If your dog has been injured and has a wound that is bleeding, the first thing to do is stop the bleeding and keep the area from becoming infected if possible. If a wound isn’t bleeding because it has clotted, leave it alone and get to a vet. However, if the wound is oozing or spurting blood, apply pressure.
Take several gauze pads from your emergency first aid kit and place them over the wound. Press with your finger or the heel of your hand (depending on the dog’s size and the wound’s size) for 5 to 10 minutes. Secure the gauze with tape, adding more if necessary without removing the original gauze held against the wound. If you have bandaged the wound, watch for swelling, indicating the bandage is too tight. Loosen it but continue to apply pressure to the wound with your hand over the gauze.
If your dog is spurting blood from an artery and you can’t stop the bleeding with pressure, apply a tourniquet. Only use a tourniquet if you can’t control the bleeding with direct pressure. Place the tourniquet above the wound, or between the wound and the heart. With a strip of cloth or gauze, or even a belt, loop the tourniquet once or twice around the limb—again, above the wound—and insert a stick in the loop. Turn the stick to gently and slowly tighten the tourniquet. Tighten only to the point that bleeding stops. Loosen the tourniquet every 10 minutes to prevent tissue death. Loosen the tourniquet and if blood continues to flow, let it flow for several seconds then retighten. If bleeding has stopped, apply a pressure bandage.
Once you have bleeding under control, transport your dog to the vet or emergency clinic. Or, work to stop bleeding while someone else drives you.
Excerpted from The Simple Guide to a Healthy Dog by Eve Adamson, published by TFH Publications, used with permission.
