A first-aid kit for your dog
FOUR PAWS Guide for Dog Owners: What belongs in the pharmacy bag for the dog
If you are taking your dog on holiday, a first-aid kit is simply indispensable. Should an emergency arise, this may quite literally save lives. But it will not just be useful in the event of an accident. A good first-aid kit can also help relieve a lot of milder complaints. When assembling your kit, it is best to consult your vet.
The following are essential in your first-aid kit:
- Pair of tweezers with blunt end, for removing dirt and foreign bodies from wounds
- Pair of scissors with the tip of one blade rounded, for cutting dressings
- Pair of tick tweezers
- Digital medical thermometer
- Disposable gloves
- Muzzle / bandage for mouth
- Dressing material
- Sticking plaster, for fixing bandages in place
- Disinfectant (for disinfecting superficial skin wounds or abrasions)
- Nausea remedies and medicines for calming your dog
- Diarrhoea medication (e.g., charcoal tablets)
- Tongue depressor (to apply ointments)
- Healing ointment (e.g., for cracked paws)
- Booties (for injuries of the paw)
- Disposable syringes for administering medications orally
- Small plastic bags (to carry samples of poisons)
- Small flashlight (to be able to see wounds better; if necessary, the flashlight of the smartphone also works)
If your dog suffers from a chronic complaint, please bring:
- An adequate supply of the medications your dog must take regularly
- A vet’s certificate (detailing the nature of the complaint and how it should be treated (in your own language and in English)
Contacts
Contact details of local veterinarian as well as local veterinary emergency clinics (including those with 24-hour emergency service).