Serious Bleeding   Minor Cuts and Wounds   Shock   Car and Truck Accidents   Transporting the Injured Dog   Breath Stoppage   Electric Shock and Lightning   Burns and Scalds   Poisoning   Choking

Snakebite   Encounter with a Skunk   Porcupine Quills   Bee, Hornet and Wasp Stings   Dogfights   Attack by a Cat   Heat Exhaustion   Lameness   First Aid Kit

SERIOUS BLEEDING

Cut or torn arteries and veins result in serious bleeding. If the bleeding is not controlled, your dog can bleed to death. Therefore, your promptness in controlling bleeding may save your dog's life.

Symptoms of serious bleeding

Arterial bleeding: You can tell arterial bleeding by the bright red color and the spurting or welling of the blood from the wound.

Venous bleeding: In venous bleeding the blood is dark red and flows steadily from the wound. It may also ooze out.

First Aid

APPLY PRESSURE AT ONCE!

You can apply direct pressure on a sterile pad, clean handkerchief or towel. Place it on the wound and press down firmly. Direct pressure rarely fails to control bleeding, if enough pressure is exerted.

If for some reason you can't check the bleeding by using direct pressure, then apply pressure at the nearest pressure point.

Should you be unable to control the bleeding at the pressure points, apply a tourniquet. Use a belt, necktie, roller bandage or strip of cloth for the tourniquet. The best tourniquet is made from material that is 2 inches wide. Fasten the tourniquet close to the wound and between the wound and the dog's heart. Make the tourniquet tight enough to check bleeding, wrap it around the dog's leg twice and then knot it. Do not remove the tourniquet no matter how long it has been on. Take the dog to a veterinarian and let him remove the tourniquet.