First Aid and CPR for your Frenchie.
That question hit us after getting a text from a Novastar puppy mom “We had a close call this afternoon.” My heart dropped as I waited for more information. This close call happened during a typical play session between this Frenchie pup and his Doberman puppy sister.
As his mom recalled to us, they were wrestling, as they always do, and his collar got caught on his sister’s lower jaw. It all happened so incredibly fast. This Frenchie was panicking and so was his Dobie sister; he couldn’t breathe and she couldn’t get her jaw free.
His mom freaked out a little, then luckily a cooler head prevailed: “Get the collar off.” She sent her son for scissors while she tried to manage the situation. The collar was cut, but her baby boy wasn’t breathing! I will spare you the details of the scene she described, but let’s just leave it at: I NEVER want to experience this and I don’t even want to see it on TV even as a reenactment.
We still don’t know how she managed to think clearly enough to figure it out, but she started performing CPR and rushed him to the vet. They stabilized him and sent them to another facility that had oxygen tents for animals. Her vet said had she not performed CPR, she absolutely would have lost him.
After a tight hug to his mom and some scratches on his head through the little window of the oxygen kennel, we went home from the emergency clinic relieved he was going to be ok, and that she acted quickly, saving that precious puppy. It also made us question if we even knew how to do CPR on a dog. Is it different for a French Bulldog? What should my plan be in an emergency? All these questions led me to investigate.
First Aid for Pets:
The American Red Cross has a short 35 mins course on providing first aid to a cat or dog. This includes breathing and cardiac emergencies and wounds, seizures, and bleeding. They even have an app that accompanies it!
This is the app icon
Here is a link to their online CPR resource for cats and dogs.
Is CPR different for French Bulldogs?
The answer is yes and no.
It really depends on the size and structure of your Frenchie. If they are more barrel-chested then laying them on their back is better, but if they are not then on their side is better. The goal is to compress their rib cage to stimulate blood flow.
In an emergency, you probably wouldn’t be able to decide, so best to think about it ahead of time so you have a plan you can stick to should the need ever arise.
One last thought…
Collars are cute, but as you can see, they can be deadly. I urge all pet parents to never walk your Frenchie on a leash attached to a collar and if you put on a collar for ID tags, let it be a breakaway collar. One of my favorite brands for quality leashes, harnesses, and breakaway collars is:
They have such cute designs and offer metal hardware which I love.
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