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1. Milford Sound, New Zealand


2. Crested Butte, CO, USA


3. St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands


4. Waiheke Island, New Zealand


5. Yosemite National Park, CA, USA


6. Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, USA


7. Bend, OR, USA


8. Fruita, CO, USA


9. Durango, CO, USA


10. Fort Bragg, CA, USA


11. Portland, OR, USA


12. Canyonlands National Park, UT, USA


13. East Burke, VT, USA


14. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


15. Cannon Beach, OR, USA

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Tip of the Day: How to Save a Choking Dog

How to Save a Choking Dog

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit


Dogs are always picking up objects in their mouths, such as balls, sticks, bones, etc. If your dog suddenly starts to run around in circles, pawing at his mouth, is acting in a wild and disoriented manner, he might have something stuck in his throat which he is attempting to dislodge. This article explains how to work out whether your dog is choking, and what to do if this is the case.

Steps

1. Check for signs of choking:[1]
   
   • Is the dog pawing at his mouth?
     
   • Is the dog coughing forcefully, constantly?
     
   • Is the dog drooling or gagging?
     
   • Is the dog wheezing, gasping for breath?
     
   • Are the dog's gums or lips turning blue or white?
     
   • Is the dog vomiting?
     
   • Is the dog whimpering as if in pain? Is the dog in obvious discomfort? Is he frantic?
     
   
   
2. Seek help quickly.
   
   • If you think your dog is choking or you have any doubts at all as to whether your dog is able to breathe (he won't be able to cough or make noise if he cannot breathe), immediately call the emergency number for your veterinarian - you may be talked through first aid procedures while waiting for emergency help and likely you will be asked to bring your pet in immediately.
     
   • If you cannot reach your vet, look for emergency, 24 hour vets. Their number will usually be in the phone book, or you can call a local animal welfare or rescue agency for details. Emergency vets or animal hospitals are usually available in major towns and cities.
     
   • Your local emergency number will be able to give you the ASPCA or the Humane Society emergency number. They will have an emergency vet to give you help on the phone.
     
   • Continue helping your dog until you can get him to veterinary help.
     
   
   
3. Initially, if your dog is capable of coughing, wait a few moments to see if your dog can manage to cough up the obstruction on his own. Only wait for this possibility if your dog seems to be able to breathe well still. If any of the other symptoms are present (namely, wheezing, struggling, gasping for breath), start helping immediately.
   
4. Commence helping your dog the best you can while getting him to medical help. Try to look in the dog's mouth and see what is present. Pull your dog's mouth open gently, move the tongue out with your fingers if needed, so that you can look into his throat. If it's dark, do this using a flashlight.
   
   • Restrain a larger dog before opening his mouth wide. Do this buy grabbing the scruff of hair between the ears and holding the dog's head steady.[2]
     
   • If you can locate the obstruction, grasp it with pliers or tweezers and remove the obstruction gently.[3]
     
   • Unless you can clearly see and grasp the obstruction in a larger dog (namely, it is easy to grab and pull), and your dog is not frantic, it is not advisable to stick your fingers into your dog's mouth, as you risk lodging the object in even deeper if you accidentally push it without being able to see it.[4] In addition, you risk being bitten badly if the dog is frantic. In the case you are not able to remove it with certainty, proceed to the next step.
     
   
   
5. Help your dog to dislodge the obstruction.
   
   • Small to medium size dog - Pick up a small or medium dog by his hind legs. Hold the dog upside down and try to shake the object out of his mouth with the benefit of gravity.[5]
     
   • Large dog - Hold the dog upside down but instead of holding the whole dog upside down (next to impossible!), keep his front paws still on ground or a bench and lift up his hind legs (in the same manner as holding a wheelbarrow) and tilt him forward.
     
   
   
6. When you cannot remove the object, try back blows.
   
   • Using the heel of your hand, deliver 4-5 sharp blows on the dog between the shoulder blades.[6][7]
     
   
   
7. If nothing else helps while you still have not gotten your dog to help, and your dog cannot breathe, you might consider performing the Heimlich maneuver on him, in the hope of quickly removing whatever is blocking his throat. Only start the Heimlich maneuver if you see your dog put something small into his mouth, and then immediately begin pawing at his face, or throat, trying to vomit or has an obvious breathing problem.[8]
   
   • Place your arm around the dog's waist. Ensure that your dog's head points down.
     
   • Form a fist and bring your other hand around and cover your fist with it. Your two handed fist should be placed between the dog's abdomen and its ribcage (the soft spot just under the ribcage). The size of the dog will affect the exact positioning of your hands.[9]
     
   • Quickly and firmly give three to five thrusts inwards and upwards.
     
   • Repeat as often as is necessary to dislodge whatever is blocking your dog's airway.
     
   
   
8. If you are able to remove the object, make sure that your dog is breathing normally. If not, then start artificial respiration on him immediately.[10]
   
   • If your dog has no pulse, commence CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) on your dog.[11]
     
   
   
9. Repeat the above procedures while getting your dog to the vet.[12] Keep your pet calm and get your dog to the vet as quickly as possible.
   

Video

Melanie Monteiro demonstrates each of the movements on a combination of live and dummy dogs.

Tips

• Before proceeding to take first aid action on your dog, be certain that your dog is actually choking as he just might be having a problem breathing. Check the symptoms with care.
  
• Fish hooks can be removed from a dog's mouth or tongue by cutting off the barbed tip using pliers. However, this should only be performed by a veterinarian under a tranquilizer.[13]
  

Warnings

• The Heimlich maneuver can cause serious injury to your dog if he is not really choking. Do not use it unless you are absolutely certain that he is unable to breathe.[14]
  
• Take care removing bones. Bones that can splinter easily can cause even more problems, including puncturing the airway, etc.
  

Things You'll Need

• Gloves (optional)
  
• Pliers or tweezers
  
• Vet emergency numbers (always keep handy on fridge or similar place)
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Train Your Dog to Walk or Heel Without a Choke Chain
  
• How to Stop a Dog from Pulling on His Leash
  
• How to Walk Two Dogs with One Leash
  
• How to Stop a Dog From Jumping
  
• How to Stop a Dog from Mouthing Your Hands and Arms
  
• How to Walk a Dog
  
• How to Give a Small Dog a Bath
  

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health, Home Edition, p. 1052, (2007), ISBN 978-0-911910-99-5


2. ↑ Dr Peter Roach, The AWW Pet Care Book, p. 61 (no date)


3. ↑ American Veterinary Medical Association, Choking, http://www.avma.org/firstaid/procedures.asp


4. ↑ Dr Peter Roach, The AWW Pet Care Book, p. 61 (no date)


5. ↑ Amy Marder, V.M.D., The Complete Dog Owner's Manual: How to raise a happy, healthy dog, p. 57, (1997), ISBN 1-875137-83-1


6. ↑ The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health, Home Edition, p. 1052, (2007), ISBN 978-0-911910-99-5


7. ↑ Melanie Monteiro, Safe Dog Safety Tip: Choking


8. ↑ http://www.petplace.com/dogs/heimlich-for-your-dog/page1.aspx


9. ↑ http://www.petplace.com/dogs/heimlich-for-your-dog/page1.aspx


10. ↑ http://www.seefido.com/html/what_to_do_if_your_dog_is_chok.htm


11. ↑ http://www.seefido.com/html/what_to_do_if_your_dog_is_chok.htm


12. ↑ American Veterinary Medical Association, Choking, http://www.avma.org/firstaid/procedures.asp


13. ↑ Amy Marder, V.M.D., The Complete Dog Owner's Manual: How to raise a happy, healthy dog, p. 57, (1997), ISBN 1-875137-83-1


14. ↑ http://www.petplace.com/dogs/heimlich-for-your-dog/page1.aspx

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Save a Choking Dog. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

I'm so late to these things they become cool again

So it was only a few months ago that I learned of the whole lolcat phenomenon. If I keep this here blog thing going, you'll begin to notice I've literally lived in a cave most of my childhood and adult life. Anyway, some shmoe posted this picture w/ caption, and an information superautobahn subculture was born.

So, I'm going to start re-hashing tired old snippets of pop culture as if I just tweeted them 0.5 sec ago. And bellow out big belly laughs the whole time.

Hard to Believe

The blizzard of Feb 10 2010 dumped about 17 inches of snow in the Carpenters woods section of Mt Airy.

Everywhere, trees groaned under so much weight. Every single limb, branch and needle held a heaping pile of white. The privet hedge between us and the neighbor's split to either direction, covering our cars.

We lost power at 615 pm just as Megan was settling in for tmz.

We lit candles, getting chillier and talking to ourselves and to normal.

We wondered if Tess and her band of psychics was right. Did this major snowstorm knock power out to the entire eastern seaboard? Were people about to enter a survival mode, having to fend off thieves and zombies for days, then weeks, then months? Were we about to learn a harsh lesson about the fragile, dilapidated state of our country's power grid?

I could hear my mother in law now: "I told you so, Arthur." She was one of the fortunate few who knew about this upcoming armageddon. They were smart enough to stock up on incense and magic crystals.

Just then the lights flicked on, the house buzzed to life, the TV turned on, and there was Michael Scott.

Perfect, let's crank up the heat and waste time on the interweb.

So, here in Philly we got 29 inches of snow last Saturday, and the flakes are falling outside the dining room window as I type. Another 12-18 inches tonight. The "snow emergency" or "winter advisory warning" will last until midnight on wednesday.

Are snowfall events given the same average recurrence interval as storms? Are we getting hit by a 10-year snowstorm tonight?

Wow, it's 2010 and I finally started a blog.

Hi. So I started a blog. Woo hoo! Should i be happy? Suppose so. Better late than never. Does anyone care? Nobody yet, anyway.

I felt the need to start capturing my endless strings of thoughts. You'd never know I ever had a single opinion if you go by the number of internet posts I've ever generated. Under a handle on mtbr.com, I have no more than 40 posts...over 6 years.

I think I've always been shy of sharing my opinions. Not for fear of criticism. But mainly because I've never put much stock in them. You know, everyone's got opinions just like they've got assholes. And I think they all stink.

So to be completely honest, I'm going to start jotting down my thoughts (however repulsive) and give them a home, this Hive of the Yeti or whatever i named it.