How to do dog cpr

Estimated Reading Time: 3 min | Last Updated: July 12th, 2022

Being in the position to have to administer CPR to your pet can be scary, but following the below guide will give you the know-how to safely and calmly perform CPR on your cat or dog.

Remaining calm

In the face of a pet emergency, oftentimes a natural reaction is to panic – this is your body’s fight or flight reaction to stress. Regardless of whether you have delivered CPR to a pet before, it is important to follow these steps to clearly and calmly assess the situation at hand.

1. If you find yourself panicking, take a few deep breaths. Take a deep breath and focus on the feeling of air filling your tummy, breathe out, and continue for at least three breaths.
2. Focus on the tasks at hand. If there are by-standers, give them a task – such as finding the closest emergency vet, getting directions, and calling them to let them know you’re arriving.
3. Read through the below guide, and focus on mindfully performing the action of the task at hand. Notice how your body feels, the sensations occurring throughout your limbs, and focus your mind on counting the compressions and breaths.

When to start

• When your pet is not responding
• When your pet is not breathing
• When you can’t feel a heartbeat or pulse

Compressions

• Place your pet on their side
• Deliver 120 compressions per minute (2 compressions per second)
• With every 30 compressions deliver 2 breaths
• See below compression techniques for instructions on how to do this, making sure to follow the technique best suited to the size of your pet
• Don’t lean on your pet between compressions as this will stop blood returning to the heart

Breaths

• Close your pets mouth and create a seal by wrapping your fingers around the muzzle
• Place your mouth over the whole nose, covering both nostrils
• Give 2 breaths, enough to make the chest rise
• After 2 minutes of compressions and breaths, check your pet for a heartbeat or pulse – if not present, then continue

When to stop CPR

• If your pet starts breathing and responding
• Once you have reached your vet clinic and someone else takes over
• If you are unable to physically continue

If your pet starts breathing but remains unconscious

• Turn your pet onto their side into the recovery position
• Continually check your pets condition until you have arrived at your vet clinic
• Manage any concurrent injuries
• Be prepared to start CPR again if necessary

Recovery position

• Place your pets head on its side
• Tilt your pets head down slightly unless they have sustained trauma to the head, in whcih case tilt the head slightly up

Compression techniques

Follow the below compression techniques depending on the size of the animal.

CPR Compression techniques for medium to large dogs

• Compress (or press down) to one third the depth of the chest and allow full recoil of the chest between compressions
• For most large breed dogs (e.g labrador, golden retriever, great dane, neapolitan mastiff) – deliver the compressions over the widest part of the chest (image A)
• For dogs with a narrow chest (e.g greyhound, dobermann, German shepherd) – deliver the compressions over the point of the chest where the elbow meets the chest (image B)
• For dogs with a barrel chest (e.g bulldog) – lay your pet on their back and compress over the sternum (image C)

CPR Compression techniques for small dogs/cats

Use this method for smaller dogs or cats (e.g maltese terrier, chihuahua, shih tzu, italian greyhoud).

• Using a single hand, apply compression using the thumb on one side of the chest and the fingers on the other side of the chest (image D) OR compress over the heart (image E).

The techniques outlined above are suitable in a single responder scenario. A different approach would be used if there were 2 or more resuscitators.

If your pet is not breathing or is unresponsive visit your closest Animal Emergency Service or your local vet immediately.

For more information about what is and what to do in a pet emergency, visit our Pet Emergency Guide.

5. Compress the chest wall firmly at a rate of 2 compressions per second. For small dogs and cats compress the chest wall gently but sufficiently enough to compress 1/3 to 1/2 the chest wall. If breathing for your pet as well, administer 1 breath every 6 seconds. Recheck signs of life (consciousness, response, movement, breathing) regularly.

6. Transport to vet immediately. If you have a driver, continue CPR while in transit.

This article will help you decide if your dog needs CPR and how to perform CPR on your dog in an emergency.

The ability to perform dog CPR, the acronym for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is an important skill for dog owners to have. Hopefully, you will never need this skill but if you do, it can be a lifesaver. 

A good way to prepare yourself to learn this skill is to watch a video. As with many things, it will be easier to translate the written steps into actions if you have seen them done before. This video from the American Veterinary Medical Association gives you a quick overview. And this program from Cornell offers an in-depth look. 

Evaluate Whether Your Dog Needs CPR

Before you perform CPR on your dog, you need to evaluate him. While CPR can save a life, it can also cause some damage. You don’t want to perform CPR on your dog unless it’s necessary.

If your dog is alert and observing you, he doesn’t need CPR. He may need medical care if he was just hit by a car, but CPR isn’t on his list of “must be done right away” tasks. In fact, he may resent your attempts to do so! Never attempt CPR on a seizing dog–you have a great risk of being injured yourself.

If your dog is very still, check for breathing and a pulse. Respirations may be quiet and soft, but you can watch for the rise and fall of his chest or feel for air movement from his nose. If your dog is breathing, you can hold off on the respiratory part of CPR. If you don’t detect any breathing, carefully open his mouth and pull his tongue forward. Look for, and remove, anything that might be blocking his airway.

There are multiple places you can feel for a pulse on your dog. Often, the easiest spot is in the groin. Reach inside the hind leg, right up at the top where it joins the body. The femoral pulse should be palpable there. Use your fingers, not your thumb, to feel for the pulse.

You can also feel for heart beats. This is easiest if you lie your dog down on his right side. Then gently place your hand on his chest, behind his elbow. You can also put your hand around his chest if you have a small dog. If you detect a pulse but your dog is not breathing, go directly to artificial respiration techniques. If you don’t detect a pulse, go straight to full CPR.

How to Perform Dog CPR

Have your dog lying flat on his right side. Pull his head and neck forward to provide a straight pathway into his lungs. Check that his tongue is pulled forward and out to prevent any blockage of air flow.

Set your hands on your dog’s chest with one palm over the other. This is easiest if you’re behind your dog’s back. For a small dog or puppy, you might be able to put your hand around the chest with your fingers on one side and your thumb on the other.

You want to do a series of quick compressions, pushing the chest in about ¼ to 1/3 of the way. Keep your elbows straight and control the pressure you apply carefully. For a big dog, about 15 compressions in 10 seconds is good; for a small dog, you might want to go to 17 compressions for 10 seconds.

You have the blood moving, now you need to get some oxygen into your dog’s system. If you are working alone, one breath to every 15 compressions works well. If you have help, you can go up to one breath every 5 compressions.

For artificial respiration, you need to hold your dog’s mouth tightly closed. Then put your mouth as closely fitting as possible around his nose and exhale to breathe into your dog’s nose. For a small dog, his entire muzzle might be in your mouth. As you breathe into his nose, you should be able to detect the chest rising. For a small dog or puppy, a gentle breath will be all that is needed. You might have to breathe harder for a big dog. If your dog already has a good pulse, you can do respirations timed to about 30 per minute. Pause between breaths to let air flow out.

Add an abdominal squeeze after each cycle of compression and a breath to help get circulation moving.

Re-evaluate. Stop after a minute or two and check to see if your dog is responding. If there is no response after 20 minutes or so, you are unlikely to be successful. If at any point, your dog starts to fight you over this, then he no longer needs the CPR assistance.

The Red Cross offers courses that teach CPR for pets using a special “dummy” dog. You can also ask at your veterinary clinic or local human society if they offer a class.