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Dealing with Burns and Scalds

A burn is an injury produced by dry heat and a scald by moist heat, but the first-aid treatment is the same for both. Except in very minor cases, these injuries need immediate treatment by a veterinary surgeon. Shock is present in all moderately or seriously burnt or scalded dogs and the prognosis for the latter is not good. Toxaemia and sepsis are common secondary consequences.

The dog should be treated for and placed in a bed, lightly but warmly covered and made as comfortable as possible. A teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda should be given by mouth and the dog should be encouraged to drink warm milk with glucose, as fluid is most important in injuries of this kind.

The burn or scald should receive emergency treatment as follows: the hair over and surrounding the area should be removed with round-topped surgical scissors and the wound covered with dry bicarbonate of soda applied thickly, or with a pad soaked in a solution of bicarbonate of soda and water, one ounce to one pint of boiled water. Infection of such injuries is common, so everything used should be scrupulously clean and the wound covered as quickly as possible. On no account should grease, oil or ointment be used.

Very small burns can be successfully treated with tannic acid jelly.

The diet of burnt or scalded dogs should in due course be especially rich in the protein (body-building) foods such as meat, and extra supplies should be given to help in the repair of the injured tissues. The extra protein is equally necessary in accident cases and wherever there is serious injury, as soon as a normal diet is allowed.

Choking

This is fortunately not very common, but that it is a very dangerous and urgent condition requiring immediate attention will be appreciated when it is realised that death from asphyxiation can take place within two minutes. The reader is advised to make himself completely familiar with the procedure outlined below-if choking actually occurs there will be no time to refer to books.

Some dogs have smaller gullets than others and are even unable to swallow quite small pieces of meat without choking. Meat should be given in really tiny bits or in large chunks impossible to swallow whole. Sometimes two pieces are joined together by gristle and this often causes choking.

Be careful what you give to dogs for playthings. Rubber toys are particularly dangerous; they can be fatal if wedged in the throat.

The symptoms of choking are alarming; sometimes the dog makes little noise but falls over on his side and shows every sign of asphyxiation, with cyanosed tongue, and so on. Left untreated, he will die in a few moments. You must prise open the dog's jaws - sometimes considerable force is necessary - by pressing on the back molars and pressing down the lower jaw with the other hand. Then, holding the mouth open as wide as possible, you must try either to hook up the offending object with your forefinger or, if this is impossible, push it down. Often the dog will vomit in the latter case and rid himself of the meat, or whatever it is. You must be prepared to be bitten in a good cause as the dog will be frantic with fear and will not know what he is doing, but if you work at top speed, efficiently and decisively, you will probably be successful. If a friend is present who can hold the dog's jaws open while you remove the obstruction so much the better, but it is usually an emergency to be tackled single-handed. This is a matter where only the dog owner can save his animal's life-even if the veterinary surgeon lived next door it would be too late to call him-you must act immediately and at top speed, as only heroic measures are likely to be successful.

With bones, the need is not as a rule so urgent and although the dog will make definite choking noises, paw at his mouth and be acutely uncomfortable, there is not usually much danger from asphyxiation.

Once again the mouth should be opened and the bone should be removed if feasible, as gently as possible as the throat is easily lacerated. If it seems firmly wedged use no force but try to loosen it with your finger, but if it seems fixed it becomes a matter for a veterinary surgeon. Usually these cases call mainly for knack, but as pain and injury are so easily caused by clumsy handling it is always wise to call in professional assistance where difficulty is experienced.

To sum up, be careful what you give your dog (there is no point in running unnecessary risks) and if choking occurs drop everything and act AT ONCE.

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