Owning a pet holds a lot of responsibilities, there is so many things that you need to learn about to have a happy healthy pet. Keeping them safe is hard when they are puppies they get into everything just like a toddler. More pets die from preventable trauma then old age. Many owners of dogs feel helpless when their beloved pet is sick or injured, these classes will give the confidence needed to help the pet, and maybe just save their lives.
The American Red Cross offers First Aid Training Classes for Pets now. This class is only a few hours but will give you information that may save the life of your pet. These classes will give you overviews of emergency situations and how to deal with them. We all have heard how to give CPR for humans, but you can give pets CPR which is similar but still different for pets. The way that they teach CPR for pets is you practice on a mannequin of a dog. This way you know where to feel for pulses, and do heart compressions.
The First Aid classes go over and teach you how to save a pet from choking, since choking happens so fast and a pet can die within minutes there is no time to take them to the vets, or to look up the information online to save their life. You have to be prepared for this emergency situation before it happens.
Another topic they cover is what to do incase your pet gets into antifreeze or other poisons, like chocolate for dogs, which is highly toxic to them. Different poisons have different antidotes. Knowing the difference will help you understand which action to take. While it is true that you can call the veterinarian office, time is of the essence to prevent further medical problems for your pet.
The classes teaches basic first aid for bites, bee stings, snake bites, as well as how to set a fracture for your pet if he breaks a bone, or is in a car accident, and you need to stabilize them before transporting to the veterinarian office.
The Red Cross Pet First Aid classes also include a book for you to keep as a reference guide for the emergency. They also have a section included on what to keep for first aid kit for your pet. So that you can administer first aid quickly.
The ideal time to take the class is before you need it. There is no worse feeling then watching you pet die while you stand helpless watching them not knowing what to do. While these classes are not offered everywhere in the United States yet, www.redcross.org will give a listing of classes around your area.
