😮Choking
Signs: Pawing at the mouth, retching without bringing anything up, blue-tinged gums, panic, or silent, laboured efforts to breathe.
✔ Do
- Stay calm and safely open the mouth. If you can clearly see the object and reach it, sweep it out with a finger or tweezers - do not push it deeper.
- For a small dog or cat, hold them with the back down and give up to five firm thrusts just below the ribcage, inward and upward.
- For a large dog, stand behind them, make a fist just behind the ribs and give up to five quick upward thrusts (a canine Heimlich).
- Check the mouth again between attempts, and get to a vet the moment the airway is clear or if you cannot dislodge it.
🚫 Never: Do not blindly poke fingers down the throat, which can drive the object deeper or cause a bite injury. Do not waste time if they collapse - go straight to emergency care.
🚑 Vet: Any choking is an emergency. Even if you clear it, the throat can swell, so have them checked.
☠️Poisoning
Signs: Vomiting, drooling, tremors, seizures, wobbliness, sudden collapse, or you simply saw them eat something toxic.
✔ Do
- Call your vet or a pet poison line at once (in the US, ASPCA Animal Poison Control 888-426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline 855-764-7661).
- Have the packaging or a sample of the substance, the rough amount, and your pet's weight ready.
- Follow their instructions exactly, and note the time it was eaten.
- If advised to travel, bring the packaging and any vomit with you.
🚫 Never: Do not make your pet vomit unless a vet tells you to - with some poisons (acids, petroleum, sharp objects) it does far more harm. Do not give home remedies like salt, milk or oil.
🚑 Vet: Call immediately. Minutes matter with many toxins, and the right first step depends entirely on what was swallowed.
🥵Heatstroke
Signs: Heavy, frantic panting, bright red gums, drooling, wobbling, vomiting, or collapse - often after heat, exercise or a hot car.
✔ Do
- Move them to shade or air conditioning immediately and stop all activity.
- Cool with cool (not ice-cold) water over the body, especially the belly, armpits and groin, and keep air moving over them with a fan.
- Offer small sips of cool water if they are alert enough to drink.
- Head to the vet even if they seem to recover - internal damage can follow hours later.
🚫 Never: Do not use ice or ice-cold water, which constricts vessels and traps heat. Do not cover them with a wet towel and leave it on - it holds heat in.
🚑 Vet: A true emergency. Cool on the way, but get to a vet fast; heatstroke damages organs even after the temperature drops.
🩸Severe bleeding
Signs: Blood that spurts, soaks through fast, or will not stop, from a wound, paw, ear or the mouth.
✔ Do
- Press firmly on the wound with a clean cloth or gauze and hold steady pressure for several minutes without lifting to peek.
- If it soaks through, add another layer on top rather than removing the first.
- For a limb, you can add a firm (not tourniquet-tight) bandage over the pad and elevate it if the animal allows.
- Keep them warm and calm and get to a vet.
🚫 Never: Do not apply a tourniquet unless a vet directs you - done wrong it can cost the limb. Do not keep lifting the pad to check, which restarts the bleed.
🚑 Vet: Heavy or spurting bleeding, or any bleed you cannot control in a few minutes, is an emergency.
💔Not breathing / CPR
Signs: No breathing, no response, and no heartbeat or pulse (feel the chest behind the left elbow or inside the thigh).
✔ Do
- Check the airway and clear anything blocking it. Pull the tongue forward and look inside the mouth.
- For rescue breaths, close the mouth, extend the neck, and breathe into the nose - watch for the chest to rise. Give a breath every few seconds.
- For compressions, lay them on their side, hands over the widest part of the chest (or over the heart in small pets), and push hard and fast, about 100-120 a minute.
- Alternate 30 compressions with 2 breaths, and have someone drive you to the vet while you work.
🚫 Never: Do not start compressions if there is still a heartbeat. Do not give up too early - keep going until you reach veterinary help.
🚑 Vet: Call ahead and go immediately. CPR buys time; it is not a cure, and survival needs a vet.
⚡Seizure
Signs: Collapse with paddling legs, jerking, drooling, loss of bladder or bowel control, and a dazed period afterwards.
✔ Do
- Clear the space around them of furniture and hazards, and dim the lights and noise.
- Do not touch the mouth. Time the seizure - most last under two minutes.
- Keep others and other pets away, and let them come round quietly afterwards.
- Note what happened and any triggers to tell your vet.
🚫 Never: Do not put anything in the mouth - pets cannot swallow their tongue, and you will be bitten. Do not restrain or cuddle them mid-seizure.
🚑 Vet: See a vet after any first seizure. Call at once for a seizure over five minutes, or several in a row - that is a genuine emergency.
🚗Hit by car / trauma
Signs: Obvious injury, limping, pain, difficulty breathing, pale gums, or shock after a fall, fight or road accident.
✔ Do
- Approach gently - a hurt animal may bite. Muzzle a dog if safe and needed, but never if breathing is difficult or they are vomiting.
- Move them as little and as flat as possible; slide them onto a board or blanket to carry, supporting the spine.
- Cover to keep warm, control obvious bleeding with pressure, and get to a vet immediately.
- Even a pet that seems fine can have internal injuries - have them checked.
🚫 Never: Do not give any human painkillers - many are toxic to pets. Do not let them run off to hide, and do not assume no visible wound means no injury.
🚑 Vet: Always an emergency, even if they look unharmed. Internal bleeding and shock are not visible from outside.
🎈Bloat (GDV) - dogs
Signs: A swollen, hard belly, unproductive retching, drooling, restlessness and pacing, most often in deep-chested large-breed dogs.
✔ Do
- Treat it as a life-threatening emergency and go to a vet immediately, calling ahead so they are ready.
- Keep the dog as calm and still as you can on the way.
- Do not wait to see if it passes - a twisted stomach cuts off blood supply within hours.
🚫 Never: Do not offer food or water, do not try to make them vomit, and do not press on the belly. There is no safe home treatment.
🚑 Vet: One of the fastest-killing emergencies in dogs. Every minute counts - go now.
🐝Allergic reaction / sting
Signs: A swollen face or muzzle, hives, intense itching, vomiting, or in severe cases difficulty breathing and collapse after a sting, food or medication.
✔ Do
- If you see a bee sting, scrape it out sideways with a card rather than squeezing it.
- Call your vet - they may advise an antihistamine and the correct pet dose for your animal's weight.
- Watch closely for swelling that spreads to the throat or any breathing trouble.
- Keep them calm and cool while you get advice.
🚫 Never: Do not give any human medication without checking the dose with a vet first. Do not wait out facial swelling that is getting worse.
🚑 Vet: Mild hives can often wait for a call, but any breathing difficulty, collapse or fast-spreading swelling is an emergency - go at once.
🔥Burns
Signs: Red, blistered or singed skin, pain, or a chewed electrical cord, from heat, chemicals, or an electric shock.
✔ Do
- Cool a heat burn with cool running water or a cool wet cloth for several minutes.
- For a chemical burn, flush with lots of water and, if you know it, note the chemical for the vet.
- For an electric shock, switch off the power before touching your pet, then check breathing.
- Cover loosely with a clean, damp cloth and get to a vet.
🚫 Never: Do not use ice, butter, creams or ointments on a burn. Do not touch a pet that may still be in contact with a live wire.
🚑 Vet: Any burn beyond a tiny superficial one needs a vet, and electrical burns always do - internal damage is common.
These cards are general first-aid guidance based on widely accepted veterinary advice (such as the RECOVER CPR guidelines and AVMA first-aid recommendations). They are not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional veterinary care, and doses, techniques and decisions can vary with your individual pet. In any emergency, your first move is to contact a vet. Consider taking a hands-on pet first-aid and CPR course, and keep your vet and a poison-control number saved in your phone.