Prevention is Key To Healthy and Safe Dogs
April is National Pet First Aid Awareness Month. Statistics show that most dogs will need first aid or emergency veterinary intervention due to sudden illness or injury at least once in their lifetimes. The most important part of first aid education is learning how to prevent accidents from happening in the first place. You can help the animals in your care beat the odds and live safer, healthier lives by incorporating the following prevention guidelines into your facility’s daily routine:
Be Prepared. Each staff member should be trained in pet first aid and disaster response. Educated employees will be more alert and will bring potential problems to a supervisor’s attention to help create a safer environment for every dog.
Make training a daily activity:
- Recall—A foolproof recall can be a life saver in a crisis situation (if a dog gets outside the building off-leash and is running toward traffic or needs to be evacuated from a building and is frightened).
- Leave it—This command can be used to direct dogs away from conflict, prevent the ingestion of something forbidden, or even keep a dog from running through an open gate.
- Collar grab or leashing dogs—De-sensitizing all of the dogs to collar grabs and having a leash thrown over their head is a good idea. The collar grab won’t normally be used to move dogs between areas, but if dogs must be moved quickly in an emergency, this may be the only option.
Toughen medication protocols. Pet owners are often uneducated when it comes to giving pets over-the-counter medications or trading prescription medicine between animals. Make sure that each medication provided for a boarding pet is clearly labeled, prescribed for that animal and not out of date. Require specific veterinary instructions for over the counter medication.
Rethink vaccination requirements. The American Animal Hospital Association has issued a position statement on core vaccines. Consider accepting titer test results and veterinary “do not vaccinate” letters.
Contain pets properly. If dogs play “naked”, keep each dog’s microchip number on file. Keep fences in good repair. Use airlocks and redundant gating whenever practical to prevent accidental breakouts. If a dog must be moved outside of a fenced area, do so only on a slip lead. Insist that clients keep dogs leashed between the parking lot and the building’s entrance.
Pet proof the dogs’ environment. Discard toys that have become hazardous. Use environmentally friendly cleaning products whenever possible. Keep chemical containers away from pet areas. Remove materials that would allow snakes, spiders or poisonous insects to hide and thrive. Examine your landscaping to make sure only pet safe plants are present (consult a county extension agent for help).
Be aware of weather conditions. Know how the temperature will affect pets. Take extra precautions during extreme temperatures. Keep brachycephalic dogs, geriatric dogs, and dogs with any chronic illness out of the heat as much as possible.
Build a first aid kit. Stock a kit that will serve both minor emergencies and major first aid events. (Use this First Aid Kit For Pet Business to build your kit). Develop a relationship with a veterinary clinic that will accept a pet from your facility on short notice.
Perform “Nose to Toes” assessments using this Health Assessment Checklist. Promptly communicate any problems you observe to clients so that care can be sought before the situation becomes an emergency. Any sudden change in behavior is always a cause for concern.
Most importantly: educate your clients. Provide information on basic first aid procedures and disaster preparation. Consider offering pet first aid classes. Make crisis prevention a team effort, and the dogs will benefit. So will your business!
Sonya Wilson
Four Legged First Aid
www.petfirstaidaustin.com
fourleggedfirstaid@gmail.com
512-440-7529
