Heimlich for dogs?

[Tiga's_mom]

So I was getting ready to go to work today and I gave Tiga his treat ball. My ride got here and came to the door. Tiga acts really bizarre around this guy, and any guy that has big curly hair. He'll bark like crazy (which he never really does) and want to play. But he's almost scared of him but not really. It's kind of hard to explain, but anyway just as my friend came to the door, Tiga had just gotten a treat out of the ball and barked as he was swallowing and got the piece of kibble stuck in his throat. He was hacking on it like crazy! It scared me so much. I didn't know what to do. I was massaging his throat, he kept trying to hack it up but couldn't. It started to slow down a bit and I tried to give him a bit of water which he took. Then I put my finger in his throat to see if I could dislodge it or make him gag it up. Something worked I guess cause it did stop. It lasted for about 10-15 mins or so. I didn't want to leave him like that so I stayed until it was pretty much over. I really didn't want to leave at all, but I had to and my other half was getting home pretty soon after I left. But boy was that scary!

 

So is there some sort of heimlich that you can perform on dogs? And if so, how do you do it? Just wondering in case something like this happens again. I felt so helpless.

[Joe Anne]

Tammy, yes you can do a heimlich on dogs. Depending on their size... you can stand behind them and put your arms under their belly close to the hind quarters and lift up forcefully until the object is dislodged. There is a web site you can go to for CPR and Choking and first aid for dogs. I will find the web address and post it, asap.

I am sure AK Dog Doc can add more to what you can do in an emergency.

I have taught people CPR and First Aid since the late 70's, and only fairly recently have learned how to help dogs with the "hemilich". I did do CPR on one of my dogs some years ago and it worked... but he was a very sick doggy and needed major surgery for what caused his demise in the first place, which was very risky and the doc only gave him about a 25% chance of surviving, so sadly we opted to let him go and he died on his own with in about 1 hr or less.

CPR does work and I encourage everyone to learn it for themselves and for their dogs/pets.

Thank God, you were there and your Tiga is ok!!!

[Joe Anne]

ok... here is the web page. It has emergency info for dogs, cats, birds.

 

http://getbirdbrains.tripod.com/

 

They have both written and pictures on how to perform CPR/Choking and other very helpful first aid and health info.

[Zoe]

Tammy, thanks for posting this, and Joe Anne - thanks for the link. I have saved it.

[Tiga's_mom]

Thank you so much Joe Anne! Definitely a link I will save too. I'm really glad I was here too, but man did it ever freak me out. I don't know if I did right by putting my finger down his throat, but I just didn't know what else to do. I'm going to take a good read through that site so 'if' anything happens again I'll know what to do.

 

Thanks again Joe Anne!

[Tammy525]

Is the same true of dogs as people? If there is coughing, you should leave them alone. It is after there is no effort to expel that you need to do Heimlich? Unless you can see the obstruction and sweep it out without pushing it down further.

 

Small kibble is not likely to cause problem because it is smaller than the trachea and would dissolve in time? Is that accurate?

 

Thanks for the site, will check this out, print, and post on fridge with the people CPR!!

 

Sorry about your loss Jo Anne.

[AK dog doc]

The Heimlich (whch was correctly described here) is generally for use only when the airway is obstructed. If they're coughing, they're moving air in and out, so they're not obstructed. I would guess Tiga maybe got a piece of food up over the back of his soft palate - and having done that myself, I have to say it does cause a lot of coughing! - or possibly he got one stuck in or near the tonsillar crypt. This goes to show you you should not talk and eat at the same time. Get Tiga to read Miss Manners so he won't do it again! At any rate, **if you can do so without getting bitten and without wedging the object further down the airway**, it's okay to sort of sweep the mouth with a finger to see if you can dislodge a foreign object.

 

All's well that ends well, so I'm glad this just turned out to be a bit of a scare and nothing worse.

[Tiga's_mom]

Miss Manners it is for him! LOL! Thanks guys. Now I know when I need to help him and when to let him try it on his own. I never have to worry about putting my fingers in his mouth, he would never bite me. I didn't feel anything when I did that, but I think I might have helped to get it free.

 

It was a big scare, but also a learning experience. I know a lot more now about how to deal with different situations. Thanks again everyone!!

[Catu]

I had to do Heimlich once in a pekinnesse pup, as it was little enough I put it on my knee and hit the back of the dog with the wheel of my hand. In the second trying, the piece of meat jumped over 3 feets of us. I didn't know anything about dogs then, but worked, that could be helpful in the case of smaller dogs.

 

I had to do heimlich once in a friend too. She wasn?t blue when I found her, she was black! We were stranded at more than 100 km. of any hospital or health center, so it was pretty scary, but luckily everything went fine too.

[Joe Anne]

Wow! 2 good examples of YEP! it works!!!, they were both lucky to have you around!