Camping First-Aid for Pets
What can you do if your pet develops a health problem when you’re on a camping trip? Keep a level head and do what you can to help your pet recover. If it doesn’t show signs of a full recovery within fifteen minutes, get it to a veterinarian as quickly as you can.
Heat – You’ll know your pet is suffering from the heat if it starts to pant, goes limp, or starts turning red. Your first objective is to cool it down without shocking its system. Move the animal into the shade and put something wet (a towel or bandana) over its body. It the animal is awake, give it some water to drink. Never force water on an unconscious or unresponsive animal. You can create a light breeze by waving a fan across its body.
Cold – Shivering and lethargy are both signs of hypothermia. If you’re worried that your pet might be too cold, get it next to your body (inside your coat or shirt). Your body heat should help it warm up.
Poison – Try to figure out what your pet ate and take a sample of that with you to the vet right away. This will help the vet decide what treatment to use. Antifreeze, fertilizer, pesticides, car oil, and household cleaners are all potentially dangerous for pets.
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The Benefits of Pet Ownership
We all know that pets are remarkable for their capacity to love. But how often do you think about your pet’s sense of humor? Or its ability to be goofy, or compassionate, or comforting? Animals bring a vast number of benefits to their human companions, improving every aspect of owners’ lives from their health to their optimism and outlook on the future.
Even though animals can’t speak English, study after study has shown that they are incredibly advanced at understanding. Not only can they understand many of our words (some breeds are said to understand up to 300 words), but they have an uncanny sense of our moods based on subtle cues like body language, tone of voice, and demeanor.
Often, when a pet is acting strangely, the key to their behavior actually lies in the vibe we humans are putting out. Does your dog leave the room when you’re angry with the computer? Does it act aggressive when you tighten up on its leash in anticipation of a bad interaction with another dog or person? And when you need love and affection, is your dog the first one to come by for a cuddle?
Pets are known to affect people’s health in a beneficial way. Just by their sheer presence, pets can lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and reduce stress. For people who’ve had a heart attack, the odds of survival jump from 1 in 87 to 1 in 15 for dog owners. Owning a pet also seems to help people recover more quickly from illnesses and hospital stays.
Of course, there are some healthy lifestyle changes that come with owning a pet. If you have a dog, you need to walk it every day, and you might also toss tennis balls for it in the yard or take it swimming at the lake. Having a dog might increase your social network by getting you out to the dog park or into town—and the health benefits of a stable circle of friends is well known. Pets encourage us to have a daily routine and to get enough sleep. And they provide us with opportunities for soothing, meditative activities like brushing and petting that help lower the heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels.
For all the reasons above—and because of the good cheer, humor, and companionship pets bring—they’re pros at reducing depression and loneliness in people. Studies have also found that nursing home patients who have pets use fewer prescription drugs and have fewer complaints than their pet-less counterparts. In the general public, pet owners visit the doctor less often and have fewer medical complaints than those without pets.
Dogs also have a special skill at sensing shifts in diseases. Studies have shown that some dogs are able to smell cancer in people. More importantly, dogs’ abilities make them perfect companions for people with dangerous conditions like epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and diabetes. Specially-trained dogs can sense the aura that precedes an epileptic seizure, and they can use this crucial pre-knowledge to guide their person to safety.
Parkinson’s patients can have problems with “freezing,” when their feet freeze in place but the rest of their body keeps moving, causing the patient to fall. Helper dogs are trained to spot the freeze. When it happens, they touch the frozen foot and this miraculously makes the foot unfreeze. This phenomenon is still a medical mystery—no one knows why it works, but it does. Other dogs are trained to detect low blood sugar in diabetic patients, giving them time to correct their blood sugar levels before something serious happens.
You’ve probably always known that having a pet makes you happy. It gives you a friend to do with, a pal during walks and car rides, and a furry face to pet at the end of the day. But you might not have known all that your dog or cat is doing for your health! From lowering stress to getting you out of doors, the benefits of pet ownership are so many and so varied, they’re really too great to count.
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Wild Plant Hazards for Dogs
When you take your dog on a camping trip, you have a lot to keep in mind, everything from how much food to pack to where your furry friend will sleep. But it’s also worthwhile to consider the environmental hazards your dog will face and what you might do if your pup ate a poisonous plant. Here are a few dangerous plants to watch out for and suggestions for what to do if you think your dog has been poisoned in the wilderness.
A number of wild plants are seriously dangerous for dogs to consume. When you’re out in the woods, be sure to steer your dog away from all wild nettles, rhododendrons (and their smaller counterpart, azaleas), scotch broom, skunk cabbage, and tansy ragwort. Wild onions, mushrooms, peaches, and cherries are also poisonous. And it almost goes without saying that poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak are severely harmful to you and your pet. If you see your dog digging in the dirt on your camping trip or gnawing on stick from a fruit tree, it would probably be smart to stop that behavior.
For the most part, dogs would rather eat dog food—or human food—than consume wild plants. But there are cases when it could happen. A puppy might experiment with the fresh new world of the woods and try a mushroom, or a dog who likes to eat tomatoes off the vine might decide to try the plant itself. Many dogs love vegetables, and this can lead them into possible trouble when they try something they shouldn’t.
If you and your dog spend a lot of time on farms or at vineyards, be sure to keep an eye out for the following plants that are poisonous to dogs: alfalfa, avocado, eggplant, flax, java beans, mushrooms, mustards, potato, onion, spinach, and tomato plants. A number of orchard trees have poisonous wood: almond, apple, apricot, pear and cherry, walnut, fig, and plum.
Most bulbs are poisonous to dogs, and unfortunately they can look like a good thing to snack on if your pup is bored and looking for something to do. Keep them away from all bulbs, from lilies to daffodils. Many flowers such as foxglove (digitalis), hyacinth, jasmine, lupine, and marigold are also harmful if eaten by dogs.
What do you do if you think your dog has eaten something poisonous? First, keep them calm. Many toxins move more quickly when the body is in action, so stillness is very important. Second, grab a sample of the plant if you possibly can. Take this with you to the nearest vet’s office. The vet may be able to use the plant to identify the exact form of poisoning and help with a cure.
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Roadside Emergencies
You would never dream of hitting the road unprepared for emergencies. You have your personal protection – your wallet, health insurance, auto insurance, cell phone, roadside assistance. And you probably carry emergency car equipment like extra water, a jack and spare tire, tool kit, and snow chains. So why wouldn’t you take the same care for your pet?
If you have a problem on the road, you’ll need to take care of more than just yourself and your car. Your pet will need consideration, too. And because emergencies are times of high stress, it’s always wise to prepare for every situation in advance, so you can act quickly when the problem moment arises.
First, consider what you’ll need if you and your pet have to leave your vehicle for a night or a few days. You might put together a small duffle bag that contains your pet’s food, medications, a spare leash and collar, a food and water bowl, plastic bags, and a copy of your veterinarian’s card or contact information. Include a copy of your pet’s latest vaccination records – you may need to present this at a hotel or campground. Familiar items like a toy, blanket, or favorite treat can help your pet feel at home in new surroundings. And if your dog gets chilled easily, be sure to have a doggie sweater or jacket handy.
Second, make some pet-related additions to your RV or car first-aid kit. For your pet, include a 50-foot rope, a can opener, leash, blood stopper, solar blanket, drinking water pouches, plastic bags, and extra food. Your veterinarian can suggest equipment like bandage tape, scissors, cotton bandage rolls, ointment, alcohol, saline, and a good pet first-aid reference book. You may also want to carry spare flea and tick medication. And you’ll certainly want copies of all medical records and extra medication, if your pet takes any. If possible, keep a pet carrier in your vehicle. Small pets can use soft-sided, collapsible carriers that are easy to store.
Third, plan ahead. Be sure your pet always wears a collar with identification tags and (for dogs) a rabies tag. If you’re traveling and don’t have a permanent address, you might put your cell-phone number on the tag, and perhaps the address of a trusted friend who knows how to contact you in an emergency. Your veterinarian may also be willing to act as your pet’s emergency “home base.” Every few months, it’s smart to take pictures of your pets with you. This will not only help in the event that your pet gets lost and you need to post pictures, but it also provides proof of ownership in case the two of you become separated. And microchipping is an excellent back-up measure, since this form of identification works even if your pet loses its collar and tags.
Fourth, consider a variety of possibilities. Imagine some situations you and your pet might be in. A flat tire in the mountains? Out of gas in the desert? Broken down on the highway? Think through what you would do in these circumstances and what would be best for your pet. Then you can take steps to prepare in advance, so you’ll be ready just in case. Your pet would always prefer to be where you are, so do everything you can to make sure you’ll be able to stay together in an emergency. That way you’ll have a cheery companion in a tough situation, and your team can be safe, happy, and secure together.
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First Aid and Safety
