Pet instructor skill review
Course Content
- Introduction to your Pet First Aid Instructor refresher course
- Course introduction
- Dog First Aid and The Law
- The vet and your role in first aid
- The Role of the Dog First Aider
- When is Veterinary Care Required?
- Keeping your pet safe in an emergency
- Car Accidents
- Car Accidents - Injuries and Treatment
- Pet Proofing your home
- Please rescue my pets stickers
- Hand Hygiene
- Dog Microchipping
- Cat microchipping
- Precautions and Safety
- Pet Anatomy and Physiology
- First Aid Kits and Equipment
- Checking a Pets health
- Initial Assessment
- Checking Your Dog's Health and Finding Out What Is Normal
- Gum Colour
- Collecting a Urine Sample
- How Dogs Show Pain
- How Dogs Show Pain - Vets Comments
- Taking a Pulse
- Taking the Temperature
- Taking the Rectal Temperature
- Vital Signs
- Comprehensive Assessment and Checking Vital Signs Example
- Pet Accidents and First Aid
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - CPR
- Choking
- Bleeding Control
- Types of Bleeding
- Dressings, Bandages and Controlling Bleeding
- Catastrophic Bleeding
- Dogs and haemostatic dressings
- What is the ideal animal haemostatic agent
- Collaclot - Collagen pad to stop bleeding and promote clotting
- Dogs and Tourniquets
- Commercial Tourniquets for Dogs
- HaemoCap™ MultiSite - Dogs
- Shock
- Shock - vets comment
- Different Conditions you may see
- Breathing and Respiratory Problems
- Loss of Appetite
- Sneezing
- Lethargy
- Urination Problems
- Weakness in Animals
- Weakness and Collapse - additional vets comments
- Hair Loss and Skin Conditions
- Cataracts
- Dehydration in Dogs
- Clinical signs of dehydration in dogs and cats
- Hydration and rehydration in dogs
- Fluid balance in dogs and cats
- Oralade - treating dehydration
- Oralade for cats
- Oralade - The Science
- Injuries
- Suspected fractures
- Types of fractures on animals
- Dog Fractures Treatment
- Spinal injury and moving an injured dog
- Spinal Injuries
- Paw Problems
- Paws and Claws
- Nail and Claw Injuries
- Eye Injuries
- Eye Problems
- Ear Problems
- General Bandaging
- Bandaging the Ear
- Bandaging the Tail and Tail Injuries
- Bandaging the Body
- Fight Wounds
- Puncture Wounds
- Mouth and Dental Problems
- Animal bites and scratches on dogs
- Small Cuts, Scratches and Grazes
- Bandage aftercare
- Stings on animals
- Ibuprofen and pets
- Carbon Monoxide and dogs
- Poisoning
- Vet poison information line
- Inducing Vomiting in a Dog
- Inducing Vomiting - vets comments
- Snake Bites
- Dog Burns
- Chemical Burns
- Electrocution
- Electric Shocks
- Cruciate Ligament
- Falls From Height
- Illness
- Dogs and Illnesses
- Bloat and Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV)
- Why do dogs eat grass
- Why are Onions Toxic to Dogs
- Why is Chocolate Toxic to Dogs
- High Temperatures and Heatstroke
- Hyperthermia - Vets Comments
- Hypothermia Treatment
- Hypothermia - vets comments
- Vomiting in Animals
- Different Types and Causes of Vomiting
- Vomiting - vets comments
- Seizures and Epilepsy
- Diabetes
- Allergies in Dogs
- Allergic reactions
- Pancreatitis
- Cushings Disease
- Nose and Respiratory Problems - Vet
- Breathing Difficulties
- Coughing and kennel cough
- Kennel Cough - vets comments
- Diarrhoea in Animals
- Stomach Conditions
- Possible Causes of Blood in Dog Faeces
- Rabies
- Alabama Foot Rot
- Blue Green Algae
- Hip Dysplasia
- Urinary Tract Infections
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Pyometra
- Vestibular Syndrome
- Parasites that affect pets
- Cats
- Different types and sizes of animals
- Summary and Your Practical Session
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The final vital sign that can be important and useful for a vet to know would be temperature. In animals, we tend to take the rectal temperature. There are ear thermometers that you can get and use, but they are very unreliable and animals generally do not like you sticking things in their ears. So the rectal temperature is a lot safer and easier to do on any animal. You would use a thermometer like this. These digital thermometers are really easy to read and very quick to take temperature as well. The part of the thermometer that actually takes the temperature is the bulb at the end of it, so this is the part that needs to be in contact with the inside of the rectum when you are taking the temperature.What you would do is use a little bit of lubricant and get your animal to stand up if you can. Oh, good girl. And you lift the tail and you are just going to put the thermometer just inside the rectum. What you want to be doing is making sure that when you do take a temperature, the thermometer is in contact with the inside of the rectum and not just in through the centre of the rectum. Because what can happen is that there is a lot of faeces in the rectum, that thermometer may just be going straight into a collection of faeces and it will not be taking a reliable internal temperature of your animal. So when you pull it out, if it is covered in faeces, I would suggest cleaning that thermometer and trying to do it again and just making sure that the bulb is just in contact with the inside of the rectum. You do not need to apply a lot of pressure to do that but just push it slightly to the side of the rectum once you have put it in.The normal temperature for dogs and cats does have a range of between 37.5 to just over 39, but if you just remember a temperature of between 38 and 39 is normal and anything greatly above or below that is something that you need to be taking note of and relaying back to your vet. When it comes to the pulse rate, they vary greatly between species and again, between breeds within the species. So in a large dog, the normal pulse rate, heart rate, would be anywhere between 80 to 120. In your smaller breeds, it is more likely to be at the higher range of what we would classify as normal, so up to 140 to 160. You will also find in smaller dogs, as in puppies, they would also have a higher pulse rate than when they are an adult. In cats, a normal pulse rate would be anything from about 100 to 160.
Pet First Aid: Monitoring Temperature and Pulse
Importance of Monitoring Temperature
Temperature is a crucial vital sign for assessing the health of animals during emergencies.
Methods of Taking Temperature
Rectal temperature measurement is preferred due to its reliability and ease of use.
- Rectal Thermometer: Use a digital thermometer with a lubricated bulb for accurate readings.
- Proper Technique: Ensure the thermometer bulb is in contact with the rectal wall, not faecal matter.
- Temperature Range: Normal temperature for dogs and cats ranges from 37.5°C to just over 39°C.
Monitoring Pulse Rate
Pulse rate varies among different animal species and breeds.
- Dogs: Normal pulse rate is between 80 to 120 beats per minute (bpm) for large dogs, and higher (up to 140 to 160 bpm) for smaller breeds and puppies.
- Cats: Normal pulse rate ranges from 100 to 160 bpm.
Understanding and monitoring these vital signs can provide critical information for assessing the health status of your pet.