First aid for bleeding in dogs - recommendations of a canine veterinarian

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Dog Circulatory System

To understand how to properly assist a dog with bleeding, it is necessary to imagine how the circulatory system of dogs is organized.

The circulatory system is the vessels and heart. Vessels that carry blood from the heart are arteries. Red blood flows enriched with them, enriched with nutrients and oxygen. The jerk of the heart gives acceleration to this blood, so it runs fast.

As they approach individual cells, the vessels become thinner, and already in the organs themselves, for example, in the skin, turn into capillaries. There, the blood changes to venous and then enters the veins - vessels that carry blood saturated with carbon dioxide and decay products to the heart. That way the blood moves more slowly, it is darker in color.

This is important to know in order to determine whether a dog has bleeding: arterial, venous or capillary.

With venous bleeding, blood flows in a trickle. In arterial - it beats a fountain.

Capillary bleeding occurs when the surface vessels are damaged. Blood can be red or cherry, flowing out gradually.

The dangers of bleeding in dogs

Venous bleeding is fraught with slow blood loss. If you constantly flush the wound with water, you will not stop it.

Arterial bleeding can lead to rapid blood loss. This blood coagulates with difficulty.

Capillary bleeding is dangerous for blood loss in case of a large surface of the wound (for example, a wound on the paw pad is more than 2 cm2).

First aid for a dog with arterial bleeding

1. Lay the dog down, take the tourniquet (a bandage, rope, rubber tube, collar or leash will do), drag the limb above the wound.

2. If using a rope, tie the ends, pass a stick there and twist clockwise until the rope pulls its paw.

3. If you can stop the blood, leave the tourniquet tightened and immediately go to the veterinarian.

4. The wound is only processed around the edges, if you have at hand green or iodine. Pouring these drugs into the wound is strictly prohibited - they will burn tissue.

5. Apply a bandage.

6. You can apply cold to the wound through a bandage.

Dirt that can get into the wound is not as bad as bleeding, so do not rinse the clotted blood. If the vet deems it necessary, he will do it himself.

7. If you get to the veterinarian for more than 2 hours, loosen the tourniquet every 1.5 hours. If blood starts to gush again - tighten it. If you leave the tourniquet for more than 2 hours, decay products will accumulate below, and this is fraught with tissue death.

First aid for a dog with venous bleeding

If dark blood slowly flows from the wound (longer than 2 minutes), a pressure dressing should be applied. Roll up the roller (you can use cotton wool and a bandage) and lay on the wound. Bandage tightly. Very tight!
After 1.5 hours, loosen the dressing. If the blood still flows, tighten again.
If the wound is large or you doubt that you can stop the blood, call a doctor or take the dog to a veterinarian.

First aid for a dog with capillary bleeding

This bleeding is the easiest to stop.

Put a hemostatic sponge or dry gelatin crystals on the wound.
Put a tight bandage, put ice under it (wrapping it with a towel).
When the bleeding stops, wash the wound (if it is dirty) with water, grease the edges with green. If you have iodine, proceed with extreme caution!
If the blood flowed again after washing, repeat steps 1 - 2 again.