So this next lesson might not seem
like it belongs in a human CPR course.
And although they're not humans,
we do believe pets are family, too.
And that's why we decided
to include dog CPR into our curriculum.
I'm gonna hand things over to Dr. Bobbi Conner.
Dr. Conner is a licensed veterinarian
and a veterinary professor at the University of Florida.
- To give chest compressions to your pet during CPR,
you first want to make sure
that you're both positioned appropriately.
Your pet should be on his side.
Either side is fine, and you should be positioned above him,
so that when you're giving compressions,
you can lock your elbows.
You don't want him too close to you,
because if you have to do compressions this way,
you'll lose a lot of strength.
Now your hand position will be a little bit different
depending on whether or not
you have a big or a small animal.
For dogs that are about 25 pounds or bigger,
you want to put your hands
over the widest part of the chest.
So generally back a little bit closer to the spine,
in the middle of the chest.
Right about here for Quinn.
You're gonna put one hand on top of the other,
again lock your elbows,
and that's how you're gonna give the compressions.
For cats and smaller dogs,
you wanna put your hand over the heart,
and to find where the heart would be,
bend the top leg until you find the point of the elbow.
Where the point of the elbow meets the chest
is about where the heart is gonna be,
and that's where you wanna position your hands.
Again, one over the other,
or in very small animals,
you can put your thumb and fingers
on either side of the chest and squeeze that way.
All right, Quinn.
Now for demonstration purposes,
I'm gonna lay this towel down
so that you can see my stuffed animal
a little bit more easily.
But the basic rules are gonna be the same.
Put your hands in position over the heart,
or the widest part of their chest,
depending on the size.
Over the animal with elbows locked, and compress the chest.
Each compression should be even,
and should compress the chest
by about half, to a third, of the width of the chest.
Making sure that you release completely
in between compressions.
Now, you're gonna want to give about 100 to 120
compressions per minute, which is a lot.
And it's also very difficult to get that pace down.
So some tricks that you can use,
is give the compressions to the beat
of one of a couple songs.
One would be "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees,
or if you prefer Queen,
you can go with "Another One Bites the Dust".
So again, position your hands, lock your elbows,
and give compressions as so.
Now, if you're by yourself,
you're gonna need to interrupt compressions
after about 30 to give rescue breath.
You're also gonna want to check the pulse
at that time to see if it's returned.
If not, immediately return to chest compressions.
Ideally though, you're gonna have a partner.
And so if you have more than one rescuer,
you should be alternating roles.
While one person is giving
chest compressions, without interruption,
the other person is giving rescue breaths.
One about every six to eight seconds.
Now giving chest compressions can be exhausting,
so you will need to switch roles about every two minutes.
And these transitions need to be smooth,
so that we minimize interruptions in chest compressions.
Don't forget to check for a pulse,
and if you do find that the pulse has returned,
you'll need to transport your pet immediately
to a veterinary facility.
Chester, Chester.
He's not breathing.
I can't feel a pulse.
Anna, I'm gonna need your help.
Can you give him a breath every eight seconds?
Okay, it's been almost two minutes,
can you come around and tell me if you feel a pulse?
- No pulse. - Okay.
I'm starting to get tired so I'm
gonna need you to switch out with me.
Can you put your hands over mine?
And on the count of three.
One, two, three, go.
(exhales deeply)
And we're gonna continue like that,
until we either get a pulse back,
or ten to twenty minutes have gone by.
- We hope you've enjoyed learning
about dog CPR from Dr. Conner.
She created a course with ProTrainings,
that covers over 40 other topics
on first aid and CPR, just for your pets.
We have a special offer just for you,
that'll show up upon completion of this course.
So if you have family pets
and are interested in learning more from Dr. Conner,
you can get started shortly.