Do you pack anything special in your first aid kits for your dogs? Have you ever had emergencies with your dogs where you've had to do first aid on your dog?

There is a lot of cross over between human first aid and dog first aid so you usually don't need alot of special stuff. Really the most important thing is to gain a little bit of basic first aid knowledge for your dog.

I took a basic half fay first aid/medical training course offered by a local dog training school. It certainly didn't make me an expert but it did give me some basic info that will help me treat my dog in case of emergency.

Some of the more common issues can be dealt with pretty easily. For instance if your dog eats something toxic just pour some hydrogen peroxide down its throat and wait a few minutes. I've had to do this several times with my dog. The dog will throw up the bad stuff in pretty short order. Just don't induce vomiting if the item it ate would do more damage coming back up (something caustic like acid or something sharp like a chicken bone).

Also on the trail a dog might have issues with allergies or bug bites, just give the dog a tablet of benedryl with breakfast and dinner and it should help. I do this with my dog since his coat is really short and the black flies love him. He gets big welts when they bite.

The other more common issue is overheating. Dogs don't sweat so panting is the only way they can regulate their temperature. Some dogs for whatever reason don't seem smart enough to go into the water to cool down so we need to help them along a little. Also cooling a dogs feet and belly can be the most effective way to bring the temp down.

Other that that you're most likely going to deal with a cut or wound of some sort. Those aren't much different then on a person the trick is just dealing with a hurting animal.

I get from my vet puppy peptobismo for diarrhea and surgical glue in case she cuts a paw deep. Also pack bandages to wrap a wound.

quote chesapeakes: "I get from my vet puppy peptobismo for diarrhea and surgical glue in case she cuts a paw deep. Also pack bandages to wrap a wound."

Is the glue from the vet, or is it OTC liquid bandage?

Adding puppy pepto to my list to ask th vet...

PS, great topic!

If you're at home there are a lot of things you can give your dog to help with stomach issues (plain yogurt and canned pumpkin to name a few).

Might be good to get something to carry with on a trip but when at home I'd stick with one of the above as its cheaper and works pretty well.

I didn't know there was a special pepto for dogs. You can use human pepto. Just ask your vet about dosages for your dog's size. Puppy pepto may be more expensive than human pepto. For my dogs, I use the pepto pills. I tried the liquid and it always ends up all over my kitchen and walls. It's too much of a battle.

If you need your dog to take a liquid one thing you can do is put it in a turkey baster. With the liquid in the turkey baster just slip it into the dogs mouth and hold the muzzle closed.

Squeeze the liquid into the dogs mouth and lightly blow on the dogs nose, that creates an instinctive response to swallow.

This works great when you need to give a dog hydrogen peroxide to induce vomitting. It may work with pepto as well although it is a little thicker. If its too think maybe thinning it with water would work, not sure if that would impact its effectiveness or not.

I found this list of OTC meds for dogs.

I noted that some breeds shouldn't have imodium (though most can), and our dog is one of them (had to follow the "more info" links to find that out).

Agreed that most human 1st aid can also be used for the dogs. Here is our list for the dogs (all of them came in handy on our Quetico trip when one dog was stung by a bee and she HATED thunderstorms, and the other cut his paw open on a portage):

- Benadryl (for allergies or bee stings)
- Pain meds (Rimadyl/Tramadol which the vet is willing to give us for any big camping trips, or you can buy dog aspirin from most pet supply stores)
- Vet wrap
- Dramamine (helps w/a dog that freaks about storms/fireworks, calms them down....our vet recommended it many years ago)
- Paw pad glue
- Tweezers
- Antibiotic ointment
- Gauze pads/gauze roll

quote nojobro: "

quote chesapeakes: "I get from my vet puppy peptobismo for diarrhea and surgical glue in case she cuts a paw deep. Also pack bandages to wrap a wound."

Is the glue from the vet, or is it OTC liquid bandage?


Adding puppy pepto to my list to ask th vet...


PS, great topic!"

I get the glue from the vet. Let them know what you need it for. You will be in the wilderness with no vet access.

After one particular incident on a winter boundary waters trip when a dog decided it would be a good idea to eat an airplane jig (think many treble hooks) we started bringing a heavy duty wire cutter. No, the wire cutter on your leatherman is not sufficient... trust me.

quote Wetlander: "After one particular incident on a winter boundary waters trip when a dog decided it would be a good idea to eat an airplane jig (think many treble hooks, we started bringing a heavy duty wire cutter. No, the wire cutter on your leatherman is not sufficient... trust me."

OUCH!! Poor guy :-(