Pet First Aid and CPR

In Canada, most families usually take care of a pet dog or cat. Other have smaller pets like rats and hamster; other have birds. Regardless of what animal you have come to care for, you are responsible for keeping safe and healthy. Pet dogs are usually filled with energy, no matter how gentle they are and that places them at risk for various injuries. Small cuts and bruises usually go unnoticed but a minor injury such as a small laceration can become infected and cause major damage.

Giving first aid follows the same basic concepts of infection control and wound care in humans, but pets, with their (mostly) small statures and inability to express themselves fully, are difficult to treat. They are much like young children who do not want to go to the doctor or get his or her cut cleaned – the responder has to approach the pet calmly to prevent him or her from becoming aggresive. Preferably dogs should be muzzled and cats and smaller pets immobilized.

Halifax First Aid Training

Halifax First Aid is a top provider of pet first aid and CPR training in the city. Our Pet First Aid and CPR class runs for four hours long in a classroom set-up, with lectures and laboratory sessions. The programs costs 79.99 dollars, inclusive of manuals, hand-outs, and certification fees.

You can expect the following topics listed below to be included in our training curriculum.

Infection control and wound care
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Management of sprains and fractures
Burn management
Choking management
Poisoning management

We offer Pet First aid CPR training once a month throughout the year, so our slots usually get filled up quite early. If you need training and certification for the management of pet emergencies you can check out course schedules below. Just call us between 8 AM and 5 PM during business hours on weekdays to check if the slot you want is still available. Online enrollment or personal enrollment are the next options; depending on your availability, you can decide to enroll online (can be done anytime) or in person (the latter during business hours as well).

Note: If you enroll online, we will only be able to confirm your slot during the next business day. Because of this, prospective students who are free during our business hours prefer to enroll personally instead of online.

Getting started with training: Poisoning

The risk for pets getting poisoned is very high, particularly because animals like dogs will usually try to eat anything edible they encounter. Poisoning doesn’t only refer to the ingestion of chemicals or similar substances; it can refer to the ingestion of food that is bad for pets – like chocolate. If your pet has ingested a household chemical, immediately check the packaging for instructions regarding poisoning. Always wash your hands if you have been in contact with the substance before helping your pet Afterwards, immediately bring the pet to veterinary clinic.