First, let us state that we aren’t veterinarians, always consult with your vet if you have questions. But these will help you!
We all hope that we never have to deal with a life threatening situation. But if it were to happen, would you know what do?
Here are 4 tips that could help save your Bulldog’s life.
1. Know your emergency contact
You never know what is going to happen.
Just the other day I saw my Bulldog smackin’ on a AA-battery that came out of an Xbox controller.
Luckily, he didn’t get into any of the toxins contained inside or even worse – he could have swallowed the whole dang thing.
But if he were to swallow that battery, I would have been prepared.
I know the number and the name of our emergency veterinarian. I know where it is located and how to get there.
As of today I’ve been there twice. He just can’t help but get into things he shouldn’t!
Honestly, if I wasn’t able to react quickly to his situations, he may not be here anymore.
2. Know the signs of overheating and know how to respond
If you didn’t already know, Bulldogs are notoriously bad at cooling themselves down due to their short muzzle and physique.
Bulldogs are a Brachycephalic breed, and breeds of this nature cannot cool down effectively.
Brachycephalic breeds include French, English, American, and Olde English Bulldogs – along with Pugs and Boston Terriers.
Some signs of overheating are heavy panting to the point of heaving, discolored tongue, possible foaming from the mouth, and exhaustion.
Read about overheating and how to prevent it/correct it here.
In a nutshell, cool your dog down (more tips about that in the link), and have some lemon juice handy in case they start choking on their own saliva. Lemon juice will break down the saliva.
See the comments below for our user’s experiences with lemon juice!
3. Know how to apply chest compressions
Freak events do happen, but if it does, knowing how to apply chest compressions to your Bulldog could be life saving.
Events that would require such a maneuver would be sudden unconsciousness and non-response.
Check out this video where this dog’s life is saved by a dog trainer applying CPR – truly incredible (and terrifying):
4. Know how to dislodge an object from your bully’s throat
Image Source Unknown
Okay, if your Bulldogs are anything like mine then you know they can chew on anything and everything.
Like I said above, I caught little Dexter the other day delightfully snacking on a battery.
Had it been caught in his throat, there would have been things I could have done to dislodge the battery.
Option 1 is to grab your Bully by his hind legs when he is on all fours. Then lift his/her hind legs up and tilt them forward to make your pooch do a handstand. This method uses gravity to dislodge the object.
Some people have also had success simply sticking their hands in their bulldogs throat and removing the item. Try the first method initially.
The second method is more dangerous but if nothing is working, it is certainly better than letting your dog choke.
52 Comments
My Bully choked on her food and stopped breathing. I started by giving her heimleich and food was still lodged. She them pooped and peed all over the floor and I knew she was close to dying . I thrusted her chest several times and then began CPR. After several mouth blows and chest compressions she finally threw up a baseball size wad of food. I then just laid on the floor and cried my eyes out whole holding her. I still can't stand to think about it and since that day I have always blended her food in a blender them add water to it. I hope I never have to go through that experience again
Wow Becky I'm sure that was a very frightening experience. Those kinds of moments are absolutely horrible.
But it sounds like you acted swiftly and decisively. And in the end... You succeeded. And that is something you can be proud of.
I'm glad your Bully is fine :) , and I'm sure it was a learning experience for both of you.
My breeder told me to always wet their hard food with hot water and let it sit a bit before I feed them to soften the food. Then I drain the water and add the vegetables and meat
Most bulldogs are gulpers.I really suggest getting one of the food dishes that have a "cone"in the middle.It makes the dog chase the food around and thereby slows down the eating process.
Oh my goodness. The same thing happened to my bully last valentines day. He passed out and I tried everything until I put my fingers on his throat. He thew up a lot of food, then started to pee. He was so scared poor baby, but I was the one crying after all was done.
(I guess the kibble I gave him at the time was too small, he eats fine now, but I am always watching)
I believe having lemon juice for over heating is also very pertinent, it cuts down the phlegm and opens air ways. I was always taught by my parents, AKC hall of fame breeders for 25 years to have lemon juice and benedryl on you at all times with a bulldog. Ps it would be more effective if the dog you were showing how to save a bulldogs life with choking objects was actual a bulldog not another breed
nice job amy
Yep agree with both points, lemon juice and a Bulldog pic! Don't worry I'll get one up soon!
I have had to use lemon or lime juice on my Bulldog twice. I always have it on hand incase he gets overheated. I believe it saved his life.
Always have Benadryl. My bully actually had an allergic reaction to his allergy shot. He was in serious distress very quickly. I gave him Benadryl and held his head up while my hubby drove us to the ER vet. They stated my quick thinking saved him.
That was an OLDE ENGLISH BULLDOGGE
Lemon juice is a great idea. What does Benedryl help with?
My Bully's soft pallet swelled up in the back of his throat. At first I thought he was chocking on food, but soon figured out it was much more serious. He went white and than turned blue. Carried him to the truck and rushed him to emergency. So being on top of it definitely saved his life.
So glad to hear that, Sirena!
I live on top of a mountain...no close emergency vet hospital .One of my bullies did the same thing....he fell over limp and tounge blue.I grabbed him up between my legs and held him up and cupped my hands and hit both sides of his lung part of his chest a couple times and it opened it up....he was at a specialist the next day for surgery...scared me bad...
Our bully swallowed a spare rib. Our intention was to give him a treat to chew on but he swallowed the whole thing and started choking. It hadn't gone all the way down and my husband took it out of his throat. No harm done, but lesson learned!
Yeah, that's another way... You can literally get your hand down there and take it out (sometimes!). I've never had experience with it but I know when I was young my mother did it and saved our dog's life!
I have 2 English bulldogs, one who has a shorter muzzle and tends to overheat much faster than my other. Several times I have used lemon juice to help him when he starts foaming at the mouth. They can easily choke on the foam but the lemon juice almost immediately cuts thru the foam to help clear his airway. I always have lemon juice with me and it has made a huge difference during several scary moments.
Lemon juice is a great idea. I've heard it works wonders. Definitely keep this handy if you are Bully owner and you have an overheater on your hands!
How do you use the lemon juice? Squirt some in their mouth or wipe their lips?
Squirt directly in her mouth.
Thanks !
Like he would listen and let me to!;)
thanks wondering the same thing ..... How to give it to them
My bulldog ate a bee and he started to swell. I gave him benadryl and put him in the car. I was alone. I called the vet and told them I was on my way. He was in breathing distress. His mouth started to swell and he started to turn blue. By the time I pulled over, he was not breathing. I looked in his mouth and everything was swelling. My son happened to have left an empty soft drink cup with a straw in it in the car on the floor. I grabbed it, and put my hands in the dog's mouth and directed the straw to the tiny opening at the back of his throat. I blew into it and did chest compressions. I thought it was hopeless, but after what seemed forever, he gasped and had raggedy breathing. I drove like a bat out of h*&^ to the vet. They met me at the door and they were able to save his life. Scariest bulldog moment ever, but it ended well.
Wow. That's crazy! What a story. So glad it worked out for you.
Sometimes people aren't so lucky. But hopefully these kinds of stories will help them in the future :)
Also, people need to know bulldogs can't swim!, mine jumped into a pool with older teens and THANK GOD!, The older teen grabbed her. He thought she was a kid! She, sank like a rock! We were at a friends house when this happened, who was off the fox river, DIRTY NASTY WATER! would NEVER HABE FOUND HER!
Yes, many Bulldogs can't swim. SOME can, but very few. They need to be more fit in order to do so.
Glad there was somebody there to get her!
I have 2 Bulldogs. One can swim and swim very well. The other just sinks. Go figure
Mine just sink :-o
I bought my buIIy Bogart a Iife preserver he Ioves to swim but does sink it is worth the investment he Ioves to fIoat around and keep cooI!
Actually my 7 month old English bull dog swims like a champ! I don't let him swim that long though because of exhaustion.
Have heard that alcohol pads applied to their pads aids in cooling them down. Lemon juice mentioned earlier is always in my bag as is Benadryl - also mentioned earlier. Amy
My bulldog had congestive heart failure ( we didn't know it) my husband woke me up crying saying Ozzy was dead. I jumped up and ran outside w my husband. My husband was in his knees doing CPR in him. ( he had let him out before work and found him laying out when he went to let him in) so he did CPR and he put his hand down his throat cause he thought he had choked on his phlem like he had in the past. He finally came to. As he did he bit the tip of my husbands finger almost all the way off. But we didn't care. Just happy he was alive. So my husband went to work thinking he was ok but I noticed he was having trouble breathing. So I took him to the vet and the vet said he was n congestive heart failure. And it was to advanced to save him so we had to put him down because he was suffering. He could barely breath. My husband was at work and had a hard time believing it. He thought it was just the phlem and that he had got it out and saved him and he was so sure he was going to b ok. He cried for days. We loved him so much.
Very sorry to hear your story :(
I also had a dog in my life that randomly passed. It sucks, but it happens.
My french bulldog, went out in the morning as usual after I fed them both. Fought the other one for a bit of bone. Started reguritating as he does often. I lifted his back legs and squeezed his lower torso. Food came out and an old bone( raw) drama over we all settled down he lay on his side in his favourite postion. They napped separately for a while. She went to hang out with him for a bit. Laying her head on his stomach using him as her cushion. As she often did. Then back to her favourite spot. I went upstairs to continue getting ready. 10- 20 mins later baring in mind I could see him the whole time. I suddenly thought he is dead. And he was. Too little poos out the back end some saliva around the mouth. He was thirteen months old and our family is devastated.
Coupla questions: Do we know what made this doggie collapse in the first place? Reason I ask is, wouldn't it B a good idea 2 first check 2 see if there's something caught in the dog's throat that made them collapse? & judging by the video, chest compressions were not the 100-120 per min that U recommended. So would I do the 100-12 per min. as U recommended, or one doing chest compressions about every 4 seconds as it showed on the video? I'm a little confused. BTW, VERY impressive & informative post. THX 4 posting it !!!!
Thanks for the post, I'll write a blog post about the CPR. Sign up for the newsletter and I'll send you an e-mail when it is released.
We all know how our bullies think that just about everything is for them to eat, especially if it's right at their level. My bully is no different. I tried to have a garden, nope he ate that. Lol in our yard we seem to get allot of toads, which as you know have poisonous toxins on their skin. 1 day my bully was chasing after 1 really big toad, but it hopped under a bush. It was just barely out of range to chew on so my bully licked its slimy back. He immediately began foaming at the mouth, so I grabbed my water bottle and repeatedly squirting it in his mouth. I took him to the vet after a few bottles were emptied, and the vet said my quick thinking had saved him from having the toxins released in his body.
Very nice job Brandy. Glad you had your whits about you in a moment of potential panic!
YES. We finally had 2 set up an uber-complicated fencing system 4 our tomatoes. Bullies LOVED green tomatoes, & would carefully take one bite out of each tomato, ruining them 4 the rest of us. My daughter once brought over her 2 little hoodlum terriers, who managed 2 trap & kill a rabbit under a bush in our back yard. Mercedes Lucille tasted blood, & all her delinquent characteristics came out, 2 the tune of about $600, from where she scratched her cornea trying 2 get 2 it.
When my Fernando was 6 months old, we took him out on our boat with his lifejacket on. We beached our boat on a sandbar and brought him on the beach. He waded into the water and loved it. For some reason, he waded to the boat and when he reached the hull, he tipped on his side. In 3 seconds, my husband was there...picked him up...he wasn't breathing...his tongue was blue. I was screaming hysterically... My husband put him on the beach, ripping off the lfie jacket, did mouth to snout respiration... He took a deep breath and within seconds, he was right back to normal.... Scared the life out of me, but because of my husband's cool head, Fernando is now a normal and healthy 2 1/2 year old bully.
Great posts! I have an almost 4 year old bully. And he is absolutely my baby! I'm glad to learn about the lemon juice! My bully (Sarge) loves balls more than life itself. He wasn't quite 1, playing by an above ground pool with a ball. He suddenly collapsed. I ran for my husband to carry him into the shade. He went from serious panting to barely breathing. We cooled him off in the shade and talked to him. He soon started panting again. Scared the living day lights outta me!! I keep a close eye one him always. And I always make sure he stays cool!
We too have a pool. Sarge LOVES to swim!! That's his favourite way to cool off. Wearing his life jacket and swimming after balls!
I don`t know where you guys come from and what the weathercondition is about....
I am from cologne germany and my Old EB Trudy can`t stand the sun in summertime at all..
The temperature in the summerperiod is about 25-34 C at day time..
I just take her out for a walk in that time, very early in the morning and during daytime she can go into the garden if she wants to..after the sun went down i take her for a walk again..
EB`s are not made for athleticruns in summertime..and we all should know...
And about the food...
I got my EB from the canarian islands...from a dogrescueprogram.
She was way to fat and totally afraid of everything..she was hold by her owner to breed EB in a dark garage..
I got her, felt in love with her and tried everything to cheet her up..
I now have her for one year, before i had mastinos and rottweilers.
I`ve spoken to a lot of EB owners and every EB gets differtend food...caused by overbreeding.
I tried and tried to get the best food for my beloved dog...
I just can say be carefull of what other people say!!!
Everybody wants to know best....but you see your dog everyday, so choose whats best for your baby...!!
I have an EBD and he is one of the joys In our life...my problem with him is unfortunately the pottying in the house and not liking water ( baths, sprinklers , etc...good to know about the benadryl and lemon juice...help, he's going to be 2 years old on Dec. 27.
there are doggie diapers , no this is old post but on males who want to mark they can't .
So glad to find out about the lemon juice. I had no idea
My Bully is 10 years old, And has running fits in his lot! Running around barking and running into the lot poles and biting the wire. Slobering from the mouth! I let him out regularly! But when he does this and I go to him he acts like iam not even there! And continues to do it !Then after awhile he is fine! Why is he doing this!
I have a bully & he is spoiled rotten.... SCARED of his on shallow.... WANT leave my when I get home from work.... ,HE WILL BE 2 in 6 months will he get better....
Good info, my French is 5 yrs old. One time he has gotten into a pudding cup, it contained a artificial sweetener called Xylitol which is toxic to dogs. Called the vet immediately and was told to give the dog water mixed with vinegar which will induce vomiting and then told me if the dog didn't vomit within 30 min to give more or bring in to vet. The reason for this is that you want to prevent the toxin from entering the blood stream. I did as asked and within 10 min the dog threw it up along with some kibble mind you, but that helped insure it all came out. He was fine a couple of minutes later. Glad I knew about Xylitol.
Thank you all for the great advice I have read on here. I have raised pit bulls and have two, I just recently got a bully and noticed this morning he was panting so hard after 20 minutes of coming inside from letting them out to potty. My husband put a fan on him and he is laying on the couch snoring now. But I'll definitely go grab some lemon juice today and will no longer let him run with the other two. I believe he over exerted himself.
My boy is 5 bug just started at night to gasp for air and pace back and forth choking on either phlegm or soft pallet. It's the only two things I can think of. It happens at night and I've taken videos to show my vet. They said reverse sneeze. I said no I know when he reverse sneezes. This is not a reverse sneeze. Besides these choking and gasping episodes last for 30 mins sometimes. He makes this weird noise with his throat with head in air trying to get a deep breath. He can only take small breaths enough for him to not pass out. Then he pukes up foam like mucus and has bubbles pushing out of his nose. What the heck is this???? Anyone please.
I've had the soft pallet surgery done on him but when he was 1 -2 years old. Could this be residual elongated pallet or would it have grown again? I almost lost him last month because of his food. Had to do CPR on him. He choked on mass of food and was flatlined. Luckily I was watching him eat and now I put all his food in a food processor to grind it up fine.
Leave A Comment