This Might Save Your Dog’s Life

Have you ever experienced a choking dog? Man. Let me tell you, it is a scary experience. I am an over-prepared person in any and all situations, so as soon as I got my first dog, I researched the doggie Heimlich. If you haven't learned how to do the Heimlich on your dog before, read on, because it very well could save your dog's life in the future.

In the moment, there is no time to look up how to do this procedure...so you should learn before the time comes.

I had dogs for 5 years before I experienced one of them choking. I'd just gotten a new puppy, Bruce, who was under 3 months old when he almost stopped breathing. I had given him a bedtime treat, but he didn't chew it thoroughly enough and started choking.

I performed the doggie Heimlich and shoved my fingers down his throat...and it eventually dislodged, but not before his glands excreted that rancid, scared dog smell. If you don't know what that smells like, be grateful. My boy is 3 years old, healthy, and the sweetest boy now. I don't know what I would do without him.

So, what do you do when your dog is choking? First, check and see if you can swipe the lodged food away with your finger. If not, move on to the maneuver, but keep alternately checking their mouth/throat with your finger.

You can choose one of two methods to perform the Heimlich. The first option is to place a fist on the dog's abdomen and pull up while pushing forward. This will look different on small dogs than on large dogs. On small dogs, you can do this while they're standing, but on large dogs, you may need to lift their front paws off of the ground.

The second method requires your dog to be lying on their side. You will place your hands on their side, just over their ribs in a position similar to CPR, then perform quick thrusts.

In my opinion, a video is worth a thousand words (or 350 in this case), so here is an instructional video.

I sincerely hope you never need to perform CPR on a dog, but hope this helps if you do.