Dog First Aid Supplies?

[Ben]

I'm curious what you dog (or cat, as I reckon some stuff will work for both) folks keep around for first aid supplies. I'm thinking about it because Steve got into another altercation today, this time with a ginormous rock chuck that was in the backyard hiding behind the heat pump. He usually grabs them and snaps their necks, but this one was big and fought back. No major damage - it looks more like one of the claws got one of his legs rather than a bite. No bleeding, just two small areas of exposed skin.

Anyways, I went straight to the betadyne and then triple antibiotic, and vet tape on the one that's easy for him to lick. It just got me to thinking what other stuff I might want to keep around. Without doing an inventory and off the top of my head, I've got:

Betadyne
Triple antibiotic
Vet tape
Vet glue
Eye and ear wash the vet gave me (she said avoid most of the stuff on Amazon)
Some "healing oil" the vet gave me that sounds hippie-dippie, but works really well on stuff like infections between the toes
Quikclot gauze

I have heard that chlorhexidine is as good or better than betadyne. I have also heard to avoid alcohol for disinfecting and to avoid hydrocortizone (using the chlorhexidine in its place) for "hot spots" and what not. Of course I have well-stocked human supplies, but as with the alcohol and hydrocortisone, I'm not sure how much of it is "cross-compatible".

Anyways, thoughts? I reckon there will be a difference between treating everyday stuff that doesn't require a vet visit and stuff that requires a vet visit, but with something like a hunting dog in the boonies, you might be doing first responder stuff.

EDIT: If I could find one, I'd love to take the equivalent of a Red Cross first aid class for dogs.

[zxcvbob]

I'd add Benadryl (or equivalent) to the list.  It's cheap, and you probably have it anyway.  I think the dose is 1mg per pound of dog. Not sure how often; the first dose is the important one.

[dogmush]

I do a lot of overlanding with the dogs.

I have a K9 specific IFAK 8n the truck: https://www.chinookmed.com/k9-tecc-kit-advanced-tmk-k9-advanced
Added to that is some battery powered clippers (cheap from Amazon)  to get to the skin if I need to, 4 rolls of vet wrap and some quick clot. 

I normally  have a rescue sling in my pack if I'm  away from the truck (this one: https://sakercanine.com/products/rescue-sling )

As far as antibiotics,  antihistamines,  splints, or the like I share with the human first aid.  Derma bond as well.

If you haven't already thought of it, consider a fabric muzzle.  No matter how sweet the pup is, injured woozy and panicked,  they could be snappy while you are trying to help.

[Kingcreek]

When you say “vet glue” I’m not sure what you mean.
I always carried EMT vet gel when I hunted with some really hard charging dogs. My labs would tear through anything and I worried about them getting laid open a long way from help. The vet gel was an emergency wound closure that was anesthetic and antibiotic.
Water. That was the other thing I sometimes wished I had more of.
I also carried forceps to clamp off a bleed but never needed them for that, used them to pull thorns and splinters though.

[K Frame]

Here's a good article on setting up a pet first aid kit: https://www.dvm360.com/view/4-pet-first-aid-tips-for-pet-parents

Basically 90% of what you keep in a human first aid kit is good for your furry friends.

There are some absolute do NOT give in the medicine front -- tylenol and naproxen sodium, and Ibuprofen will kill a dog.

Be careful with the topical antibiotics, too, as many of them are toxic across the board, which is why they don't show up in pill form.

Consider keeping hydrogen peroxide on hand, as it can be used to induce vomiting.


I've used chlorhexidine veterinary spray for Seren in the past for hot spots. It has always seemed to work well for her. The good thing about that is that it was non-stinging (water based, not alcohol based), while the gentacin-base hot spot spray seems to come in extra and super painful formulations.

[Ben]

Thanks for the tips so far, guys. Some good additions for me there. It seems for my situation, my main needs are minor cuts/scrapes/punctures that a farm dog just runs into that I can treat at home, and then since Steve sometimes goes into the boonies with me, the potential for major wounds. Anything in between, and I can get him to his vet or the urgent care.

While I have the quikclot gauze, Dogmush brings up a good point with his canine trauma pack. While my own backcountry IFAKs have stuff like zfold gauze and Israeli bandages, I wasn't thinking about applying those to dog emergency first aid, and they certainly can be. On the topical antibiotics, my vet told me that the triple antibiotic I use is safe, though that discussion also led to her giving me the healing oil I mentioned. I just threw some chlorhexidine in the Amazon basket.

Interestingly, I found there are quite a few dog first aid training classes available, including by the Red Cross. Many of these appear to be online, but I'm going to take those classes. I'd still like to find a hands on one, as that's the best practice, as I learned when I took Stop the Bleed, where you actually had to "stop the bleeding". Plus stuff like having an expert available to guide me through simpler stuff, like apply vet tape, where I'm always worried about applying it too tightly while Steve slips it off if I do it too loosely.

On the vet glue, I'm talking about dermabond, vetbond, or any of the "medical super glues". On that, the clippers are a great suggestion. I've only had one bad cut on Steve where I wanted to close the wound before I got him to the vet, and stuff like steri-strips absolutely DOES NOT work with fur. 

EDIT: Oh, here's an example link for online training:

https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/first-aid/cat-dog-first-aid