There are many things that could potentially go wrong for your dog while camping in the great outdoors. Both humans and dogs are exposed to a variety of hazards such as campfires, smoke, fishing equipment, hooks, stagnant water and much more. While humans are generally aware of the risk associated with these hazards, dogs are not aware and therefore are much more susceptible to injury. We can’t tell our dogs to stay away from the fishing hooks or don’t get sunburnt so it’s our responsibility to try and prevent these accidents or if things go wrong it is our responsibility to know the correct first aid for our dogs in these camping scenarios.
Table of Contents
Most Common Dog Camping Injuries and How to Treat Them
Disclosure: The information in this post is not meant to replace the advice of your veterinarian. Consult your veterinarian before administering any medication or treatment to your pet.
Ticks
Ticks are typically 3 – 5mm in size and live by feeding off the blood of mammals and other creatures. The venom or neurotoxin in a tick is gradually released into the bloodstream of a dog while feeding. Ticks enjoy moist environments. This includes logs, branches and grassy areas. These environments tend to be closer to the ground and therefore makes your dog much more vulnerable to ticks than you.
Symptoms
- 3 – 5mm Brown Lump
- Lethargy
- Uncoordinated walking (affecting hind legs first and then front legs)
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty breathing
- Inability to stand
Treatment
Ticks need to be carefully removed within 24 hours of a bite because their blood carries disease.
- Part your dog’s fur around the tick with fingers
- Grasp the tick with tweezers very close to your dogs skin
- Pull upwards with steady pressure with the tweezers. Try to remove all of the tick.
- Clean bite area with rubbing alcohol
- Kill the tick with alcohol and dispose of it correctly.
- If you are worried about disease you can go to your vet to see if the tick has transmitted anything to your dog.
- In the future prevent ticks with products such as collars and topical treatments that aim to kill ticks before they can bite.
Foot Pad Injury
Dog’s paw pads are the rubbery thick part of your dog’s feet that provide traction and cushion steps. While camping a dog is more susceptible to foot pad injuries because of rough terrain while hiking or because of their increased exposure to sharp objects such as fishing hooks. These injuries can range from a cut, an abrasion, a burn to a blister.
Symptoms
- Limping
- Licking foot
- Bleeding
Treatment
For mild abrasions or cuts:
- Gently rinse affected paw.
- Remove all debris with tweezers e.g. metal shards or glass. If it is lodged too deeply do not attempt to remove it as it will do more damage than good. This must be removed by a vet.
- Control bleeding by applying pressure to the wound with a towel.
- Apply antibacterial ointment.
- Place non-stick gauze pad over affected area for cushioning.
- Lightly wrap with a bandage.
- Replace dressings with fresh gauze pads and bandages daily.
- Optional: put a sock over bandage so you dog can’t eat or pull away bandages.
For mild burns:
- Run paw under cool water for several minutes
- Apply antibiotic ointment
- Bandage paw
- Replace bandage with fresh ones daily
Doggie hiking boots can act as a preventative for foot injuries.
Heat Stroke
Dogs suffer from heat stroke more than humans because they do not sweat. Instead of sweating dogs eliminate heat by panting. They only have sweat glands in their foot pads which can only help with heat dispersion to a small extent. Hot environments lead to heatstroke in dogs, most commonly caused by careless actions by owners such as not providing water and shade for dogs that are outside. This leads to a dog’s body temperature dramatically rising and not being able to cope through just panting.
Symptoms
- Excessive panting
- Signs of discomfort
- Reddened gums
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Collapse
Treatment
- Remove dog from hot environment
- Put your dog in a cold bath, run a cool shower over your dog, hose him down or cover his back with a cold wet towel.
- Take your dog’s temperature every few minutes (a normal dog’s temperature is 38.3 to 39.2 degrees Celsius)
- Allow your dog to drink water without forcing him to
- Contact your vet, tell them the symptoms and follow their instructions for further steps. It depends on the severity of heat stroke but veterinary treatment will mostly consist of replacing lost minerals and fluids.
Snake Bites
In the warmer months there are a lot more snakes around and since dogs are often tempted to chase and kill snakes it’s very important to know the tell tale signs and symptoms of a snake bite. Bites generally occur on a dog’s face or legs. Dog’s have all types of reactions to snake bites depending on the breed of snake, the amount and toxicity of venom and the location of the bite. The closer the bite is to the heart, the quicker the venom spreads throughout the body.
Symptoms
- Sudden weakness followed by collapse
- Twitching of the muscles
- Vomiting
- No bladder and bowel control
- Dilated pupils
- Paralysis
Treatment
- Call your vet and start making your way there as quickly as possible
- Do not wash the wound
- Apply a pressure bandage over the bite site to slow the spread of venom. Do not apply a tourniquet.
- Identify the snake if possible. Do not try and catch or kill the snake.
- At the vet hospital, the veterinarian can administer anti-venom once the snake has been identified.
Sunburn
Don’t be fooled by your dog’s thick fur coat because just like us, dogs are susceptible to painful sunburns burns and can potentially develop skin cancer. White colour fur dogs have a higher risk of sunburn because they have lighter skin underneath but this does not mean that other breeds are not affected. All dogs regardless of their shape, size and thickness of fur coat have areas that are vulnerable to sunburn. These areas include the tummy, ears and nose.
Symptoms
- Tenderness
- Red skin
- Dry, cracked skin
- Scratching
Treatment
- The best treatment is to prevent sunburn. You can purchase dog friendly sun creams that won’t harm your dog if he licks it off.
- If your dog has already been burnt the treatment depends on the severity. A minor burn will heal within a few days and for a worse burn a vet may suggest daily treatment with wound cleaning and topical medication.
- To ease itchiness you can use aloe vera gel on their coat.
DIY Dog First Aid Kit
To make your own DIY dog first aid kit you need to put the equipment listed below into an accessible lightweight bag clearly labeled as dog first aid. You should include all of the equipment suggested below:
Information
Compile all of this information into a display folder and bring it on your camping trip. In the instance of a dog emergency you will have the correct information handy to keep you calm and give your dog the best possible care.
- Guidebook for emergency pet first aid
- Emergency contact numbers – your vet, the closest animal emergency hospital, poison control hotline, animal control hotline etc.
- Vaccination and medical records – If you need to go to the vet, your dog’s vaccination and medical records are handy as the vet can look over them and prescribe appropriate medication or give appropriate treatment according to your dog’s pre-existing conditions etc.
Equipment
- Non stick bandages – sticky ones will rip off fur
- Butterfly bandages – used to close open wounds
- Surgical tape – to hold bandage together
- Gauze squares – to apply ointments, to protect wounds
- Sterile non-stick pad – to protect wounds
- Scissors
- Tweezers – to remove debris and ticks
- Razor – to shave hair from injured areas
- Irrigation syringe – to flush eyes and wounds
- Thermometer – to take temperatures
- Muzzle – to take steps to protect yourself and others when a dog is in pain. You can make a DIY muzzle with gauze by simply wrapping it around your dog’s muzzle and tying it behind his ears. Make sure dog can breathe and take off after a short period so dog can pant and effectively cool down.
- Cornstarch – to stop bleeding from broken toe nails
- Vet wrap – sticks to fur better than gauze without pulling out hair
- Tick tweezers/release. You can buy a tick key and put it on your keychain for easy access.
- Sock – to put over injured paw
- Foot balm – to protect paws in harsh cold or hot weather
- Wet wipes – to clean dirt, blood, mud etc. off wounds
- Treats – to reward and calm dog
- Torch – not only for night but also to scare off wildlife, to get a better look at wound etc.
- Favourite toy for comfort
- Collapsible travel water bowl
- Towel or blanket – for comfort, to clean up wound etc.
- Rubber gloves – for hygiene
Medication
- Antihistamine – to treat allergic reactions to bug bites, stings and plants. Check with your vet for dosages.
- Hydrogen-peroxide – can be used to clean wounds but not ideal, mainly used under vets guidance to induce vomiting in the case of accidental ingestion of toxins
- Sterile saline solution – flushes grid and sand out of eyes and wounds
- Disinfectant – e.g. Betadine
- Rubbing alcohol – to clean small wounds, to kill removed ticks
- Medications your dog is already on
Best Pre-Build Dog First Aid Kits
If you don’t have time to build your own dog first aid kit you can purchase a re-made one.
1. Dog First Aid Kit – Pet Safety Supplies for Camping, Walks, Cycling, Car, Hikes
Price:
Check out the current price here
Rating:
5 stars on Amazon
Review:
This is a compact and lightweight mini dog first aid kit which can be attached to your dog’s harness to carry along while hiking or adventuring. It opens in half and equipment is sorted into two pockets made of mesh and elastic.
Size:
6.3” (L) x 4” (W) x 2.75” (B)
Colour:
Camo green
Contents:
- Thermometer
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Emergency blanket
- Instant ice pack
- Disposable gloves
- 10 x Alcohol pads
- 1 x Sterile non woven gauze
- 450cm elastic bandage
- 20 x Cotton swabs
- 450cm First aid tape
- 30 x Band aids
2. Surviveware Large First Aid Kit & Added Mini Kit
Price:
Check out the current price here
Rating:
5 stars on Amazon
Size:
10 (L) x 7.25 (W) x 5 (B) inches
Colour
Red & Black
Review:
This is a large first aid kit intended for humans however majority of the supplies in first aid kits are used for animals as well. It comes with a mini version of the kit as well which is super handy for hiking or other activities you might be doing while camping. A stand out feature is that it has a clearly labelled organisation system with multiple pockets. It is made from 600D polyester which is very durable and comes with over 200 basic necessities for first aid.
Contents:
- 7.5″ Shears(1)
- 18″ Splint (1)
- Alcohol Wipes (10)
- Adhesive Bandages: Butterfly – Large (5), Butterfly – Medium (5), Large (5), Standard (30), Square (5), Mini (5), H-Shape (5)
- Cold Pack (1)
- Combine Dressing (1)
- Conforming Bandages (6)
- Gauze Swabs (5)
- CPR Bag with Instructions (1)
- CPR Mask (1)
- Earbuds (20)
- Emergency Blanket (1)
- Eye Pads (4)
- Fever Strips (3)
- First Aid Handbook (1)
- Nitrile Gloves (4)
- Hydro Gel (5)
- Hypo-Allergenic Tape
- Non-Adhesive Dressings (10)
- Pencil (1)
- Laminate Baggies (6)
- Refuse Bag (1)
- Pressure Bandage (1)
- Safety Pins (10)
- Skin Cleaning Wipes (10)
- Splinter Probes (10)
- Sting Relief Wipes (10)
- Strip Closures (9)
- Triangular Bandage (2)
- Tweezers (1)
- Whistle (1)
- Wound Dressings (2).
3. RC Pet Products Pet First Aid Kit
Price:
Check out the current price here
Rating:
4 ½ stars on Amazon
Review:
This is a slightly smaller first aid kit than the one previously mentioned. The supplies are sorted into clear vinyl pockets for ease of access. It also features long zipper extenders so you can open the kit while wearing gloves.
Size:
7 (L) x 8 (W) x 3 (B) inches
Colour:
Red
Contents:
- 3 x Gauze Rolls
- 4 x Square Gauze Pads
- 4 x Rectangle Gauze Pads
- 1 x Elastic Bandage
- 2 x Patch Adhesives
- 1 x Triangle Bandage
- 1 x Exam Gloves
- 1 x First Aid Tape
- 2 x Wooden Tongue Depressors
- 1 x Tweezers
- 1 x Scissor
- 1 x Cold Pack
- 1 x Emergency Blanket
- 1 x Saline Solution
- 8 x Antiseptic Wipes
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