Pet First Aid Awareness Month (April)
How to Know When It’s Time to Call the Vet: Another Reason to Hire a Professional.
As a Certified Professional Pet Sitter (CPPS) at Red Dog Pet Services, we are trained in a variety of topics regarding pet and home care. Pets often act differently when their owners are away, especially when the caregiver is new. Knowing the signs of separation anxiety vs. illness can be difficult until pets get comfortable with us as their alternate caregiver. This is another reason why it is imperative to find a professional pet sitter that you can trust, that will form a regular bond with your pets, and that become a second set of eyes, ears, and health advocate for your four-legged family members.
How to determine what is normal and what is not when it comes to pets under our care is a skill that Red Dog Pet Services is constantly honing. Not only are we required to pursue continuing education in the pet care field, but we spend a vast amount of time reading & listening to animal podcasts and webinars, reading magazines, journals, and books on a variety of pet care topics, attending in-person conferences and training in order to improve our skills and share best practices with other professional pet sitters. We stay up to date on the latest pet care products, techniques, tips, and tricks, all so we can provide the best, most comprehensive care possible to our clients.
Signs that trigger concern and a possible trip to the Vet include, but are not limited to:
- Excessive vomiting or vomiting blood (especially if it continues for more than an hour)
- Difficulty breathing, seizures, collapse, bleeding from the mouth or eyes
- Prolonged coughing, shortness of breath
- Pale or discolored gums
- Not eating for a period of more than 24 hours (dependent on the age of the pet)
- Lethargy
- Sudden decreased mobility
- Brachycephalic dog breeds, such as boxers, bulldogs, pugs, shih tzus, etc (for a full list visit ACK.org) are highly predisposed to heatstroke which requires an immediate trip to the vet in order to prevent death
As some of my overnight clients are already aware, I usually start each day with a good morning wake-up song and massage. I started this practice with my own dogs and cats years ago and continue it with my clients in my Red Dog business. In professional pet care circles, this process is sometimes known as a Snout to Tail Assessment, or S2T for short. The S2T can be used for assessing injuries or even general changes to your pet’s skin, coat, limbs, etc. It is a systematic and deliberate method for evaluating and determining the type of injury or change in condition.
For dogs, I find the ideal time to do this is in the morning when the dog first wakes up. They tend to be super happy to see their owners/caregivers and will usually let you give them a full Snout to Tail once over. But I also do this for my drop-in/walk clients, usually as I am saying hello or goodbye. As for our cat clients, the S2T Assessment is usually done in shorter increments on the cat’s terms. Again, I have had good luck doing this first thing in the morning when the cats are most happy to see me (usually because they want to be fed). Be patient with cats. You may only be able to do a section at a time when they are in the mood. Make sure to run your hands gently over every part of the cat or dog during this assessment. I sing or talk to the dogs/cats thus turning it into a positive experience.
This past February, while attending the Texas Pet Sitters Conference, I certified with PetTech’s Pet Saver Program in CPR & First Aid. I found this training to be much more comprehensive and up-to-date than my previous certification thru the Red Cross. This coming September, I will be traveling to Orlando, FL to take the PetTech Instructor Training with the goal of bringing the Pet Save Program to Aiken and surrounding counties in South Carolina.
