Dogs are naturally good swimmers. But this doesn’t mean, they are 100% safe from drowning. There were cases when dogs accidentally slipped into the pool or the water and almost drowned. Some were not so lucky.
If this does happen, you should look for help or if you can, swim to your dog instead. Make sure that you have some sort of floating device.
Grab your dog’s tail or the back of his neck then let the dog hold on to the floating device so that you can easily drag him to safety.
As soon as you’ve secured him to somewhere safe and away from the water, hold his hocks and turn him upside down. Give him a sharp shake, just a few, to remove the excess water in the lungs.
You will know if your dog’s heart is not beating if you notice dilated pupils, and his gums turning blue. If your dog has a heartbeat, don’t perform CPR.
You will also know if your dog is breathing by checking your dog’s chest. If it rises and falls, your dog is breathing. If your dog is breathing, don’t do artificial respiration, unless his breaths are unstable.
Dogs who become unconscious become quite violent when they wake up so muzzling your dog is necessary. Once your dog is conscious, make sure to have a blanket ready and wrap him in it.
If the temperature of the water where he drowned is really cold, treat him for hypothermia.
How do you do CPR?
CPR is done when there’s no heartbeat and no breathing. CPR helps the heart contract and helps the breathing till your dog can do these on their own.
Here’s a tip: make sure that you know your dog’s pulse points so when an emergency happens you know where to look.
When performing CPR, you must know that you have to have rhythm, performing each step after the other. This is how you do it.
- Lay your dog on his and pull his head and neck forward (if he doesn’t have any back/neck injury)
- Open his mouth and pulling the tongue forward as well. Check there is any debris inside his mouth. Remove it if there is. Then apply the muzzle.
- Inhale, then place your moth on your dog’s nose. Exhale. Make sure it’s airtight sealed. It should be 10-15 times every minute.
- Between each breath, remove your mouth and give your dog a heart massage.
- Place the heel of your hand over his chest and the heel of the other hand over the other.
- Do a pumping motion. Make it firm and brisk. Each pump should be two counts. Every release is one count.
- You do the massage till his heart beats again. Same with artificial respiration, do it till he breathes. If there is no response after 15 minutes, revival is improbable.
The next thing you need to treat if your dog fell into very cold water is Hypothermia. You’ll see your dog shiver, feel lethargic and probably might fall unconscious.
Here’s what you should do:
- Dry your dog and go somewhere warm. But don’t bring him too close to the source of heat.
- When your dog warms up, dry him properly.
- Place your dog somewhere warm and draft-free for at least a couple of hours.
- Leave some warm fluids and food near your dog.
