IF your dog is in a state of collapse, not breathing, and perhaps has a blue tongue, apply the following resuscitation method:
- Check the mouth for any food or foreign body obstructing the airway.
- If the dog is small, take it by the hindlegs, hold it upside down and shake it vigorously to dislodge the obstruction. Lay a large dog on its side and check the mouth; use your fingers or a pair of long nosed pliers to clear any obstruction.
- Turn the dog on its right side, tilt its head backwards, and keep its mouth closed.
- Place a piece of cloth (handkerchief) over the dog’s nose. This allows the air to pass through, but is more cosmetically acceptable for some people.
- With your mouth to the nose of the dog, breathe quickly into the nose five times.
- If breathing restarts, keep the dog under observation.
- If breathing does not resume, check the dog’s heartbeat by placing your thumb on one side and fingers on the other side of the chest just below its elbow.
- If a heartbeat is present, keep applying mouth to nose resuscitation at the rate of one breath every three seconds (20 breaths to the minute) until breathing is restored.
- If a heartbeat is absent, apply cardiac compressions. If the dog is small, place a thumb and fingers as previously described. If the dog is large, place the heel of your hand over the dog’s heart just behind its elbow. The force of the compression should be sufficient to massage the heart but will vary in relation to size of the dog.
- If one person is present, give 20 cardiac compressions followed by two breaths into the nose. Repeat at rate of four sequences per minute.
- If two people are present, one should give six cardiac compressions followed by the other giving one mouth to nose breath. This synchronised sequence is repeated at the rate of 12 sequences per minute.
- Check the heartbeat after one minute, then after every two minutes. If the heartbeat returns but breathing is absent, continue with mouth to nose resuscitation until breathing is restored.
If breathing and the heartbeat do not resume after 10 minutes and the gums and tongue are blue, the pupils of the eyes are dilated, and there is no blinking of the eyes when the cornea (surface of the eye) is touched with the finger, the dog is dead.
Importantly, if you are unable to do any of the above, take your dog to a vet immediately.
