Summer heat!!!! Our animals can suffer greatly in the hot sun if not givin plenty of water and shade!!! A great way to be sure that they have plenty of water and can cool off is to get a large (or small) depending on size of your dog(s) childrens wading pool! They love it and can always cool off!!!! My Great Dane thinks she owns it, but will share as long as they don't mind getting splashed!!!!
Shari(bug4747)
Flea Remedy:
variations: natural flea preventation : mix in the garlic powder, brewer yeast & feenel seed. veggie delight: mix in cooked peas or other vegetables. chicken icy paws: use canned chicken instead of tuna potassiam boost: add in a mashed banana
sent in by: bobbijo
BREATHE LIFE BACK BACK INTO YOUR DOG
follow these steps to perform cpr on the dog:
> check the scene for safety.if it is an unfamillar or aggressive dog or if you feel you can't perform CPR, immediately contact your vet or an emergency vet clinic for assistance. keep the dog comfortable and calm if possible
> check for signs of breathing. if the dog is unconscious get down to floor level and see if it's chest is moving. try to feel or hear if air is coming from the dog mouth or nose . check for pulse by felling the the femoral artery along the neck.
> clear the airway. if the dog is unconscious , open it's mouth, pull out the tongue, and check for any signs of obstructions or blockage. extend the dog's head and neck
> wrap the dog's muzzle. for protection gainst bites, wrap the dog's muzzle w/ a flat strip of cloth or pantyhose. loop it over and under the muzzle, and tie it behind the ears to prevent the dog from pawing it off
> deliver oxygen by the mouth to snout method. if nothing is blocking the airway, tilt the dog's head slightly back.w/ the dog's nose forming an airtight seal. breathe enough air to cause it's chest to risa and fall. aim for arate of 12 to 20 breaths per minute. aviod hard inhalations, which can force air into the dog's stomach and cause its lungs to over inflate and collapse.
> check for a heartbeat.place your hand behind the dog's front left elbow on its lower chest.
> if there is no pulse, begin chest compressions. position the dog on its side w/ its spineagainst your body. place one hand on the top of the other abouta third of the way above the sternum on the chest, and interiance your fingers. apply five steady downward motions at the rate of one per second. follow w/breath by mouth to snout method. after every two minutes alternate chest compressions and breaths, stop and cheack for pulse.
> be prepared. to locate a local american red cross chapter offering pet first-aid course . for the first aid for dogs &cat book ($10) or video ($19.99) call 800-627-7000 or visit (www.arcia.org)
HOW TO PERFROM THE HEIMLICK MANEUVER ON YOUR DOG
it can happen so fast. your dog finds one of your child's toys, starts to chew it and breaks off small peice of the toy w/ his teeth. he tries to eat the object and it immediately becomes lodged in his throat. your dog begins to choke, tries to breath and becomes more and more panicked. choking can be a frightening- and potentially fatel situation for your oet. unless you take immediate action at home, your dog could even die within a very short period.
sometimes it may not even be apparent that your dog is chocking, especially if you weren't around to see your dog swallow the object. it's important to recognize the warning signs:pawing at the mouth, gagging, rubbing the face on the ground, bulging eyes, a pale or blue tongue, chocking sounds, and general frantic behavior.
many animals become unconscious in these situations. and if your dog is conscious, you will have to be especially careful in how you handle him--for your own safty."as dogs lose their airway, they'll usually get panicky and may bite you as a result,"if the dog is sopanicky that you can't do anything w/ him "youmay have to wait untill he becomes unconscious before u can help him"you don't want to get hurt yourself,
THE FINGER SWEEP:
what should be your first step? open the dog's mouth, look into his throatand try to remove the foreign object with u're fingers."irregular-shaped object,like a bone or a child toy that the dog had chewed up , can get stuck in the back of the throat"if the object get stuck before it actually startsgoing down into the windpipe, then usually that's good sign that u can get right in there and sweep it out w/ u're fingers.
to sweep out the object , hold the dog's upper jaw w/ one hand.w/ the other hand,push down on the lower jaw while keeping your index finger free.if u can see or feel the object, sweepit out with u're index finger.
when doing a finger sweep, don't mistakenly try to remove the larynx.most people don't know what feelslike in the back of their dogs thoat. when they find this hard bony thing back there, they attempt to get it out becuase they think that's whats choking their dog.unfortunately, that the larynx, and many people ahave done damage trying to clear that. if u can't reach the object w/ u'r fingers and your dog is small,you can try holding him upside down and use gravity to help the object out."pick up the dog by grasping his back legs and swing him back and forth several times," this will dog's mouth (note : do not try this w/ large dogs; doing so could cause a dislocation of a hip or ligarment damage).
THE HEIMLICK MANEUVER:
if u are un successful using these two methods, try performing a heimlick-like maneuver on your dog. there are several different ways to do this.all are based on the principle that thrusts on the diaphragm will force air out of the lungs and blow the object out of the airways tract.
in situations where the dog is conscious and able to stand up , grasp the dog w/u'r hands on each side of his chest, right where the last rib bones stop & the abdomen begins." put u'r arms around the animal and give him a quick pull and a thrust togather w/ both arms, this will facilitate the flow of air as u do u'r thrusts."
for a small dog, place one hand on his back to steady him and put the other hand the center of the rib cage. for a large dog, place the heel of both hands just below the rib cage. press in & up several times in a thrusting motion. if the object is still stuck repeat.
a 3rd version involves giving the standing conscious dog a sgarp, open- handed "clap" w/ u'r hands on each side of his chest. if the dog is unconscious and lying on his side , give him either a one or two handed "whap" on the up side. " the more ribs u can cover w/ u'r hand, the beteer off u're going to be; that will increase the pressure inside the chest and hopefully dislodge the object.
once the object has been dis lodged, take the dog to the vet immediately for exam. "do not assum the dog is no longer at risk after the object is removed. sometimes dogs get reexpansion pulmonary edema, where their lungs fill up w/ fluid and this can be quite serious. other times their thoat will swell up when something has been stuck in it, and this might block the airway. in addition, internal damage may have occurred by the use of the heimlick maneuver.
Skunk Smell???
Boy, do I remember those skunk days with my Akitas. My female would kill anything that could run! And she got sprayed up close many times...so bad it oozed it's way into my house and made me nauseous!! Here is the skunk recipe we swore by...
1 qt. hydogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tsp. Dawn Liquid Detergent
Mix it all together. Wet the dog (or yourself lol) and add the mixture. You want to lather it in on the dog and let it set for a few min. if the smell is pretty bad. then rinse. Avoid the eyes and mouth as I'm sure you realize.
This does a good job at neutralizing the smell.
Lynn
