Friday, March 31, 2017

Dear Abby - How to Help a Choking Dog

Dear Friends,

I am here to talk about a serious topic this week.  I had a scare a couple of weeks ago and Momma said I should tell you about it here.

At night I get a crunchy biscuit before bedtime.  A couple of weeks ago Momma gave me my crunchy biscuit as she was unmaking the bed for the night.  I ran into the other room to enjoy it.  Moments later I returned and got up on the bed and acted very agitated.  I was pawing at my mouth and gagging.

Momma thought I was going to have an upset stomach, so she got down on the floor with me.  Unfortunately, this continued on the floor.  Momma looked in my mouth and discovered that the biscuit was lodged in my throat!   She said I was so excited about it that I evidently swallowed without chewing.  She was able to gently remove the biscuit, and all was well.  We were both VERY relieved!

But this changed things at my house.  Now my crunchy biscuit is broken into three parts, and I only get a treat when Momma is in the room.

And she has learned more about what to do when your pet is choking.

Here is a very good article with step by step information.  I would encourage dog people to read this and bookmark it:
WikiHow: How to Save a Choking Dog


This very short video from The Huffington Post even shows how to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a choking canine friend:


I hope you never, ever need this information, but I wanted to share just in case! 

If you have a dog, does he or she eat slowly or does your dog friend tend to swallow food and treats quickly?   (I am in the eager eater camp.)

I would love to hear from you in the comments, below.


Love,

Abby xoxoxo

14 comments:

Masshole Mommy said...

I never even knew that the Heimlich could be done on dogs. This is GREAT information for dog owners to familiarize themselves with.

Lisa Mandina said...

I am always paranoid about that very thing. I make sure that mine only have treats when I'm there. I do give them a little carrot chip, the flat kind that looks like a potato chip, when I leave the house, but that is all I trust for them to have when I'm not there. I'm so glad you are okay Abby!! Dora and Argyle say thank you for sharing this with their mom.

Mary Huckaby said...

Abby, I know this accident was terrifying for you and your Mama, but it's wonderful how you can turn this around in order to help alert hundreds of other fur babies and their humans to this danger. Keep up the good work Abby! Just think, now you get THREE treats at bedtime.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing this great information. I don't have pets, but I will share this with friends and family that do.

barbarakwrites said...

I know this was a scary event for you and your Momma, Abby. But, I think it is important that you do share it as you have. Our standard dachshund, Oz, is very greedy when it comes to food and loves to swallow things without chewing. Our previous two (Auggie & Billy)were the same. We have pulled unchewed food from their throats several times. Now, we take all precautions possible. Oz is always supervised when he eats. I have heard other horror stories about this from people we know. I don't think this subject is talked about often enough and there are products out there that pose a real choking hazard to our much loved pups.

Unknown said...

I read this and my stomach started to get uneasy.I am so glad the lil guy is okay

Annemarie LeBlanc said...

That was indeed scary! My fur baby is not fond of crunchy things and is not interested in treats. His food should be the wet type or else he won't touch it. Thank you for this informative post on how to perform first aid (Heimlich maneuver) on a choking dog. I mean, they can also choke on other stuff they put in their mouth, not only biscuits.

Unknown said...

I would've panicked if my dog choked. Now, I will know what to do.

mail4rosey said...

Oh my goodness, I'd freak out! I have heard dogs can choke on some things, I haven't seen it, and I hope I never do but it's good to now what to do if it does take place.

Abby said...

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for visiting! I hope this post is helpful for preventing more scares like I had.

Love to all,
Abby

Divya @ EatTeachBlog said...

This is so scary! I hope nobody would ever have to use this on their pet, but it's definitely helpful to know how to do!

Anonymous said...

I had no idea you could do that with a dog. Thank you so much for the tips. If that happened to my pal I don't know what I would do.

Abby said...

Thank you for visiting! I hope the info was helpful!

Love,
Abby

ConciergeLibrarian said...

I don't know about dealing with a choking pet at all...LOL...no clue whatsoever because I have no pets and don't foresee that happening anytime soon. Good to know that if needed, you can save your pet