Guide to Making a First Aid Kit for your Dog

Nobody likes to think about it, but there is always the possibility that your beloved dog could hurt himself when you are away from home. Thinking ahead and putting together the dog first aid kit will allow you to safely treat minor injuries yourself when you are away from home. Perhaps most importantly, in the event of major illness or injury, the same group will give you the tools to keep your pets safe and comfortable until you take them to a veterinary center.

So, if you are wondering how to create a dog first aid kit for home use, you should continue reading as below are some tips that teach you to do just that.

1. Purchase a commercially made kit: The easiest way to get a dog first aid kit is no other than buying a commercial one. However, this is definitely a more expensive option and you probably do not need everything that comes together in such a commercial made kit.

2. Create a dog first aid kit yourself:  I strongly believe that creating a dog first aid kit is a much better and less expensive option. It is not a difficult task to complete. The first thing you should do is get a waterproof container that should be large enough and strong enough to hold all the items together. One suggestion is to use a lunch box which you probably already have at home or even a plastic shoe box. To locate the first aid kit easily in times of danger, you must attach a label on the outside of the box.

You may think that as you have prepared the kit by yourself, you will no doubt remember what it looks like or where you have placed it, but during an emergency, you may feel too panicky about remembering it. So having a label like “Puppy First Aid Kit “will help you find it easily. Even members of your family can help you get it easily when you need it urgently.

Now that you know you can easily prepare first aid for your pet at home, your next question will be what items should be included in the kit? Remember that your goal is for it to be useful, and inexpensive, so you really do not need to include many things inside.

When putting together a dog's first aid kit, consider including the following items:
• Antiseptic cream or Spray which you can use to clean open wounds easily
• A Pack of cotton balls and swabs to clean open wounds too
• A Bottle of Aloe Vera gel to treat burns
• First aid cream tube that can soothe and protect wounds
• An antibacterial soap bar that you can use to wash the wounds to prevent infections
• Non-stick adhesive package to secure bandages
• A pair of clean, blunt nose scissors that you can use to cut the adhesive tape
• A Packet of gauze bandages that would be useful to cover and protect open wounds
• Canine rectal thermometers that can be used to check if your puppy has a fever
• An Eyewash bottle that can be used to wash the irritation in your puppy's eyes if the eyes came in contact with chemicals by mistake
• A Few tweezers to extract any possible fragment or small object that may be trapped in your puppy’s paw
• A box of gloves that you can use when you need to apply medications to your dog wounds so that they do not get contaminated by the bacteria in the air
• Blankets for wrapping your dog in should there be an accident and you have to send it to the veterinarian.

You now have a list of items that you can easily include in your dog first aid kit and these items are not expensive if you buy them individually. As such, it is not really necessary to buy an expensive commercially made first aid kit. When you find items that you think you might need to keep your puppy safe and free from injuries, you can simply add them to the kit. The most important thing to remember is to constantly check the expiration date of the medicine you have put into the dog first aid kit. Your first aid kit is ready to use!