Emergencies typically arise when you don’t expect them so in this post, I will be discussing what to have in an emergency first aid kit at home and how to assess your dog’s vital signs.
First aid kit
Your first aid kit should contain the following items:
- Your emergency and primary veterinarian’s phone numbers
- Artificial tears (for eye injuries)
- Bandage scissors
- Disinfectant soap (to clean superficial wounds)
- Muzzle (so you do not get BIT)
- Pen and paper (to write down your dog’s vital signs for your veterinarian)
- Styptic stick/powder (to stop minor bleeds such as a bleeding nail quick)
- Thermometer
- Triple antibiotic ointment (superficial wounds)
- Tweezers/tick puller (remove ticks)
- Vital signs chart/notepad
Vital Signs
You should be familiar with your dog’s normal pulse rate, respiratory rate, mucus membranes and capillary refill time.
The vitals for a normal, healthy dog are as follows:
- Pulse: 60 to 90 per minute
- Pulse quality: strong and steady
- Temperature: 101.5F
- Respiration: 10 to 36 per minute
- Oral mucus membrane: bright pink and moist
- Capillary refill time: 2 seconds
- Without getting bit, press your finger against your dog’s gums for a couple seconds. The gum tissue will turn white under your finger, and when you remove your finger, the gum tissue should return to its normal color. The time it takes for the gum tissue to return to its normal color is the capillary refill time.
- Eye appearance: bright, clear and moist
If your dog is behaving abnormally and one or more of their vitals are abnormal, it is time to call your veterinarian and schedule an exam.