SMALL PRINT:SHOULD YOU BE panicking if you don't know how to give your terrier mouth-to-snout resuscitation? The recent story of Nutty, the Jack Russell pup who fell into a pond and was saved when his owner, dog breeder John Greene, gave him the kiss of life, is a reminder that animals sometimes need first aid too. But what exactly does that involve?
Dog Training Ireland runs a certified course in canine first aid. During the one-day intensive course, students learn how to administer artificial respiration and CPR on a dog dummy with inflatable lungs known as Casper (for those wondering how you give a dog the kiss of life, you should breathe into the animal’s nose, not the mouth – and the mouth should be muzzled in case the dog is startled when it wakes up), as well as splinting and bandaging limbs, controlling serious bleeding and recognising the signs of shock. Basically, it’s about keeping an animal alive until it can be seen by a vet.
Tara Choules, co-founder and director of Dog Training Ireland, says that initially most participants were people who worked with canines. “It was groomers, dog walkers and kennel owners who could be seeing 20 or 30 dogs a day and were more likely to come across an accident.” But things have changed. “The courses are getting more popular,” says Choules.
“Our last course was all pet owners who just had one or two dogs but who wanted to be 100 per cent sure that if something happened they could deal with it.”
So is this something every animal owner should do? Vet and writer Pete Wedderburn says that when it comes to giving animals mouth to mouth, “it’s rare to have a situation where that procedure is genuinely life saving”. In fact, cases of dogs drowning are pretty rare. But there’s no harm in learning some first aid tips.
But you can’t do everything yourself. Even animals’ minor wounds can easily get infected, so no matter what first aid skills you acquire, it’s always best to get your pet to a professional too. “It’s best to be cautious,” says Wedderburn.
The next Canine First Responder Course takes place at Dog Training Ireland on March 13. dogtrainingireland.ie
