by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

‘Doggie, Doggie are you okay?’ This mantra or ‘1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and’… may sound familiar too if you have ever taken a Pet CPR class – you know the importance of ‘Doggie, doggie are you ok,’ or the way to count when doing chest compressions on a dog that doesn’t have a heart beat.  It might sound like a scary scenario but knowing is so much better than not knowing what to do in an emergency situation with your pet or a clients pet.

Finally after two years of scheduling conflict, I was able to take Robyn Elman’s Pet CPR & First Aid class this past Saturday, November 17th at the Bidawee learning center in Wantagh.  The class was packed with pet owners, and pet professionals alike (LIPP members there too!).  While I have a lot of experience with dogs, and plenty of experience with pet first aid thanks to my Doberman Shanna who seemingly always would get a superficial cut or scrap from running around at mach 10-speed or flying through the woods chasing a bunny.  But I definitely did not know much about Pet CPR, the proper way to give dog’s chest compressions who have barrel chests vs. tapered chest dogs or anything about the breathing techniques.  I also learned a lot of additional pet first aid information.  So no matter how experienced you are as a pet owner or pet professional, you will learn a lot from this class, including saving your pets life if you had to.  I can’t implore you enough to enroll in the next class that comes your way, it is worth every penny.

According to statistics American Animal Hospital Association, 1 in 4 pets would be saved if applying only 1 pet first aid technique in a pet emergency prior to getting the pet to a veterinarian.  That is a pretty serious statistic.  When you think about what your pets get into, what they may ingest that is not supposed to be ingested, how they can get injured just in every day life – a cut or scrap on the paw from a long walk or run, to walking on salt covered icy roads.  Wouldn’t you rather be prepared to help your pet, and be more knowledgeable about his injury when you get to the veterinarians office?

Learning how to properly muzzle your dog with a leash or piece of torn clothing is something else that was new to me.  I have sent the technique done, but never had to do it myself, and now I know what to do in case of an emergency and a pet has to be muzzled.  As Robyn said in the class, “Any dog that is already in pain or has to be moved into pain can and will bite.” Moving a dog that is injured, let’s say into your car to get to the vet, is moving a dog into pain – it is the dog’s natural instinct to protect himself so a bite can happen even if it is your own dog.  So learning how to properly muzzle a dog is vital knowledge for any dog owner.  Think about it, what if you are out on a hike with just your dog and he hurts his paw or gets injured on walk – and you are trying to help but because he is in pain, he is growling and showing his teeth.  What then do you do?  If you know how to muzzle him, you can safely muzzle him and help him by getting him to a vet without the fear or pain of getting bit by your own dog.

Robyn is the President and Founder of In Home Pet Services, Inc. (IHPS) and pet tech who has been teaching the class for years now in our area.  Not only was the class super informative, but Robyn was an excellent teacher and quite funny in many instances – so while you were learning, you might have cracked up a bit too!  At the end of the class you will get a certificate that is good for 2 years that you took and completed the class, you do have to renew every two years – as all of Robyn’s employees and franchise employees do.

To learn more about the pet first aid and cpr classes near you go to www.Pettech.net or for more information on In Home Pet Services go to www.inhomepetservices.com.

One Response to “Doggie, Doggie are you okay?”

1. 
   admin Says:
   November 20th, 2012 at 3:30 pm

   What a good boy Max is, this muzzle was easy to do, and he only wore it for about 15 seconds enough for me to the take the picture!