You know what you should do if your dog chokes and starts choking? My ability to react was tested a few weeks ago when my Chihuahua, Diego, was so excited about a piece of food that he tried to swallow it all at once. My heart stopped when I saw him leaning forward with his mouth open, trying to cough to expel the food. But I couldn’t cough. I couldn’t do anything. He started passing his paws by his mouth, in despair, and I felt that fear was taking care of him and I was panicking. Fortunately, I knew what to do and managed to get the food out of his mouth while he was still conscious.
Dogs can suffocate with large pieces of food, bones, balls, toys and a lot of other things we normally have at home. Since an emergency situation can occur at any time, it is important to know what to do (but I hope that this will never be necessary).
Warning signs indicating that your dog is choking
If there is a foreign object blocking your dog’s airway, the indicator signs are as follows (very similar to those of a human being):
- Open wide the mouth and tilt the body forward, in an attempt to get out the object that causes obstruction
- Impossibility to breathe
- Paws frantically passing by the mouth
- Panic
What to do if your dog is choking
- Keep the dog as calm as possible, also trying to make your own behavior as calm as possible. If you start getting nervous your dog will feel what will only make the situation worse.
- Using both hands, open the mouth of the dog and try to find the strange object(s). If you can clearly see something stuck in the dog’s throat, carefully try to pull your tongue forward and remove the object with your finger, making a semi-rotative cleaning movement towards the outside of the mouth. Be particularly careful not to push the object further into the dog’s throat.
- If the object does not exit, initiate a canine Heimlich maneuver.
- If your dog is small enough to catch you, do so by putting his back against your chest. Closing one hand in hand, place both hands around your dog’s abdominal area, immediately below the rib cage, and force hard enough to expel the object (do it 5 times). See the following video for a quick demonstration of what to do and where to put your hands.
- If your dog is too big to catch you, then stand behind it and follow the same steps mentioned above.
- Open your dog’s mouth again and look for the tin object. If you see the foreign object, put your fingers in the dog’s mouth and try to remove it. Attention, not to push the object further into the inside of your dog’s throat.
- If the object continues without leaving, place the dog on the ground and grab it by the hind legs, suspending it in the air with its head down. Shake him not violently, up and down. If the dog is too big to suspend it like this, just lift your hind legs like a wheelbarrow.
- Put the dog back down and check his mouth again trying to find the foreign object that made him suffocate.
- If the object has not left contact yours immediately veterinary doctor.
- If your dog is unconscious in the meantime and has been able to remove the object (with your fingers or using tweezers), you may need to perform maneuvers of cardiorespiratory resuscitation Right away. You can see what to do here..
Visit your veterinarian
Even if you were able to remove the object, it’s always a good idea to look for your veterinarian after the incident. Yours veterinary doctor you will check that there are no injuries to your dog’s throat and that any other type of medical care is needed to make him well.
With our thanks to Proud Dog Mom blog