Good Life Dog Walking goes First Aid Training!

When I decided to set up my business, my first thought was to put myself in the clients’ position.

Why should they let me take care of their precious family member?

Well, I have lots of experience with different dogs and love seeing them run around together having a whale of a time. Being out in the fresh air is what walking is all about. But what if something goes wrong? Dogs running around can get injured, pick up poison; suffer a snake attack or insect sting or numerous other accidents. I wanted to make sure that I was prepared to deal with such an emergency to give my clients peace of mind that their dog would be safe until we got to the vet.

So, off I went to Animal Aiders Dog First Aid course at Forrest Feeds near Newark. What an eye opener!
The course was run by Sophie and Lucy, a trained Veterinary Nurse with 17 years’ experience, 10 of which were in emergency veterinary care.

We started off by covering Basic signs of health – what is normal? – Before moving on to injuries and bandaging. Different kinds of wound were discussed and advice on how to treat each given and explained. Simple things like how to make a temporary buster collar while transporting the dog to the vet were most helpful.

We covered choking and breathing difficulties and learnt how to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on a dog! I practiced CPR (Cardio Pulmonary resuscitation) on Casper (the doggy dummy) and was surprised at how quickly I needed to massage the heart and how hard it is to blow enough air into the lungs to fill them!

How to recognise serious illness such as Toxic Poisoning, Bloat and allergic reactions was also covered and of great value. I once had an epileptic dog and I could recognise the signs of a fit before it happened so could prepare for it without panicking.

I now feel more at ease with my ability to cope with an emergency situation. Keeping a clear head and being prepared for anything is essential to ensure the best result from any emergency.

My dogs are all currently being used as guinea pigs for bandaging, taking their pulse and being held in a restraining position. A dog that is used to all these things happening in a relaxed state will be much calmer in an emergency too.

Tip – I’ve added a roll of adhesive bandage to my dog walking bag ….. 😉

I would gladly recommend the course to any dog owner……