A trauma, an electric shock, a drowning or obstruction of the airways, are just some of the causes that can generate a cardiorespiratory arrest in our pet.

In those cases, we must act quickly and perform the so-called cardiopulmonary resuscitation as soon as possible. In the following article, we detail the steps to follow to perform this maneuver successfully.

Check if the dog is breathing

The first thing we should do is verify if our pet is breathing; To do this, we must observe if the pupils are dilated and if the gums are gray or bluish. These are the first symptoms that tell us that the dog is wrong.

From there, we should approach our face to the animal’s snout to see if we notice its breath, visualize if there are thoracic movements and bring the ear closer to the heart area to check if the heart beats.

Also, the pulse can be felt at the level of the femoral artery that passes through the inner side of the thighs. Make sure the airways are clear of obstruction, removing any object or food immediately.

Once we confirm the dog’s lack of breathing, we have to proceed to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation consisting of a respiratory phase and a cardiac phase.

Perform the respiratory phase of revival

To motivate breathing in the respiratory phase, we have to lay the animal in a lateral position, resting on its right side. It is necessary to extend the head a little back and get closer, take your snout strongly and blow at the level of the nostrils.

We can know if we are performing this maneuver well because the thoracic cavity will make an extension movement through the air inlet. Keep in mind that this movement depends on the size of the dog.

In addition, we must be careful with the pressure and the time in which the air is exhaling, so that we will not cause trauma to the lungs.

Perform the cardiac phase of the maneuver

In the cardiac phase, to perform the cardiac massage we have to put our hands intertwined and support them in the chest area; extend the shoulders and make a movement by pressing the thoracic cavity firmly. The movement must be carried out with the arms extended, without flexing them.

In large breed dogs, for every 15 times we do the compression movement at the chest level, we must perform 5 breaths, while in smaller dogs we will perform 10 chest compressions and 3 breaths.

Each time we finish the massage, we must observe whether the animal has resumed its voluntary respiratory movement and heartbeat again. This should be done for about 20 minutes since, after that time, it is difficult to obtain a favorable response in the animal.

Regardless of the dog’s response to the cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuver, we must immediately go to the veterinary clinic to attend to the animal for possible injuries that have caused both the respiratory arrest and the performance of the maneuver.