Most people consider their dog to be a member of the family, and just like your parents, siblings or children, you want to make sure they are as healthy and happy as possible. Unfortunately, even if your dog is perfectly healthy, they can be susceptible to some of the same accidents as people, including choking on food and other objects. The good news is that just like with people, you can actually save your dog’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
Hopefully you will never have to give your dog – or any dog for that matter – the Heimlich, but if you do it’s important to do it properly. Before even attempting the maneuver, you should quickly check the dog’s mouth to see if the object is easily removable by hand. If it is not far enough down their throat, you may be able to grab it, alleviating the need to perform a more drastic procedure.
If that doesn’t work, hold your dog up against your stomach with your arms under its ribs. Now, with your hands firmly under its ribs, you should press upwards as many as five times. If this doesn’t work to get rid of the choking hazard, lay the dog on its back and lift its hips into the air. Use a flashlight to check its mouth again to see if the object as become visible.
Finally, you can pat the dog firmly on its back between its shoulder blades. You will need to do this forcefully, but not hard enough that you hurt the animal. Try this a few times and repeat the previous steps as necessary. Of course, if nothing seems to work, take the dog to a veterinarian immediately.
While uncommon, dogs can get into a variety situations where they chew on something they shouldn’t or quite literally bite off more than they can chew. In case you find yourself in such a scenario, it’s always good to be prepared – just in case! For even more details on how to perform the Heimlich on a dog, check out this great article from TruDog.
At Jubilee Labradoodles, we care deeply about the health of not only our beautiful pups but your four-legged family members as well. Keep checking back on the blog for more tips, and to find out more about adding a wonderful labradoodle to your home, call us today at 517-467-6811.