Dogs are curious animals by nature. This leads them to sniff everything in their path and, on many occasions, put it in their mouths regardless of whether it is edible or not, or if it is harmful food for dogs. Consequently, it is most likely that you have had to chase him more than once to remove something that is trapped in his jaws.
What sometimes seems to them like a game or a nuisance because we take away something they wanted to nibble on, is actually a preventive behavior that humans do to prevent something bad from happening to them. Unfortunately, no matter how careful we are, accidents sometimes happen and our dog chokes.
A toy that breaks, a stick, a bone, a pen cap, a ball that is too small, food that has not been chewed properly... the list of objects that your dog can choke on is much longer than you might think. what you may think Therefore, knowing how to do the Heimlich maneuver on your best four-legged friend will be of great help to save his life and that everything is scared.
First of all, if you notice that your pet is choking on something, you should check to see if the object in question is visible and you can easily reach it to remove it from its throat. If you're not completely sure you can remove it, don't try it. You could push him further in and make the situation worse.
To try to get the dog to expel the object it is choking on, try turning it upside down as if it were a wheelbarrow. If it is a small dog, you can even shake it a bit (gently, of course), so that this movement helps to eliminate the object in question.
If this doesn't work, get him back on all fours and place your hands just in front of his hind legs. Compress his abdomen by pressing it up with your fist. Do it carefully so as not to hurt him, but with accurate and rhythmic movements.
The next option will be to hit hard between the animal's shoulder blades, so that it can expel whatever is causing it to choke.
In this situation you are likely to get scared and nervous. Try to stay calm so as not to transmit that stress to the dog or scare him, since they are very intelligent and notice how their reference humans feel. When in doubt, it is best to call the vet by phone so they can tell you how to act and go to the clinic as soon as possible.
In fact, even if you can successfully remove the object your pet was choking on, it's still in your best interest to take it to the vet anyway. This way you can verify that no damage has been done as a result of this episode.
