Your dog's first aid kit

For some time now, I've been thinking that I should carry a first aid kit with me in case something happens to my dog ​​during our holidays or walks…

A few days ago, I found myself very stupid when my dog ​​was attacked by wasps...

Nose stuck to the ground as always, she sniffed a buried swarm. And there: the drama!!! 6 bites on the ears, leg and nose; luckily I had tweezers in my purse to remove all the stings, but I had absolutely nothing to relieve or disinfect it… No more mistaking it!

So I bought a first aid kit for my dog ​​and read some information on first aid for dogs. In this article, you will therefore find the exhaustive list of everything that your dog's first aid kit should contain if you do not want to buy it ready-made.

So I ordered the Trixie first aid kit and tested it for you. To complement the article, I interviewed Noémie, the proud owner of five Landseer and Newfoundland dogs , who took a specific "dog" first aid course to properly care for her little pack. She shares some additional tips with us.

Please note, this is not intended to replace the work and care of your veterinarian, but rather to provide you with the necessary first aid skills for emergencies. Depending on your pet's health, some of the advice in this article may not be applicable and may be discouraged by your veterinarian: consult with them to confirm the appropriate first aid kit for your pet!

The Trixie first aid kit contains:

• a compress
• band with integrated compress
• bandaging tape
• sticking plaster
• two disinfectant wipes
• a dosing pipette to rinse the wound, hydrate your dog or give him his medication
• tweezers
• a pair of sterile gloves to put on before handling your dog
• a tic tire
• un chip comb
• a muzzle cord: to muzzle the dog and avoid defensive bites if your care hurts him

Remember, this is a first aid kit for providing initial care to your dog when you're out and about, such as on vacation or hiking, and not your home medicine cabinet. With its contents, you can disinfect a small wound, keep it clean for the rest of the walk, remove a thorn from a paw pad, or quickly treat a tick.

For my part, the Trixie first aid kit and its contents are a good base, but I replaced two things that I judged to be moderately adequate: the plastic tweezers with real tweezers that are much finer and therefore more precise to my taste and the muzzle cord by a strip of flat fabric, surely more pleasant for the muzzle of the dog. 

Following my discussion with Noémie, who has completed canine first aid training, I advise you to add the following items to the Trixie First Aid Kit to be prepared for all emergency situations:

• pod of saline solution for the eyes
• betadine pod to be able to disinfect, the wipes of the kit are enough for small sores
• additional sterile compresses
• scissors to cut the tape
• thermometer to track dog's temperature
• blanket adapted to the size of the dog
• splint in case of invoice (adapted to the size of the dog)
• dog sock to be able to isolate a paw with an injured pad
• instant cold pocket which will have an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect

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Wondering what this canine first aid training consists of?

Over one or more days of training, the masters learn the gestures to be made to rescue a dog. The master learns how to transport his animal to the health specialist without worsening his general condition and not to replace the veterinarian. The training consists of a theoretical part and a practical part on dog mannequins to learn life-saving gestures: nose mouth, cardiac massage, dressing, disinfection, placing a splint...

To learn more about the training, read the interview with Fidji and Céline, who completed the canine rescue course. They described their day and what they learned.

For the rest of the items to add to this first aid kit , I recommend that you ask your veterinarian for validation, as he may see contraindications for your dog depending on his state of health (allergy, disease…).

Musher apparently isn't allergic to wasp stings, luckily she didn't have any edema. Nevertheless, the pain was there and I could have relieved it with a granule of Apis Melifica 5CH (homeopathy granule) every half hour. These granules relieve puncture trauma. (The 9CH dilution is to be used outside of the emergency, in a dose of 5 granules.) Or even by rubbing the bite with slightly diluted white vinegar.

There are other “magical” tubes to have with you to relieve your dog in case of worries:

• Arnica Montana 9CH: in the event of inflammatory trauma (blows, aches, wounds, sprains, etc.)
• Gelsemium: anti-pain and anti-stress
• Arsenicum album: in case of fatigue or exhaustion of the dog and if food poisoning
• Nux Vomica: in case of digestive disorders. Smecta for humans can also come in addition if this first remedy does not work.

You'll notice that this improved first aid kit will also be useful to you. I'll add an anti-inflammatory ointment for you…

To complete this little kit, add the number of your veterinarian, the 24-hour emergency clinic and the poison control centre. If you take it on vacation, take your animal's health record in it.

I therefore recommend the Trixie First Aid Kit for the basics and add a few things to it to be ready for all eventualities on a walk or on vacation with your dog. The tools in this kit will help you intervene in an emergency to relieve your companion, but do not save a visit to the veterinarian to ensure that the injury or the problem has been taken care of properly.

ALSO READ : Hiking with your dog isn't something you can just wing!, What should your dog's first-aid kit contain?, Taking your dog to the beach: some precautions to take

You can also check out the guide I created on dog training!