Dog FAK

[Bonzo]

I didn’t have much luck with a search, so: for those of you that hike with your pooches, what kind of first aid supplies do you carry?  I figured that as long as I’m revamping my kit for hominids, I might as well get some pup-specific gear together.  Suggestions or links?

[David Thomas]

The unique doggy/non-human issue that comes to my mind is a cut pad on their feet.  I’m sure dog and dog-mushing forums have lots of thoughts about that, but they’d all involve use of a bootie to secure topical ointments and any bandages in place.

No dog likes booties at first, so you have to (in my mind) get them to associate booties with fun times.  Put them on before their most fun hike and leave them on only for the first few exciting minutes before they start to gnaw them off.    Real sled dogs quickly learn to love being bootied and harnessed because they’ve learned it means they’re about to go on a run.  Certainly our dogs love when we get the bear bells out and onto their collars because it means we’re going on a fun hike.

There are designer dog booties sold at REI for $30 to $40 for a set of four (you’ll promptly lose one of them on the trail).  Actual Iditarod dog mushers used to buy a much simpler, lighter style for $1 each in bulk, although I’d guess they’re twice that now.

Come spring, they’re scattered along the dog-mushing trails and the poorest hippie dog mushers stop for each one and pick it up, “Hey, that’s a dollar bill sitting there!”

[Kevin Babione]

I was going to suggest the booties too, but David beat me to it.  I’m not a dog owner, but the other thing I can think of would be a razor to shave hair around a wound so that you can get a bandage on it.

Fun story about dog booties…About 24 years ago my neighbor heard the “Molson Beer Burp” (I’m not kidding) on the radio and called in.  He won a 6-pack of Molson and his name was entered for the big prize – which he also won!  So the two of us spent a week dogsledding in the Yukon with a guide.  It was great!  On our third day we were doing a long run and we each had 9 dogs (our guide was on a snow machine).  We mushed out and stopped for lunch along the trail – using a hatchet to chop frozen caribou into bite-sized chunks for the dogs, which then went into a bowl into which we ladled hot broth from an Igloo cooler on the trailer behind the snow machine.  Only after the dogs were fed did we eat.  Anyway, it started snowing while we were eating lunch and fresh snow meant booties for the dogs.  Our guide showed us how to one on as part of a demo and then he promptly pulled it off and told us to get to work.  We each had to put 36 booties on!  The older dogs were easy, but we each had a couple of younger pups on our teams who were not used to booties and were fighting us the entire time (while our guide laughed).  Good memories!

[Bonzo]

Hmm…cut pads.  That’s a solid point; I’d not thought of that.  I’ll definitely look into some booties for her; she sees a lot of dirt and rocks and gravel and thus has some pretty tough pads, but a cut is a cut.

Bandages: how about a self-adhesive one?  We’re using something like that right now, while she recovers from an ovariohysterectomy.

Pet-friendly topical antibiotic, perhaps?  Do they make those?  Surely they make that kind of thing.

[David Thomas]

Many human drugs work fine on dogs and a few do not (Advil and aspirin being two biggies).  I’m not aware of any issues with antibiotic ointments and some of the relief is just preventing the wound edges from drying out for quickly healing and less scarring (i.e Vaseline would do as well).  A Merck Veterinary Manual (like the human version) lays out hundreds of disorders and recommended dosages.  I’d expect there’d be lots of overlap between human and canine topical antibiotics.

[W I S N E R !]

I was thinking about this the other day…figured I could improvise boots out of duct tape and clothing if needed.

[Dan]

Small pair of pliers (can be from a multitool) for porcupine quills.

[BlackHatGuy]

REI sells an Adventure Medical Kit for dogs on the trail. It is, as you’d imagine, overkill, but looking at the contents online might give you some ideas on what you might want.

[Matthew / BPL]

I carry musher booties, some vetwrap (coban? basically). Also a couple styptic swabs. If I was going to take her anywhere remote I’d think about a sling for carrying her and I’d probably bring my InReach.

A veterinary first aid book as a PDF or an ebook on the phone seems like a good idea that I haven’t followed through on.

[Bonzo]

Good suggestions all around; thanks to everyone.  A manual on . pdf – or even a small booklet like the one I have from NOLS for hu-mons – is a great idea.  I never thought about pliers because we don’t have porcupines in my area, but it’s sensible to carry those when in pricklier territory.

dogbooties.com looks like a great resource for an inexpensive, lightweight bootie.  $3/each for quantities less than 250 ct.

I’ve been concerned about what to do if she ever broke a leg; I could splint that and let her hop, but if I had to carry her…no way.  It’s a two-person job to move 100+ pounds of struggling weight.

I’ll definitely check out the kit that REI sells. 👍

[Kevin Babione]

The other thought I had (Disclaimer: I’m not a dog owner) was perhaps carrying antivenin for rattlesnakes if you hike in areas where you come across rattlers.  We had a guide on a horse-packing trip once who, when we came across a large rattlesnake, took the opportunity to train his dog to stay away from it.  I found this article that may be helpful:  Prevention and Treatment of Rattlesnake Bites in Dogs

[W I S N E R !]

A lot of speculation here, but I’m guessing my dog’s top outdoor risks for where I live (in no particular order) are:

1. bites from other dogs

2. rattlesnake bites

3. cut paws/foot injuries

4. eye injury

5. ingesting something toxic

I used to work as an EMT; so far as I’m concerned, I can really only deal with physical trauma (1,3,4). Correct me if I’m wrong, but to my knowledge, there is no antivenom a non-vet can purchase and most require freezing/refrigeration anyhow. I do know of trainers/courses that specialize in snake aversion. As for some sort of poisoning…that’s also going to run its course without much I can do, especially if I don’t know what the dog ate. Inducing/not inducing vomiting depends on knowing. I’ve always been conscientious of getting a breed I could carry if necessary. I currently have a ~40# heeler so this is doable. In most serious cases getting out as fast as possible and getting help is going to be the best option. This is my #1 strategy beyond basic wound care. Seems I can cover her needs with what I already carry.

As much as I want to let her run wild, keeping her leashed probably significantly eliminates the risk of just about every issue I listed.

 

 

[Matthew / BPL]

Wisner, Mine’s a heeler too. How would you carry yours? Dump the contents of your pack and insert dog? I’ve never tried that. I can’t imagine it would work well but it would be better than carrying her in my arms.

[W I S N E R !]

I’d basically do a dog version of a fireman carry.

Pretty sure I could get her into my hunting pack, or slumped across the top of it while I hold her legs (fireman carry style as well), but not into my HMG.

[Bonzo]

Antivenin isn’t going to be a thing in the backcountry: your options are to: 1) evac, or 2) apply a compression dressing and then evac.  And yeah…fireman’s carry isn’t going to work with this little puppy.  I don’t have a good current picture of her, but I have a shot of her at 11 months old, next to a woman that’s about 5’4″…

[Kevin Babione]

I see that you’re not carrying her, but it’s always good to hike with someone who could carry you out if necessary ;)

[W I S N E R !]

That’s a lot of dog. You might be better off talking to horsepackers Bonzo.

[BlackHatGuy]

That’s quite the bonus room you have at your place….

 

[Bonzo]

She’s a polar bear, for sure…and yeah, that room is definitely a bonus. 😉

I looked at the kits from Adventure Medical; unless I’m mistaken – and that happens a lot – they look even more analogous to a hu-mon FAK than I expected.

[George W]

You can get snake bite shots for dogs in advance, it slows the reaction to the bite so you have more time to get medical attention. I hike where rattlesnakes are fairly common, so our dogs have these shots.

My Australian Shepard has no interest in snakes or any other wildlife, can’t even get her to chase geese out of the yard.

The wild turkeys have become accustom to her walking through their group.

She pays no attention to snakes and will walk right past them at a very close range.

[Thom]

If I had to I’d carry mr pickle my Seek outside breakaway pack would work .

thom

[AK Granola]

A muzzle. No one ever believes their own dog will bite, but if they hurt badly enough and don’t like you handling them, they will. Speaking from experience. Edited – actually speaking from my husband’s experience, because when my dog started to bite, I let him handle her! he’s braver than me. He ended up with about 5 bites, some nasty.

[Bonzo]

No one ever believes their own dog will bite…

I’m disagree for the block: Leia is a cuddlebear, for sure, but she’s also a massive, strong livestock guardian with a very assertive personality.  She can bite to kill.  Easily.

That being said: can a muzzle be improvised from a cravat or an ACE wrap?

Second question: are there dog-specific first aid classes..?

[Sam Farrington]

“I’ve always been conscientious of getting a breed I could carry if necessary.”

Ditto.  My shelties were smaller ones and weighed around 20 lbs.  But now I’ve got a large sheltie and an aussie, each weighing around 40 lbs.  Time to reconfigure.  Will buy some booties at REI, and carry more bandages and duct tape. And maybe a sling of some  kind.    Then there is the PLB.  It would not make any friends, though.  Thanks for the heads up.

Come to think, although we read about rescues here all the time, never heard about a dog rescue.  The shale near Mount Washington can be vicious, and did have to carry a small brittany across a field of it.  Also had to take a day long detour to avoid a monster boulder fall that the shelties could not handle.  Mentioned this to the Forest Service, and next time out there, a mile or more of trail through the boulders had been rebuilt.  Still donate to Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado whenever they hit me up.

[David Thomas]

“My Australian Shepard has no interest in snakes”

Even a few generations on that continent would cull any chase-the-snake genes.

[Author]

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