[PyrNet-L] Health: The Heimlich Manoevre.

["Geraldine Swierzy" <sheepriverpyrs@email.msn.com>]

Today I saved my puppy's life.

    She is nine months old, and has been the greediest of puppies since
birth. I have done everything imaginable to slow her down, including
isolating her from the others at mealtimes - but to no avail. Normally I
slightly soften her food with warm water, so that she cannot vacuum it in
quite so fast.

    Yesterday we had a record breaking snowfall in the Calgary area,[the
most snow in a 24 hour period since records began 113 years ago!] - so I
decided to carry the dishes of food down to the dogs without adding water as
I had to work my way through 3 feet of snow. As soon as I put Anais's dish
down and allowed her to break her "sit" she just started to inhale it as
usual. As I went to feed her sister, I heard her choke - but when I looked
around she seemed fine and was back with her nose in her dish. Suddenly she
stopped eating - made no noise whatsoever, but kept thrusting her head
forward. She would not come to me, she started to drool heavily, lay down -
got up and moved away as I came towards her, and eventually lay down in a
corner of her pen still silently thrusting her head forward. When I reached
her I lifted her up so that only her back legs were on the ground - but she
did not try to support her own weight, and how I had the strengh to hold her
and thrust my clenched fist in under her ribs I shall never know! This puppy
weighs over 90lbs! Maybe knowing that I could not get help as we were still
snowed in, with drifts of more than 4 feet on the driveway, gave me
superhuman strength, who knows. Anyhow, she made a few strange noises - but
nothing came out and when I put her down, she just collapsed in a heap. I
lifted her again and this time she fell forward with her head almost on the
ground - and I pushed my fist under her ribs again - so hard that I I
thought I could injure her - and all of a sudden four or five pieces of food
shot out of her mouth and she started to breathe. She hesitated for only a
split second - and did she say "thankyou"........not at all - she went
straight for those pieces of kibble and devoured them!

    Amazing creatures, these pyreneans, - throughout the drama, my other six
stood stock still and watched - and not until Anais was back to normal, did
they resume eating their own food.

    Last year I took a weekend course in Pet First Aid, which generally
dealt with emergency procedures - and the stabilizing of injured or very ill
pets prior to tranporting them to the vet. This was the first time I have
had the opportunity to put my newly acquired skills into practice - and I am
so grateful to have had the confidence to save my puppy.

                                              Geraldine


Geraldine Swierzy
SheepRiver Great Pyrenees
Alberta, Canada
Phone (403) 938-2200
E-Mail: sheepriverpyrs@msn.com