Lisa Krieger, owner of Southern Alberta K9 First Aid, with her two therapy dogs.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
All Dogs Great and Small (medhatdogs.ca) is hosting a canine first-aid and CPR course in January. The course teaches some basic skills, from how to remove a ball lodged in a throat to dealing with broken bones so the dog can be transported to a vet.
Owner Adam Jones said, “For us, it’s very important to have the dog community able to help their dogs in case of an emergency. They are important skills we think everyone should know. Hopefully you never need it, but if you do, it’s sure good to have in your back pocket.”
Southern Alberta K9 First Aid will be providing the training, as owner Lisa Krieger travels all over Canada to teach these courses. She has two other trainers working for her and they are booked solid until June of next year. Canine Health Canada (caninehealthcanada.com) created the program. They write the manuals along with training the trainers.
One of Krieger’s dogs got kicked in the face by a horse and six weeks later was hit by a car, which got her more heavily involved in canine first aid. On her company’s Facebook page are lots of stories from people who took the course and then had to use what they learned when something happened to their dog.
The course is seven hours and usually runs from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. with two 15-minute breaks and a lunch break. “I bring my two service dogs with me and they will let people listen to their heartbeat and take their pulses. They are a live animal so people know what they are looking for and how to do it. They do the CPR and nose to mouth resuscitation on dummy dogs.”
The course also teaches wraps, temporary casts, hyper-hydration, what a healthy coat looks like, basic health, clipping nails, bathing and how often, taking care of teeth, vital signs, drowning, broken legs, burns, how to administer medication, vehicle hit, impalement, choking, abdominal thrusts and much more.
“Our manuals from Canine Health Canada are 130 pages and we go through every page with them. We have the power point, and participants can follow along in their manuals.”
Canine Health Canada has just released a manual for working dogs and Krieger will be teaching a course to the Medicine Hat Police Service in January. She also does training with firefighters on resuscitating dogs and treating burns.
If the course fills, All Dogs Great and Small will add another date.
To register for the course, go to southernabk9firstaid.ca.
