One of the more terrifying moments of my life

Food, Fitness and how to keep them healthy.

Postby mnp13 » January 5th, 2009, 1:06 am

I almost lost Riggs. We've had some close calls, including me actually wanting to kill him, but this was totally different.

We were working on the TV in the living room and Riggs was in the other room chewing on something. He's normally loud, but he started banging around more than usual... and he didn't stop. It was much more frantic than his usual noise. I looked at Demo and said "is he choking?" He ran into the other room with me right behind him. Riggs had collapsed just as Demo got to him, I grabbed his collar, pulled him to me and started the heimlick.

For those of you who don't know, the doggie heimlick is done by hanging the dog upside down and doing compressions towards the dog's head. Thank god he only weighs 48 pounds. I did compressions with Demo trying to see what was stuck, it seemed to be moving, so he said to keep going. I was trying to keep it up but was slowing down. I handed him over to Demo to continue while I stuffed my hand into his mouth to pull it out.

He was pretty out of it for a while, but started to come around to his usual charming self. All three of us were covered in urine. And it wasn't just "normal" there was a musky, nasty stench to it. He didn't just release his bladder, it was more than that.

Up we went for a bath, and he didn't even fuss - just more proof he was hurting. After bath time, I toweled him off for a while and then he started truckin around looking for food. We gave him plain rice, and that quieted down a little, he's been sleeping since.

In any case, it was pretty damn scary. Thank God I had an idea on how to do the heimlick, or this post would be very very very different.

So, supervise your dogs when they are chewing on stuff, and always go with your gut when something sounds/seems "odd." Had we just shrugged and kept doing what we were doing he'd be dead. Heck, 10 seconds later he probably would have been dead, the heimlick was a guess, I'm not so sure that CPR would have worked (though I sure would have tried!)

A few glasses of wine later, and I'm finally calmed down.
Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.
User avatar
mnp13
Evil Overlord
 
Posts: 17234
Location: Rochester, NY

Postby BigDogBuford » January 5th, 2009, 1:09 am

What did he choke on?
~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
User avatar
BigDogBuford
I love snipe hunts.
 
Posts: 2053
Location: Lake Stevens, WA

Postby TheRedQueen » January 5th, 2009, 1:10 am

Poor Riggs, glad he's okay now... :sad2:
"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw
User avatar
TheRedQueen
I thought I lost my Wiener... but then I found him.
 
Posts: 7184
Location: Maryland

Postby mnp13 » January 5th, 2009, 1:11 am

He was chewing on a bone and ended up breaking off a chunk.
Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.
User avatar
mnp13
Evil Overlord
 
Posts: 17234
Location: Rochester, NY

Postby BigDogBuford » January 5th, 2009, 1:13 am

mnp13 wrote:He was chewing on a bone and ended up breaking off a chunk.


How scary! Gald everyone is ok. Have another glass of wine!
~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
User avatar
BigDogBuford
I love snipe hunts.
 
Posts: 2053
Location: Lake Stevens, WA

Postby cheekymunkee » January 5th, 2009, 1:19 am

Poor Riggs. Did he get wine too?
There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

Debby
User avatar
cheekymunkee
I Have Your Grass
 
Posts: 28540
Location: Dallas

Postby CinderDee » January 5th, 2009, 1:32 am

That's frightening! Thank goodness he's ok.
Dee
User avatar
CinderDee
I'm The Bug Whisperer
 
Posts: 3414
Location: Forever in my heart...

Postby BullyLady » January 5th, 2009, 3:22 am

Oh my gosh that is so scary.... I'm glad everything turned out okay.
"I'm not all bad but I'm a faithful sinner."
~Dave Matthews
Cathleen
Shelby - AB Mix 1 yr - CGC
User avatar
BullyLady
Proud Uber Nerd
 
Posts: 1060
Location: E Washington State

Postby pocketpit » January 5th, 2009, 3:58 am

I have had several choking incidents happen in my lifetime and I feel for you. It makes you feel utterly helpless and is so scary!! I am so gladd Riggs is safe and recovering. Wine sounds like an excellent RX for you in this case.
User avatar
pocketpit
Supremely Bully
 
Posts: 1201
Location: WA

Postby Malli » January 5th, 2009, 5:32 am

holy crap! :shock: I'm glad he's ok!
I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
_______________________________________
"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07
User avatar
Malli
E-I-E-I-O!
 
Posts: 6341
Location: CANADA EH?

Postby iluvk9 » January 5th, 2009, 7:04 am

:shock: thank heavens you were both home and knew what to do.
iluvk9
I'm Cougarific!
 
Posts: 14900
Location: New York

Postby madremissy » January 5th, 2009, 7:26 am

That must have been so frightening. Thank goodness you knew what to do. I hope you and him are both better this morning.
User avatar
madremissy
I have a basketball and I'm not afraid to use it.
 
Posts: 3786
Location: meansville, ga

Postby LMM » January 5th, 2009, 9:04 am

Omg I am in tears! That part about the urine really got to me, I know exactly what you are talking about :sad2:

I'd love for you to show me what you did, if possible, next time I am out there. I had no clue the dogs had to be upside down. Thank goodness Riggs is ok, what a freaking scare. I think I might have dipped into something stronger than wine!
User avatar
LMM
I'll Kick Your Ass
 
Posts: 1834
Location: Bitch please....

Postby SisMorphine » January 5th, 2009, 9:09 am

How terrifying!! Good thing you knew the heimlich. I really need to update my CPR/First Aid card.
"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." -Anatole France
SisMorphine
They're like service dogs gone wrong.
 
Posts: 9233
Location: PR

Postby pitbullmamaliz » January 5th, 2009, 9:14 am

Holy hell. :o Poor Riggs. Glad you guys were there and didn't panic.

The American Red Cross offers Pet First Aid/CPR classes - they're excellent and gave me a lot of peace of mind. I highly recommend everybody attend one.
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

http://www.pitbullzen.com
http://inaradog.wordpress.com
User avatar
pitbullmamaliz
Working out in the buff causes chafing
 
Posts: 15438
Location: Cleveland, OH

Postby nicole » January 5th, 2009, 9:16 am

I'm glad that Riggs is okay. Thank God you knew what to do and kept a cool head. Choking terrifies me, I've never done the heimlich on a dog (a few times on kids)...so I'd like to see how its done too. What if you can't pick the dog up?
User avatar
nicole
Snot Nose Bully Pup
 
Posts: 200
Location: Long Island, NY

Postby Pit♥bull » January 5th, 2009, 9:31 am

WOW... :groupHug:
What a way to start off the new year :shock:
Pit♥bull
Supremely Bully
 
Posts: 1207

Postby TinaMartin » January 5th, 2009, 10:47 am

I got goose bumps reading that! I'm glad hes ok. Now I need a glass of wine or several. :? My cat almost choked to death when he got caught on the Christmas tree stand. Scared the crap out of me when it happened. Sending you internet hugs cause its a horrible thing to go through. :groupHug:
Not only am I a member of the Michelle says my dog is fat club I'm the president!
I can Alpha Roll hair!
User avatar
TinaMartin
The Hair Whisperer
 
Posts: 1240
Location: Rochester NY

Postby Jenn » January 5th, 2009, 10:59 am

OMG, I'm so glad he is ok!
I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure....
User avatar
Jenn
undecided
 
Posts: 11382
Location: TX

Postby mnp13 » January 5th, 2009, 11:47 am

LMM wrote:I'd love for you to show me what you did, if possible, next time I am out there. I had no clue the dogs had to be upside down. Thank goodness Riggs is ok, what a freaking scare. I think I might have dipped into something stronger than wine!


lol

I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. I have a feeling that he'd take great exception to that kind of treatment any other time than when he is dieing. :wink:

Ruby would probably let me do it actually. Not happily, but she's pretty tolerant of weird stuff from me. If we do it we'll take pictures.

nicole wrote:What if you can't pick the dog up?

You can do it with them laying down, it would probably be easier than what I did actually. with them upside down you're actually pushing down at an angle at the same time that you are trying to keep them up in the right position to keep going. According to what I remembered at the time, upside down is the best way to go, but I really have no idea. Obviously it worked, but I think the leverage would actually be better upright and then on the floor because you wouldn't be fighting gravity. I think I would have been able to save him alone, but it was definately easier to be able to dig the bone out of his mouth with someone else still heaving on his chest.
Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.
User avatar
mnp13
Evil Overlord
 
Posts: 17234
Location: Rochester, NY

Next

Return to Nutrition & Health

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

cron