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I have a story for you: A couple of weeks ago, before Molly and i went on vacation, we made a trip to PetsMart. I bought some soft training treats for Molly to take with us. I also bought my mom’s pug a couple packages of treats. Since I bought three, the cashier at PetsMart put a “free” treat in my sack. She told me it was a peanut butter treat.
Fast Forward two weeks: We got home from vacation and I found the peanut butter treat that I hadn’t yet opened. I opened it. It was pretty hard so I cut it in pieces smaller than a dime, thinking Molly could eat pieces that small. I gave her a piece and she took it and ran in our living room to eat it. I THOUGH she had chewed it up. About noon that same day, I noticed Molly was jerking her head a little like she was going to cough. She did this about a dozen times. I started to get a little worried and was watching her really close. Then she started coughing. I started patting her on the back, thinking maybe she was choking on something. I looked around for anything I thought she might’ve ate, but didn’t see anything. She coughed and coughed and was walking around the living room. After a few minutes, she stopped and threw up. It was that piece of peanut butter treat I had given her hours before. She had not even chewed it up- she just swallowed it whole. I threw it away… and I threw the rest of the peanut butter treat away too.
Pugs love food and they are good at eating really fast and sometimes, they don’t even chew the food up. When your pet chokes, it’s scary. Fortunately, Molly got this piece of treat out of her throat and threw it up, but it made me think about what I would’ve done if she couldn’t get it dislodged… or if it cut off her airway.
If your dog is choking…
If your dog appears to be choking, the most important thing you can do is to stay calm. DON’T stick your hand in your dog’s mouth to retrieve the object… unless your dog passes out because a dog that is panicky might bite.
If your dog passes out, open his/her mouth and see if you can remove the object. Use both of your hands to open your dog’s mouth and grab the upper jaw while pressing your dog’s lips over his teeth. Look inside your dog’s mouth and remove the obstruction is possible. If you can’t remove the obstruction, try using a flat spoon to pry it out of your dog’s mouth. If your dog is still breathing, immediately take him to a veterinarian or an emergency vet.
If your dog is NOT breathing or is having trouble breathing, use the Heimlich maneuver to remove the object.
Using the Heimlich maneuver on your pet:
If you have a small dog, you can invert the dog and apply pressure to the abdomen just behind the rib cage.
If you have a large dog, don’t pick your dog up because you may harm your dog further. If your large dog is still standing, try putting your arms around the dog’s belly and lock your fingers. Then, make a fist and push firmer up and forward, just behind the rib cage (just like you would do on person).
If your large dog is lying down, place one hand on his back for support, then take the other hand and use it to squeeze the abdomen upwards and forwards. While doing this, keep an eye on your dog’s mouth so you can remove the pieces that dislodge.
Even if you do get the object dislodged from your dog’s airway, it is vital that you take your dog to the vet to make sure the object did not damage your dog’s throat. And… if your dog was without oxygen for any length of time, he may need to be admitted.
Watch this video for a demonstration of how to do the Heimlich maneuver on your pet:
https://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/common-emergencies/e_dg_choking
To Prevent Choking: Just make sure you always keep an eye on your dog when he is chewing on a treat, a bone or a toy. And… keep your dog on a leash when he is outdoors.
https://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/common-emergencies/5-common-causes-choking-pets
Until next time,
Hugs and Pug Kisses,
Candy
