How To Stop A Dog Choking?

[lovemesideways]

Wrist is fractured and in a cast.

and Im on antibiotics.

good times!

[persephone]

Wrist is fractured and in a cast.

and Im on antibiotics.

good times!

Ouch! ..well,at least NOW if you have to insert an arm, you have protection :o

Hope it heals well and quickly

[persephone]

The idea of waiting till the dog passes out is not the safest plan in my view.

IMO it is in cases where the object is a ball of some sort.....the dog is 'in extremis', you have no vet to call on..and no other suitable tools or helpers to grasp the ball safely....

injury to the person trying to help can be severe.... there is nothing else really that can be done. Trying to get a choking panicking dog into a car and driving safely would be nigh on impossible

The dog I helped was not able to be held still - he was thrashing and frothing and snapping .... diving in at the split second he collapsed was our only option then. Risky, hell yes! But he would have died with us watching, otherwise

[Missymoo]

Oh wow, glad to hear he is ok, bummer about your arm, at least you have a story behind it, Hero of the day!

wasnt there another member on here who lost thier dog to this?

[megan_]

OT, but another safe "fetch" toy for larger dogs is the Ring Zinger or Kong Ring Toss (the former I got from PetStock, the latter from clickertraining.com/store). They are large donut shaped toys so the risk of choking would be greatly reduced.

[Rappie]

It's not always easy to dislodge the obstruction. I distinctly remember a case I treated last year, a GSD with a rubber ball stuck in it's throat. It was a smooth rubber ball with a hole through the middle but the hole was blocked by the soft tissue of the throat. The ONLY good thing about the size of this ball meant that a little bit of air could still pass behind the ball from the nasal passages - the back of the oral cavity was completely blocked.

Due to the length of time the ball had been stuck, possibly an hour or so there was so much swelling that the ball wasn't budging. It took an emergency anaesthesia, tracheotomy and the coordinated efforts of all the vets on duty (4 of us) to finally dislodge the ball. The recovered and is doing absolutely fine now.

It might be possible to dislodge things that have just got lodged, but I'd never recommend small hard rubber balls to any dog, let alone a large one.

On a more amusing note, I treated a Doberman last year that looked for all the world like it had an intestinal foreign body and was very very sad. It was late on a Sunday and he was very dehydrated so I started him on fluids with a plan to consider surgery the next day if he wasn't improved. After a few hours of fluids, he pooped out a small rubber "super ball" and looked 100% better after that!

[Turkey Trip]

Haven't had to deal with a choking like that, very frightening and congratulations on your quick action to help the dog. Glad it worked out in the end but very sorry for your injury, hope it heals up soon.

Have had to help dogs already panicking over foreign bodies (sticks etc) wedged across back of palate or between teeth. To do this safely and avoid being "crunched" down on by the desperate dog, I always use something (bar shaped - inserted from the side) to wedge in the jaw between the back teeth. Hold the dog between legs, make reassuring noises and use both hands - one to hold wedge in place and allow the mouth to stay open and the other to retrieve/remove the foreign object.

I really don't know if this would help in an obstruction as you describe, but over many years and whenever required, it has prevented me from being inadvertantly chomped while doing the rescue. however my dogs are not as large as a GSD.

[~Anne~]

It's not always easy to dislodge the obstruction. I distinctly remember a case I treated last year, a GSD with a rubber ball stuck in it's throat. It was a smooth rubber ball with a hole through the middle but the hole was blocked by the soft tissue of the throat. The ONLY good thing about the size of this ball meant that a little bit of air could still pass behind the ball from the nasal passages - the back of the oral cavity was completely blocked.

Due to the length of time the ball had been stuck, possibly an hour or so there was so much swelling that the ball wasn't budging. It took an emergency anaesthesia, tracheotomy and the coordinated efforts of all the vets on duty (4 of us) to finally dislodge the ball. The recovered and is doing absolutely fine now.

It might be possible to dislodge things that have just got lodged, but I'd never recommend small hard rubber balls to any dog, let alone a large one.

On a more amusing note, I treated a Doberman last year that looked for all the world like it had an intestinal foreign body and was very very sad. It was late on a Sunday and he was very dehydrated so I started him on fluids with a plan to consider surgery the next day if he wasn't improved. After a few hours of fluids, he pooped out a small rubber "super ball" and looked 100% better after that!

(bolded bit) That would be my worry about letting the dog pass out first.

Peres, I know in your situation it worked in your favour, but it leaves you little time really if the object is lodged tightly. I'd rather stick an object in across the jaw, if possible, and or risk being bitten by putting my hand in if I had to. I guess if the dog was madly thrashing or aggressive then maybe I would opt for your suggestion.

I have watched one dog die while choking, and many live after having the item reomoved by someone or the dog itself. Wtaching a dog die while you desparately try to dislodge something is horrifying. It will haunt me forever. Thankfully it wasn't one of mine, but it was still devstating and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

[cointreau]

Ouch lovemesideways, Sorry in my haste to reply this morning I completely forgot to mention hope you have a speedy full eventful free recovery.

[Scarlett Dog]

oh that's such a scary thing to have happen. I think even if I read what to so I'm not sure how great I'd be under pressure. Panic central no doubt!

[Bonzawani]

Dog CPR

Bonz

[lovemesideways]

Dog CPR

Bonz

Thankyou for sharing this!!

Does anyone know of a pet first aid course? I think that will be my next stop

[LizT]

Oh poor Lovemesideways!! You and your arm are heroes!

I was told by a trainer many years ago at Obedience Club that a tennis ball is the GSD's worst enemy.

He went on to tell me that the Kong was designed not so much as a treat holder as a ball that was not a choking hazard as air can flow through it.

Ricky was very Lucky that you acted so quickly. Hope you are not too uncomfortable.

[LizT]

Incidentally, one of my dogs was taught a "teeth" command to prevent him from biting vets when they looked at his teeth. Twice he has got something wedged across the top of his pallette that one of us has had to yank out and both times he went very still as soon as hands went to his mouth even without the cue because he has been so heavily conditioned to do that. I was amazed the training held even when he was obviously in distress. My other dog who has not had this training has also twice got something wedged across the top of his mouth and both times it took pinning him down to get it out. A two man job, preferably.

I'm thinking it's a good idea to teach a dog a cue to hold still when their muzzle is handled.

My girls would hold still to have teeth checked (as in Judge checking at Shows) or Vet checking them or cleaned by me but I doubt they would hold still if panicked by chocking.

That said I remember camping once where a campers dog had a large stick stuck in his teeth /mouth and was panicked but the owner was able to hold him while I dislodged the stick. It wasn't easy and he was a good boy about it. That's why we shouldn't allow our dogs to chew sticks.