Pet Talk: Prepared, Not Panicked: An Owner’s Guide to Choking Emergency Responses

A favorite toy or treat can become dangerous in an instant if it gets lodged in your pet’s airway.

 

Because choking is a terrifying emergency for pets and their owners, Dr. Christine Rutter, a clinical associate professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, shares what every pet owner and pet sitter should know about recognizing choking and responding safely.

 

Common Choking Hazards

 

Choking hazards can arise during playtime, mealtime, and everyday activities.

“Choking can be due to any foreign material in the airway,” Rutter said.

Common causes include:

• Food or treats inhaled from eating too fast

• Toys, especially balls and sticks

• Threads or strings

When choking happens in pets, it can resemble other respiratory events, according to Rutter.

“It would be easy to mistake choking for coughing, gagging, reverse sneezing, and regurgitation,” she said.

As such, owners and/or pet sitters should act quickly to assess the situation when they witness these events. Pets that are choking will typically show obvious signs of distress, including:

• Panic

• Difficulty breathing

• Noisy breathing

• Pawing at their mouth

• A blue tint to the tongue and mucous membranes

However, if the airway has become completely obstructed, there may be no breathing sounds at all.

 

Once owners know how to recognize a choking emergency, understanding what commonly causes these situations can help prevent them before they happen.

 

Choking Procedures

 

If you suspect your pet is choking, staying as calm as possible while acting quickly can give them the best chance of recovery.

 

The first thing an owner should do is attempt to keep the pet calm, and, if possible, without risking injury, open the pet’s mouth to look for foreign objects, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

 

“If your pet has collapsed or is weak, you can try looking into the back of your pet’s throat to see if there is something you can reach,” Rutter said.

If that isn’t possible, one method typically used for removing a toy ball from a dog’s airway is referred to as the J-Stroke technique. Also called the External Extraction Technique (XXT), the J-Stroke is performed by placing the dog on its back, straddling its body, tilting its head back to extend the neck, and placing your thumbs behind the object on either side of the windpipe. This positioning will allow for pushing in a ‘J’ shape to pop the object out.

Due to the more fragile internal structures of cats and small dogs, the J-Stroke Technique is primarily intended for medium or large dogs.

“There are videos online that I would direct pet owners and sitters to watch,” Rutter said. “We have performed it several times at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.”

Despite the urgency, choking emergencies must be approached with caution.

 

“Owners should be very careful if they attempt to reach back into any pet’s throat,” Rutter said. “Any animal can bite when distressed, and you may end up in both the veterinary and human ERs in one day if not wary.”

While there are also pet-Heimlich maneuvers, Rutter said they are not as well-established in veterinary medicine and could be attempted briefly prior to seeking care from a veterinarian.

Performing CPR

If a pet is collapsed and unresponsive, begin CPR while preparing to seek emergency care.

“It’s important to do CPR correctly for it to work,” Rutter said. “To start CPR on a pet, check the airway for foreign material and start compression.”

Online CPR training resources are offered through the RECOVER Initiative, which developed the only evidence-based veterinary CPR guidelines. Those who complete the online course can continue their training in-person with a certified instructor.

“CPR really can only generate at most 30% of normal cardiac output, so poorly performed CPR has little chance of providing enough blood flow to save a life,” Rutter said.

Because most pets are much smaller than humans, avoid using excessive force when attempting any rescue technique.

“If a technique is performed wrong or unsuccessfully, the risk would be treatment failure (they are still choking) and perhaps bruising or soft tissue injury,” Rutter said. “However, all of these possible complications seem better than doing nothing.

“If you aren’t successful or feel uncomfortable with these procedures, take your pet directly to your nearest veterinarian for care,” Rutter said. “Don’t offer your pet water or food if you suspect they are choking. If they are unable to protect their airway, they could aspirate — meaning inhale the contents into their windpipe and lungs — which definitely makes things worse.”

Choking pets often require emergency sedation and airway access, so going directly to a veterinarian is essential.

Seeking Expert Advice

Because emergencies happen without warning, Rutter encourages pet owners and pet sitters to learn life-saving techniques before they ever need them.

In addition to online trainings, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) or your veterinarian are great places to start to gather more information on how to assist a pet in a choking event.

“Anyone who is concerned about their pet should seek veterinary care sooner rather than later,” Rutter said. “Better to race to the vet for a false alarm than to have a crisis at home. The best case scenario with emergencies is when I get to tell a worried pet owner that their baby is going to be OK.”

Whether you are a pet owner or pet sitter, learning how to recognize choking and respond appropriately before an emergency occurs can make all the difference. Staying prepared and observant can save a pet’s life and keep them breathing easily for the days to come.

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the web at vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk. Suggestions for future topics may be directed to vmbs-editor@tamu.edu.