You advertise Dog First Aid Courses for people to come and learn how to help dogs in a time of need. What could our readers expect to cover in a standard First Aid Training Course?
Our courses are CPD accredited and veterinary approved and aimed at anyone who owns or works professionally with dogs. I try to keep the course fun and light-hearted where I can. We cover many aspects of emergency first aid for dogs and always recommend they seek advice from their vet as soon as possible. The course covers; seizures, bleeding, poisoning, choking, practical CPR, road accidents, eye injuries and how to carry out a full body examination and more.
What in your professional opinion are the first 3 things an owner would need to know if their dog was an emergency case? Is it similar to how you would assist a human?
The main things an owner should do in an emergency is to ensure their own safety, call for help and call their vet, secure the dog and carry out a full body examination. We call these the foundations of dog first aid. Remember to take a breath as we have a big effect on a dog if we panic so does the dog.
What is the biggest ‘Do Not Do!’ in an emergency situation?
In an emergency you should NEVER put yourself in danger, dogs are very good at getting themselves out of trouble.
What should I do if my dog was suddenly overcome by choking?
It's best if you view our video for this one, it explains it in great detail:
What would you advise if you think your dog has eaten something that is possibly poisonous?
If you think that your dog has eaten something poisonous, you must never watch and wait to get in touch with your vet as soon as possible. Never make your dog sick as this may cause more burning in the throat. Try to take a sample or packaging of what you think they may have eaten and taken it to the vet with you.
Where can our readers find the nearest First Aid Course to them since you are located all over the UK?
You can find all our courses on www.dog-first-aid.com and look in the contact section. Scroll down to the relevant area where you live, this will introduce you to your local trainer and below are the courses they are running. We all have Facebook pages too for instance mine is; Dog First Aid Kent. We publish top tips daily and advertise all the courses on the page.
How often do you run workshops?
We run courses almost every weekend around a majority of the UK, in Kent I run on average 2 courses a month which I organise. I tend to have 2 further courses where they are hosted by a dog business (trainer, walker, groomer etc) Dog charity or a group of walking friends.