About a minute ago, I had to give Cookie Monster the Heimlich manoeuvre. She had inhaled something and sat next to me convulsing and choking, honking like a goose, unable to cough whatever-it-was up.
So I waited for her next convulsion with my hands under her tummy, and squeezed simultaneously with it. She honked a lot louder, but it didn’t clear, so I waited a couple more honks, and did it again, whereupon she leaped down, and started breathing normally and smacking her lips.
The next time she tried to meow, however, she just hissed like a swan. I gave her some nuggets of food to see if I could get the blockage down, and after a little bit of food, she seems to be meowing normally. Quite freaked me, I tell you.
I didn’t have time to Google it, just acted. Did I do the right thing?
I had to do it for one of my elderly pugs, as well. She was part toothless, but seemingly could still manage Iams senior kibble until one day when she gagged during dinner and then couldn’t breathe. I recalled seeing how to do a baby, and pugs are approximately the same size, weight and build as a baby, so I used that method.
I straddled her over my arm, so that she was facing away from me and with her chest resting on my open palm. Then I elevated her rear in the air, and gently thumped between her shoulder blades. She instantly harked up the offending kibble, but she was upset with me because she thought I was hitting her. I switched her to canned food after that.
Back in the mid 70’s I had a toy poodle that got hit in the head, by a line drive, during a baseball game among the local kids. My son came running to me and handed me the dog, while the rest of the kids were all trying to explain what happened. The pup was motionless, no heartbeat and no detectable breath. I figured he was gone, but these kids are all looking at me to fix it, so I gave him a couple of raps on the chest and tried to force air down his throat by cupping my hand around his muzzle and blowing. I must have done it three or four times and I was as shocked as anybody when the mutt responded.
I carried him in the house and put him on the kitchen counter, he stood the for a few seconds and then began to walk, immediately falling over on his side. I held him for a bit and then put him on the floor to try again, same result. The dog looked fine, except he couldn’t stand up and I think one of his eyes looked a little weird. We lived in a rural area and the nearest vet was about 20 miles. My wife and I talked it over and pretty much agreed that he was probably going to be OK. We loved the little guy and he was a great source of amusement, but neither of us believed in spending a great deal of money on a pet. The dog ate and drank and we kept a close eye on him, by morning he was walking, w/ a bit of a stagger, but walking. Within a couple of days he was back to his old self.
I don’t know if I did anything, or not, but the kids all thought I saved his life, so I was their hero, until they forgot about it a day or two later. Kids, what are ya’ gonna’ do.
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