Canine First Aid homework

Recommendation for canine first aid homework
By Laure-Anne Viselé, Certified Canine First Aider, January 2011

I am finally putting the finishing touches on my canine first aid assignment. Upon submission, it will give me my long-awaited second canine first aid qualification.

Canis procrastinatus

I guess I should stop procrastinating and actually work on the assignment, instead of writing this post? Mmmmh, food for thought.

Anyway, going through my course notes, I came across a piece of homework that I would like to share with dog owners, not just canine first aid instructors.

Why two qualifications?

• First Aid is not the sort of subjects where you want your memory to go blank;
• US and UK First Aid methods are slightly different, so I wanted a UK qualification too.

Actually, make that three qualifications, as I also did infant first aid for our kid. Gosh, I am rambling… Do some work, woman!

Interesting homework

This is the homework to do on top of the assignment (which will NEVER get written at this rate):

• “Locate the commonly used pressure points on a dog”. OK, I DEFINITELY need to revise this!
• “Practice bandaging techniques with a conforming bandage.” Guilty again. Absolutely have to practice this again.
• “Visit a large pet store and see if you know how to use the dog restraining equipment available.” Mmmmh, finding a large pet store in the Netherlands is the biggest challenge. But I definitely need to get Rodge used to the muzzle, and check out other restraining tools.
• “Ensure that you know the ways to give tablets and liquid medicines to a dog.” Check.
• Record all future cases of first aid is which you are involved. Include in them dog’s symptoms, your actions, subsequent treatment, and the outcome. You will find these notes very useful in the future for reference.” Started last night…

This is definitely useful advice not just for Canine First Aid instructors, but for all pet owners. It’s definitely not the sort of stuff you want to be fumbling in an emergency.

OK, off to write that essay. Honest…

Further reading

Veterinary care

• Vaccination schedule – Explanatory article about dog vaccination regime in temperate countries
• Common dog diseases – Explanatory article about most common dog diseases in temperate countries

First aid

• My dog has swallowed poison, what now? – First aid instructions for poisoned dog (checked by Poison Centre specialist and veterinarian)
• Dog hyperthermia treatment – First aid instructions in case your dog stays out all night or falls through the ice.
• My dog chewed a broken glass – Article about Roger’s incident with my glass of Bailey’s.