its something like a ball =((
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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My thought would be that trying to dislodge it could send the item they are choking on down the throat even further. I am think I would try the heimlich manuever(sp) at least that way you would send it back up. Not sure where you exactly you would grab on a Corgi but to me it would make sense. I have to have CPR and 1st aid for work. It's better to try something.
What a horrible accident:(
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Chocky, if the dog is still breathing, let him try to do it on his own first. If he is pawing at his face and in distress, try the following:
1. Life the dog upside down, let gravity do its thing, if it's a BIG dog, life up his hind legs like a wheel barrel.
2. Locate his shoulder blades, strike the space in between.
3. you can also perform heimlich, just below his ribcage, lift up and forward.
If those 3 methods still doesn't work, go the the vet ER asap.
You can learn all 3 techniques at your local Red Cross pet first aid / cpr class / dvd.
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Permalink Reply by chocky on
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yeah will have to find out where they do those first aid courses in australia.
it was a round squishy rubber ball. i think it probably blocked the airway completely =(
thanks for the replies though!
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Oprah Winfrey's favorite Golden Retriever died after choking on a small ball while the professional dog handler was there so that is a lesson to be very, very careful what size toy your dogs have. Prevention is the best way to go!
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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This is not an uncommon occurrence. The best scenario , when playing with the dog, is to prevent it by always throwing the ball AWAY from a dog, so that the dog is chasing it, NOT TOWARDS the dog, so that the dog catches it in mid-air. When a dog jumps up to catch a ball which has been thrown with some force, that ball can lodge in his throat. Also avoid having in the house any very small balls as these can lodge in a dog's throat even when he is just playing with them on his own. This is important to remember if you have children as they often have small bouncy rubber balls among their own toys.
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Yeah I have a feeling it might have happened this way. This poodle was extremely intelligent and great at fetching and catching the ball. The owner usually used a tennis racquet as well, sometimes and away and sometimes
Towards the dog. Sometimes I guess these freak accidents happen and you don't really think about what could happen. :(
I think that is why it's so important to always supervise when giving them bones or rawhide :(
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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I've always heard that the position is the same for canine CPR. Lay the dog on it's right side, and press down on the lower part of the rib cage, hard. This is similar to the Heimlich Maneuver in humans. These balls are the worst to give to dogs for this exact reason...so sad. :-(
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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So sad! The smallest ball we use with the dogs is tennis-ball sized, for that reason. I won't buy small balls for the cat, unless they are the sort that are a basket-weave design with lots of gaps for air. I feel awful for the owners; how traumatic.
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Permalink Reply by Elisabeth Spector on
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Soon after we adopted him, we were up in our bedroom with Fred, who was lying down on the bed, happily chewing on a piece of rawhide that was getting old and floppy. All of a sudden, he stood up and started staggering around on the bed, looking a little wide-eyed. After this continued for 15 seconds or so, we noticed the piece of rawhide was completely gone and realized he was probably choking. The big tip for me was that he wasn't making any noise at all, no coughing or gagging or any of the large repertoire of corgi sounds he makes all the time. I knew how to do the human Heimlich maneuver (at least in theory!), but had no real idea what to do with a dog. I just grabbed Fred around the waist from behind and pressed up and foward with my balled fist right below the ribcage. After a few tries, the piece of rawhide came flying out of his mouth and landed halfway across the room. I'm so glad that we were there watching him, and we've stopped giving either of our dogs the rawhide bones/chews. I looked up doggie heimlich techniques on the internet, and it turns out that my technique was pretty close to the one described here: http://www.petplace.com/dogs/heimlich-for-your-dog/page1.aspx.
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Permalink Reply by Rachael & Waffle on
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The scariest part about a pet choking is there are no real warning signs unless you are paying close attention... thank goodness you were!
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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In all emergency situations, Step 1. is: Recognize that you must act!
I've been in perhaps 4 life-or-death emergencies. In three of them, I was very slow to react.This is more difficult than you'd think.
My neighbor claims to have saved a dog with a Heimlich -- choking on a tennis ball.
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