As Pet Parents ourselves, we know that there is an ongoing need to educate ourselves about our furbabies needs and health. When this Pet First Aid and CPR Workshop came up through the Pet Parent Academy at Fourways Vet, we grabbed the opportunity to attend with both hands! What an amazing experience we had. We are still far from experts but we did learn so much about what to look out for when it comes to the health of our furbabies. We were in awe of all the information shared so generously with us by the expert Veterinarians at this workshop! Thank you Fourways Vet for an informative and incredible evening at your Pet Parent Academy Pet First Aid & CPR Workshop.
Now that we are better equipped to identify the difference between a healthy and unhealthy pet our service offering to petsitting clients is really enhanced. We cannot treat a sick furbaby ourselves but we can tell the difference between an emergency and what can be dealt with at home (in addition to being monitored for potential escalation to the Vet). This knowledge offers our clients peace of mind, and us too – we are serious about the business of healthy furbabies.
Evidence
Here you have it – our certificates to prove attendance. It was such a great evening, if you have the opportunity, we highly recommend it!
What Did The Course Cover?
As can be seen from the certificates above, we learned how to do Pet First Aid and CPR, this included a myriad of information as follows:
What Normal Parameters look like in:
- Gums
- Pulse and Heart Rate
- Respiration
- Temperature
Common Emergencies
- Snake Bits
- Bee Stings
- Gastric Dilatation volvulus
- Blocked Bladders (male cats)
- Seizures (always take first offenders and epileptics which seizure more than once a month)
- Heat Stroke
- Choking
- Dog / Cat Fight Wounds
- External Bleeding
- Poisoning
- Common Plants toxic to dogs and cats
- Near Drowning
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
You will notice that we are not sharing the details of what to look for simply because we are not experts and are therefore not in a position to train you either. The information shared with us really is to assist us in identifying potential problems and what to do immediately in the run-up to taking the patient to the Vet.
As we learn more, we will share more on this website – promise.
14 Animal Emergencies That Require Immediate Veterinary Consultation
The information we can share with you is what constitutes an emergency and an immediate trip to the Vet, these are as follows:
- Severe bleeding or bleeding that doesn’t stop with digital pressure (10 – 15 minutes)
- Nonstop coughing and gagging, or signs of respiratory distress
- Bleeding from nose, mouth rectum, coughing up blood, or blood in urine or vomit
- Inability to urinate or pass faeces (stool) or obvious pain associated with urinating or passing stool
- Injuries to your pet’s eye/s
- Ingestion of something poisonous
- Seizures and/or staggering (all first-time offenders and epileptics with seizures more than once a month)
- Non-productive retching and/or distended (bloated) abdomens especially in large breed dogs
- Trauma: Fractured bones, server lameness or inability to move leg(s)
- Obvious signs of pain or extreme anxiety
- Heat stress or heatstroke
- Severe vomiting or diarrhoea – more than once in a 24-hour period, or either of these combined with obvious illness or any of the other problems listed above
- Unconsciousness
- Dystocia (difficulty giving birth)
The above 14 are absolute emergencies and you MUST take your furbaby to the vet ASAP.
Quote from the vet “The bottom line is that ANY concern about your pet’s health warrants, at a bare minimum, a call to your veterinarian”
As usual, let us know if there is anything specific you would like us to research and write about for you.
Love always
Louise & Beth 🤍🐾🤍🐾🤍