What Do I Do if My Pet Starts Choking? The Basics of CPR for Dogs, Cats and Small Animals

If your dog suddenly gets sick and there is no time to get to the vet, would you know what to do? According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, knowing basic pet first aid can save your pet’s life in an emergency and give you time to get to a vet.

Choking

A choking pet may cough or paw at the muzzle. Its lips or tongue may take on a blue tinge. Exercise caution with a choking pet, as they are more likely to bite in panic. If your pet is able to breathe, seek emergency care immediately.

If your pet is not able to breathe, look into its mouth and see if the object obstructing its breathing is visible. Try to dislodge the item with tweezers or pliers (never your fingers), but be careful not to push the foreign object further down your pet’s throat.

If your pet collapses, place both hands on either side of your pet’s ribcage and apply firm pressure very quickly in order to pus air out of your pet’s lungs and dislodge the object. Alternately, lay your pet on its side and strike your pet’s ribcage with your palm three to four times. Continue to do this until you reach your vet, or you dislodge the item.

Breathing

If your pet stops breathing, have another person call the vet while you attend to your pet. Open your pet’s mouth and clear it’s airway by pulling the tongue forward and out of its mouth. Feel its throat to ensure that there are no obstructions.

Perform rescue breathing by holding your pet’s mouth closed and breathing into its nose until you see its chest expand. Repeat every 5 seconds.

Heartbeat

If your pet has no heartbeat, you may attempt CPR. Clear the pet’s airway and begin rescue breathing. You should Alternate between rescue breathing and chest compressions.

To perform chest compressions to massage your pet’s heart, lay your pet on its right side. Locate the heart, which is on the lower left side of the chest behind its front left elbow.

For dogs, place one hand on your pet’s chest for support and the other over the heart. Press inward gently. Medium sized dogs only need you to press in about 1 inch. Larger dogs need slightly more, while smaller dogs need slightly less compression.

For cats and other small animals, place your thumb over the heart and the fingers of your hand on the other side of the chest for support. Compress the chest by squeezing with your thumb and fingers. Compress your pet’s chest 80-100 times per minute for larger animals. Smaller animals need between 100 and 150 compressions per minute.

Continue CPR until you either reach emergency vet care or you hear your pet’s heartbeat and it starts to breathe unassisted. Although the odds of a pet surviving with resuscitation are very low, these odds are better than if your pet has no resuscitation.