The Doggie First Aid Kit

What would you do if you caught your dog eating poison, or if he stepped on a piece of glass while on a walk or got hurt in a fight with another animal? Are you prepared? Dogs and people have different needs and are likely to have different types of injuries. Keeping a first aid kit on hand just for your dog could mean the difference of life or death for your dog, or simply a major difference in stress level for you, should your dog get into something he shouldn't. Here are some ideas for things to keep in your doggie first aid kit and, more importantly, how to use them.

Gauze pads (4x4 inches)
Gauze pads can be used to clean or cover a wound, to apply pressure to stop bleeding. Keep many of these.

Styptic powder, or a styptic pencil
These are used to stop bleeding. If you cut your dog's nails yourself, you've probably discovered how wonderful these things are. Quick Stop is a popular brand name.

Scissors or clippers
It is much easier to assess and clean a wound if you are able to clear away the hair first. This is the first thing your vet will do when you bring your dog in, but if there is a necessary delay, you may want to do this yourself.

Witch Hazel Extract
Witch hazel is good for cleaning inflamed areas. It helps to reduce swelling and itching and since it is generally in an alcohol carrier, it also kills germs.

Eye Wash
You can get bottles of saline solution eye wash at your pharmacy. If your dog has something in his eye, it is important to wash out his eyes immediately. Skunks often aim for the eyes by default.

Self adhering ace bandage
Use this to cover wounds on your way to the vet.

Benedryl Tablets, 25 mg
Use these when your dog has an allergic reaction. Look for itchy skin, watery eyes, sneezing. Also useful for bee stings. You can give your dog 1 mg per pound per 8 hours.

Buffered Aspirin
Aspirin can be given for pain and fever and as an anti-inflammatory. If your pain has chronic pain and inflammation, you should as your vet about Rimadyl instead as it is better for dogs. Give aspirin with food to prevent stomach upset. Give 5 mg per pound per 12 hours. Never give a dog Tylenol.

Syrup of Ipecac
Give 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds bodyweight to induce vomiting. Do not induce vomiting if your dog is comatose, or has swallowed sharp objects, acids or corrosives. Contact your emergency vet or poison control immediately.

Charcoal Tablets
Charcoal tablets are used to absorb poisons after vomiting has been induced. You can get charcoal tablets specially made for dogs. Follow the instructions on the package.

CatLax
This is a laxitive made for cats that works just as well for dogs. In cats it is used to help them pass hairballs. It can also help dogs pass things such as yummy garbage.

Rectal Thermometer
The normal temperature for a dog is between 100.5 abd 102 degrees. Have a helper give your dog's head a big hug while you insert a well-lubed thermometer about an inch into the rectum for about 2 minutes

Baking Soda
Moisten baking soda and apply the paste to bee stings and splinters to help draw them out.

Tweezers
Dogs stick their noses in lots of things. Tweezers will help you remove these things from their noses, and paw pads.

Needle Nosed Pliers
If you live in an area where your dog may run into a porcupine, you'll find pliers will be more helpful than tweezers. If you can get ahold of hemostats, these are even more useful.

Pedialyte and Chicken Broth
Pedialyte is a hydrating solution for infants, sort of like Gatorade with less sugar. If your dog is having trouble holding food down, has diahhrea, has been exposed to extreme temporatures or is showing signs of dehydration, give him Pedialyte mixed with low sodium chicken broth (beef if he's allergic to chicken) and call your vet.

Slip Leash
This leash slips on and off the dog's head without needing to be attached by a collar. It comes in handy when your dog is out of control because you can use it to "lasso" him.

A Muzzle
Your dog may love you, but if you're hurting him in your effort to help him, you may wish to have a muzzle on him. Let's not make things worse by sending you to the hospital too!

Paperwork and Phone Numbers
Keep your dog's medical records, liscencing information and rabies certificate in a place where you are sure you can find them quickly. Keep the number of the emergency vet and the poison control center handy too. We keep them on our fridge.

On Dogs and Chocolate

You've heard the warnings- "don't give your dog chocolate, it's poison." But you've also got that friend who says "Oh my dog eats chocolate all the time." So what's the deal?

The truth is, chocolate poisoning occurs differently in different dogs and varies according to the size of the dog, his temperament and the kind of chocolate consumed. The toxic substance in chocolate is theobromine, a caffeine-like substance that can be toxic to humans in large quantities as well. Chocolate also contains caffeine, which is also toxic to dogs.

Both of these substances are addicting and intoxicating to dogs. Chocolate is doggie crack. It tastes good, it smells divine, it gets them stoned and they will always want more. It increases neurological activity, raises their heart rate and makes them hyper and hyper sensitive. This "high" just like people highs, is a mild poisoning. A dog under the influence of chocolate is more difficult to control and more likely to bite if presented with an uncomfortable situation. Just like people on drugs. Of course dogs (like some people) have no sense of when enough is enough. If some is good, more must be better and overdoses are not uncommon. How much is too much chocolate? 125-250 mgs/kg of theobromine per pound of bodyweight will kill a dog. 50 mgs per pound will cause a toxic reaction. Less may, depending on the dog.

Different types of chocolate have different theobromine levels. While your average sized dog can probably eat a full sized milk chocolate candy bar, a cocoa bean or two will make him very sick. Milk chocolate contains about 50 mgs of theobromine per ounce while unsweetened baking chocolate contains 500 mgs per ounce. Cocoa powder, about 800 mgs per ounce and cocoa beans, about a thousand. So, while a "fun sized" Snickers bar isn't likely to kill your dog, no matter how small it is, (at less than 20mgs it still might make a teacup Yorkie sick) a full sized Hershey's Special Dark at almost 1500 mgs will kill a Yorkie, chihuahua or Pomeranian outright and could even make a 50-pounder pretty ill or at the very least, stoned. But don't take this as a guideline. Remember, 125-250 per pound is the lethal dose in a healthy dog and 50 mgs per pound will make him quite ill. A dog that's already high strung or has heart problems could die from a much lower dose.

After your dog eats chocolate, the first thing you'll notice is that he is hyper and difficult to control. He might roll around on the ground more than usual and disregard your commands more than usual. He might lay down and get back up again, walk around in urgent circles and bark at nothing more often than usual. He is also more likely to get irritable and growl and bite. Or worse, bite without growling. This "high" can last for 48 hours.

If he is overdosing, he may or may not be more thirsty than normal. His urination will increase and he may have diarrhea and vomiting. Basically, he will act like he is feeling like you felt after you drank two pots of coffee in an effort to finish your final paper in college and a third pot to get through class the next day and smoked two packs of cigarettes in the process. (Some of you get sick thinking about it, some of you can handle it just fine. Remember that dogs differ this way too.) This can progress to cardiac arrhythmias and seizures.

If you catch your dog eating chocolate, you should induce vomiting (with syrup of Ipecac) and give him lots of water (Sweeten it with some chicken broth to encourage him to drink it.) , some charcoal tablets and call your vet. Depending on the amount, your vet may tell you to just watch him or ask you to bring him in.

If your dog shows signs of chocolate poisoning, but you didn't catch him eating chocolate and thus have no way of knowing how much he ate, take him to the vet right away. Once toxic symptoms show up (diarrhea, vomiting, arrhythmia, etc.) it's out of your hands and in the vet's.

A final warning. There are more sources of theobromine than candy. Cocoa mulch is popular in some locations because it has a great texture and smells fabulous. Keeping your dog securely in your own yard and, if you use cocoa mulch, away from your gardens will prevent him from ever coming in contact with the stuff, but it's good to be aware it's out there.

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