Blog Barks

By Contributing Writer, VetDepot

As many pet owners know, pets don’t always get sick or injured during the hours your regular vet’s office is open. Accidents, adverse reactions to pet medications and other unforeseen medical issues can happen at any time. Sometimes, owners are faced with deciding whether a pet’s symptoms warrant a trip to a 24-hour emergency clinic or if treatment can wait until morning. Below is a list of symptoms that require immediate veterinary attention:

Your pet is experiencing difficulty breathing
Your pet appears to be in severe pain.
Your pet is vomiting profusely- especially if water can’t be kept down, there is blood present in the vomit or the animal is severely depressed.
There is evidence of gastric dilation and volvulus- more commonly known as “bloat”. If you own a large breed dog that has had repeated failed attempts at vomiting accompanied by an enlarged abdomen, immediately get your pet to a veterinarian. Bloat is a life-threatening condition.
Your pet is experiencing profuse, watery diarrhea. This is especially alarming in puppies.
There is a large amount of blood in your pet’s stool.
Your pet is experiencing extreme weakness, unsteadiness when standing or walking or is collapsing.
Your pet experienced a seizure for the first time. If your pet has had seizures in the past, follow your vet’s directions. Even if seizures are a reoccurring thing for your pet, always contact a veterinarian if an episode seems especially severe.
You observe that your pet is acting severely depressed or there is a lack of response when talked to or touched.
Your pet is bleeding enough that there is a trail of drops when moving or the blood pools when the animal is resting.

If you are ever unsure about your pet’s condition, it’s always better to err on the safe side and contact a veterinarian.

VetDepot is a great online store where you can purchase quality medication and preventative products at the lowest prices for your pets. Their industry professionals will be contributing a post every month for our readers with helpful and informative articles about pet health to help your pet live a long, comfortable life.

The following video which was posted on YouTube this week has spread virally across the internet. It's quite graphic showing dog trainer Ron Pace performing CPR on Sugar, a boxer, who during a training class, suffered a seizure causing him to collapse and stop breathing. Thanks to quick intervention using CPR Sugar is alive and well.

I watched the video out of curiosity. I commiserated with Sugar's owner as I thought what if Kirby ever stopped breathing? I'm the kind of person who wants to know everything, the one who likes to be prepared for anything. Yet I realized I would be the one crying and begging for someone to save my baby. I would be the completely useless person because I wouldn't know what to do.

When Kirby was bitten, I panicked at first and then sprung into action. I knew I had to remain calm so he would stay calm. He was very quiet and motionless throughout the agonizingly long drive to his veterinarian who quickly took over. I broke down once he was in surgery. Kirby survived and today, unless you saw the scar, you would never know it had ever happened. But what if he had stopped breathing? Odds are we would have lost him.

This story opened my eyes so I'm taking steps of preparedness for any future crisis that could possibly occur. First I searched for a video showing how to perform CPR on a dog. I watched the video several times and then pretended to perform CPR on Kirby to get a feel for it.

This video is just one of several Safe Dog Safety Tips which can be viewed on Canine Safety Expert Melanie Monteiro's YouTube Channel.

Kirby's trainer is a vet student so I'm going to check with her about any classes in the area. In the event Kirby, or another dog, stops breathing I want to be able to calmly and effectively apply CPR so I'm going to practice the techniques at least once every month.

What about you? Are you prepared in the event your beloved pet stops breathing? Will you be the one able to swing into action to save him or her or will you be the one screaming for help as precious seconds tick away?

On a happier note, we are joining the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop. You can add your blog using the Linky at the bottom of this post. No blog? That's ok too. You can still hop around and visit some really great blogs with lots of interesting articles and really cute dogs. Happy Hopping!

Click here to enter your link

and view the entire list of entered links…