What to do if your dog or cat is choking

and telling the difference between choking and coughing

 

Is my pet choking?

Choking is difficulty breathing due to something blocking the upper airway (ie throat or windpipe). The blockage could be caused by:

Choking is not coughing. Although, the two are often confused. One of the most common phrases we hear in the clinic pets is, ‘I think there’s something stuck in his throat’. In the overwhelming majority of cases where this phrase is mentioned, the pet is coughing.

To tell the difference between choking and coughing, look at how your pet is inhaling:

Choking – the pet will try to forcefully exhale and will have great difficulty inhaling

Coughing – the pet will try to forcefully exhale but can inhale normally (or almost normally)

A choking pet will rapidly become very distressed and lose consciousness due to lack of oxygen unless the airway is cleared. Trying to clear an airway of a coughing dog is likely to get you bitten (and won’t help the cough).

Note that choking is also not reverse sneezing.

 
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What to do

The aim with first aid is to establish an open airway.

At home, you may be able to remove a foreign object or untangle a collar (note that these are not always easy to do). You will not be able to reduce throat swelling.

There will be two main scenarios:

  • your pet will be conscious (and distressed) – at the start of a choking episode and if there is a partial obstruction due to swelling of the throat

  • your pet we be unconscious (or possibly arrested)

We’ll look at both here. It’s important to try and stay calm as possible – your stress can make your pet even more distressed.

if Your pet is conscious

If your pet is conscious and you’ve witnessed him choking on an object (as opposed to the other causes of airway obstruction) you can try to clear his airway by:

  • picking him up so that his head is lower than his body (for small dogs, you can pick him up and tip him; for larger dogs, slide an arm under the belly and lift his hips)

  • giving a hard pat (or thump) on the back of the chest to try and dislodge the obstruction, this may be repeated a few times but don’t persist if he loses consciousness

Do not attempt this if you are at risk of being bitten or if it will cause more stress for your pet.

Remember that pets are rarely choking on the same sort of things people do (nuts, grapes, peas, Lego). Dogs and cats don’t tend to inhale small things down into their airways. The objects they choke on are balls and large bits of food (eg pigs ears, pieces of meat). These things aren’t so easy to dislodge.

If your pet is unconscious

Make sure your pet is definitely unconscious by attempting to wake him (you could be injured if he has just fainted).

Perform what’s called a finger sweep of the throat by:

  • opening his mouth (if you can, wide enough so you can see in)

  • run a finger along the inside of the back teeth down toward the throat

  • when your finger touches the back of the throat, gentle sweep it across the throat in a hooking like motion toward the centre of the tongue

  • remove any foreign material*

*Note that many people feel the epiglottis or hyoid apparatus and think it’s a bone – if you can’t remove something with a sweep, it might not be supposed to come out, so don’t forcefully remove anything that you can’t see and recognise as a foreign object.

If you have successfully removed a foreign object or did not find one, start rescue breathing (also in the CPR section):

  • extend the head and neck and gently pull the tongue forward – this opens the airway

  • look inside the mouth and remove saliva or vomit, if you can’t see, do another finger sweep

  • watch for breathing, if you don’t see a breath within 10 seconds, start rescue breathing

  • close your pet’s mouth (in larger dogs, keep the tongue pulled forward) and wrap one or both hands around the muzzle to keep a seal

  • place your mouth over your pet’s nose and blow until you see your pet’s chest expand

  • remove your mouth and let the lungs deflate

  • repeat 2 more times and then watch for breathing again

  • if there is still no breathing within 10 seconds, start rescue breathing again and repeat every 6 seconds (push down on the stomach between breaths to help remove any air that’s gone in)

If there is no return to spontaneous breathing or the breaths are very shallow, continue rescue breathing while someone drives you to the nearest vet.

If breathing returns to normal, and even if your pet regains consciousness, you should still take him to the nearest vet as we can see some post-choking complications.

 
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What not to do

Do not:

  • place your fingers/hand in the mouth of a biting pet

  • push any object down further