When accidents happen, emotions run high and without knowing how to deal with the situation safely and effectively, a natural reaction is to freeze up or go into shock.

While we hope you and your pup will ever be in the situation that you need to give them CPR, it’s always best to be prepared.

Being able to administer CPR in an emergency can increase your dog’s chance of survival until a vet is available.

So give your dog a quick hug (we know talking about this stuff is hard) and then take a few minutes to learn this very crucial skill.

Step 1: Check for responsiveness

There are a few ways you can check to see if your dog is responsive including:

• Stamping your feet
• Shaking the dog's body
• Gently pinching the skin between the toes
• Lightly tapping the corner of the eyelid near the nose to see if there is a blink response

Step 2: Check the ABCs

• Airway
• Breathing
• Circulation

1. Establish an open Airway

Lift the dog’s chin so the head and neck are aligned with the body.

Open the mouth and pull the tongue all the way forward and look inside. If you see anything blocking the airway, you can use your finger to move it out.

Do a test breath by blowing in the nostrils to see if the chest moves up and down. If it does, there is an open airway.

2. Check for breathing

Watch or feel for the dog’s chest to rise and fall by placing your hand on the dog’s chest, then bring your face all the way down to the dog’s mouth to feel for breath.

3. Check for circulation

You can quickly try to check a pulse the in the inner upper thigh. However, if your dog isn’t breathing, you don’t want to waste time. If you can’t detect breathing and a pulse within 10-15 seconds, start CPR.

How to do CPR in dogs

This helpful video from the Dog Training Academy will walk you through all the steps to performing CPR.

Stick This Handy Guide On Your Fridge

The ASPCA created this great infographic to help remind you of the steps to take. Keep it on your fridge or somewhere you'll see it regularly to remind you.