Canine CPR

It dawned on me recently that we are all probably aware of human CPR in some form or another, but do we know what to do if our dog collapses? Imagine the horror of not having even a slight idea of what to do?

I have found a video on YouTube which I think is easy to follow, however there are others and you might want to have a look and see if they reinforce the message of this video.

Remember, something is better than nothing, just give it a go and try to get the vet to the dog or normally the dog to the vet and hopefully the outcome will be positive. If you do nothing then it will be a negative outcome for sure!



I have included the video below to show that even if you do everything wrong; but you do something, then you can effect the outcome in a positive way! This trainer does a form of CPR as taught by the prievious video but not exactly right, but he helps the dog which is all we want!

Hopefully none of us will ever need to do this but if we are faced with this situation at least we can have a go and that's all that anyone can ask!

Cheers Steve

Be Calm

Some practical and commonsense tips to help you to achieve a calm and balanced dog!
Exercise your dog! - This subject is covered by our walking the dog page, but it is the most fundamental thing that you can do to calm your dog down! If you do not burn off the dogs energy, particularly high and working energy type dogs, then you are asking for trouble. You must MUST always exercise your dog' every day without fail unless you have an issue to prevent you doing it and then someone else should do it for you!

Calm yourself down! - Before you can ask your dog to be calm you need to be calm yourself! In fact, the worse your dog gets, the calmer you need to be! When your dog gets stressed or over excited, if you start shouting and puling at the dog, it can be interpreted as you joining in with the dog, so if another dog is approaching, your dog starts shouting, you start shouting at the dog and the bad energy that is flying around just fuels the fire. So, hard as it is, calm down, take a deep breath and think about what you are going to do to get your dog to concentrate on you and defuse the situation.

Ride the wave! - Your dog may explode in a wave of anxiety, fear or even aggression when you ask it to do something that it may not want to do! As stated above, calm down and ride the wave letting your dog expel the fear or anxiety whilst you plan your next move. You should aim to correct your dog before the episode occurs, so the moment your dog thinks about getting anxious or aggressive, that is the time to put in a correction to get your dog to focus on you and curb that behaviour.

Corrections - When we talk about corrections, this can be anything from a mild rebuke to a spray collar and everything in between. You need to understand your dog and find out what makes them tick! I was having my hand nibbled by an Airedale who was barking and confronting me in front of his owner and did not respect a hand correction to his side and so I asked the owner to put the lead on and the dog instantly became docile and compliant, so the lead was all the correction that that dog needed. Don't go over the top, use whatever is needed to get the job done and refocus your dog. It might be a favourite toy or a food reward. It can be a physical correction or a verbal one. Do not stop though or you will allow the dog to succeed in what it is doing. If every time you confront the problem with corrections, eventually the dog will understand that the behaviour is unwanted. If you correct early and then reward, you will solve the problem without fuss and it will quickly disappear.

Confront the fear! - Use every opportunity as a training opportunity. The classic is to say my dog doesn't like other dogs and then never go anywhere where other dogs are! If your dog doesn't like other dogs, enrol him in a class with lots of other dogs, seek out opportunities to allow your dog to play with other dogs or at least be around them without fear. Don't run away from a problem, solve it. A Border Collie I was looking after would almost crawl on its belly when lorries or even fast cars went past. I took the dog to a busy junction near the house and stood away from the pavement but near enough to the road to get a reaction from the dog. Ignoring the anxiety we stood for 20 minutes during which time the fear became less and less. Repeat this regularly and involve treats or even a game with a favourite toy until the dog becomes desensitized to the irrational fear! Don't ever give affection whilst the dog is under stress or you will reward that behaviour and the dog will worsen and never improve.

Tools to help! - There are a number of products on the market which can support you if you have problems with your dog whether through anxiety or aggression. See our herbal treatments page for information on what they all do! The products on this page are all designed to help quieten the dogs mind and allow you to carry out the techniques we have discussed above. Firework and loud noise CDs can be used to de-sensitise the dog from the fear of loud and unexpected noises. Use them as instructed at a low volume and then gradual raise the volume whilst the dog is feeding or doing something pleasurable. Also make sure the dog is out and about in situations where loud and unexpected noises may be so that it realises that there is nothing to fear! A dog that is under severe stress will not be acting rationally and can explode in fear, anxiety or aggression as it panics. Use whatever tools you need to ensure that you always succeed when dealing with your dog.

Seek professional help! - If you don't feel able to deal with the issue you always have the option to seek professional help and there are many people who can help you! Please feel free to contact me about any problems or issues you may be having and I can point you in the right direction if i can't help you myself.

D.I.Y. Dog Ear Cleaning Fluid.

This is a great post that I found when researching Cocker Spaniel ear problems. It is a well known problem with dogs with this type of ear and this is an easy and effective way to treat the problem. I am not a veterinarian and am not qualified to know what these ingredients do but I have checked the information that's available on the web and this solution has been in use for many years by the top Cocker spaniel breeders and has shown no side effects etc.  If in doubt consult your vet before treating your dog!

Rosie the Cocker Spaniel with her foot
stuck to her ear scratching as usual

I will be using it on a customers dog called Rosie and I will post back the results. Rosie has a not pleasant odour that comes from her ears and is a yeast type of issue which is caused by lack of air in the ear cavity and ideal conditions for yeast to multiply.

As well as this mixture clean away all the hair that obstructs air from getting into the ear and regularly open the ear and get the dog used to having its ears manipulated!

I will add the ingredients links so that you can just click and buy  the difficult ones direct from Amazon.

Please watch the video at the end of this post which will show you how to use the solution on your dog!

Ingredients:

1.  White vinegar (Any supermarket or grocers)

2.  Powdered boric acid (See bottom of post)

3.  Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) (See bottom of post)

4.  Betadine antiseptic (or the generic version, known as Povidone-Iodine Solution) - Please note: do not use "Betadine Scrub", use "Betadine Solution" (See bottom of post)


  

Directions for mixing the solution together:

Pour six ounces of isopropyl alcohol in to a plastic applicator bottle. Add one and a half teaspoons of boric acid powder. Be careful not to get any boric acid on your skin or clothes. If you do, wash it off immediately.

Shake the solution extremely well, until the boric acid powder is dissolved, or for five minutes, whichever comes first.

Add two ounces of white vinegar. Shake the solution some more, until the boric acid powder is dissolved, or for another five minutes, whichever comes first.

Add one teaspoon of the Betadine antiseptic, and shake it up some more. Be careful not to get any Betadine on your skin or clothes. If you do, wash it off immediately.

The ear cleaning solution is now ready to use.

To use the ear cleaning solution:

It is recommended that you use the ear cleaning solution in your garage or outdoors, as the dog will shake it out of his ears and it will fly in to the air and stain things.

Squirt the solution inside your dog's ear until the ear canal is completely full. Massage the outside of the ear to help slosh the cleaning solution around inside. Release the dog and let him shake out the ear cleaning solution from his ears. If you get any of the ear cleaning solution on your skin, wash it off as soon as possible.

Be sure to shake the solution up really well before each and every time you use it. The boric acid has a tendency to settle at the bottom of the bottle. Store at room temperature. 

Use the cleaning solution daily until you start to see some improvement. Gradually cut back to once per week when you are happy with the condition of the ear. When the ear seems completely free of infection, you can go two weeks between treatments.

Warning: Do not use this ear cleaning solution on dogs with ruptured ear drums, or on dogs with open sores or wounds in the ear area. An ear exam by a veterinarian is recommended prior to beginning treatment with this ear cleaning solution.

This recipe came to you from Jim Zimmerlin - www.zimfamilycockers.com

  


Cheers Steve