Artificial Respiration for Dogs

Artificial respiration may be necessary, if your dog ever becomes unconscious. It may be done in combination with chest compressions, which is known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. If respiratory arrest occurs (your dog stops breathing), artificial respiration must be given immediately to save your dogs life.

The heart may only continue beating for a few minutes after respiratory arrest has occured. If cardiac arrest occurs (your dogs heart stops beating), you will need to get the blood pumping by performing chest compressions. Artificial respiration and chest compressions go hand in hand (CPR), and it is important for every dog owner to learn these procedures. This post is about artificial respiration, tomorrow we will bring it all together with the steps for chest compression.

Artificial Respiration

As soon as your dog has gone into respiratory arrest, you must begin artificial respiration immediately. No time to even get him to the veterinarian, you literally have minutes to save your dog's life.

First of all, you need to lay your dog on his side on a flat surface. Check for breathing by watching his chest or feeling for breath on your hand. In addition, you can check by looking at his gums, which turn blue from lack of oxygen.

Second, check his airway. Open your dog's mouth to see if you can find a foreign object. If an object is blocking the airway, grab the tongue and pull it outward. Many times the action of pulling your dogs tongue will dislodge the object. If not, try to dislodge the object with your fingers, or pliers to grasp it. If the object cannot be reached or pulled out, use the Heimlich maneuver for dogs.

If you do not find anything lodged in throat or have removed item, you can proceed to rescue breathing steps.

With your dog on his side, you will need to lift his chin to straighten out his throat. Use one hand on his muzzle and hold your dogs mouth shut.

Place your mouth completely over the nose and blow gently; the chest should expand. Blow just enough to move his chest (blow harder for large dogs, gently for cats and small dogs).

Wait for the air to leave the lungs before breathing again. Keep going at the rate of about 20 breaths per minute, or one breath every three seconds. Continue breathing for your dog until he breathes on his own.

Continue to monitor the heartbeat, if the heart stops beating, you will need to start performing chest compressions simultaneously, which we will cover in tomorrow's post.