Dog First Aid Kit: What to Pack and What to Do

Pack dressings, tape, scissors, tweezers, gloves, a muzzle and a blanket, and save your vet’s and the nearest 24-hour vet’s numbers today. In an emergency, keep yourself safe, give basic first aid and call the vet on the way. After a poisoning, don’t make your dog sick unless a vet says so. This guide follows the UK charities PDSA and RSPCA, the Merck Veterinary Manual, VCA’s vets and the poison lines’ own sites, all checked on 22 October 2026.

Save two numbers now

Store your vet’s number in your phone (PDSA), plus the after-hours number and the nearest 24-hour emergency clinic, and map the route there now (Merck Veterinary Manual). Call ahead when you set off: the vet can talk you through first aid (Merck). Leave both numbers with your dog sitter too.

What to put in a dog first aid kit

From the lists of PDSA, ASPCA Poison Control (ASPCA) and Merck (Merck):

• Bandages, gauze, dressings, self-adhesive tape and duct tape (PDSA, Merck)
• Wound wash or saline, antiseptic wipes and cotton wool (PDSA, Merck)
• Blunt-ended scissors, tweezers and tick tweezers (PDSA); see how to remove a tick
• Disposable gloves (PDSA), a small torch and an ice pack (ASPCA)
• A rectal thermometer and lubricating jelly (Merck)
• A muzzle that fits your dog (Merck)
• Towels (ASPCA), a foil blanket, and a blanket to use as a stretcher (PDSA)
• Your vet’s and the nearest emergency clinics’ numbers and addresses (ASPCA)
• A small supply of your dog’s daily medicine; ask your vet before giving it in an emergency (Merck)

Bought or home-made, keep it in a lidded box within quick reach and know how to use everything in it (Merck). Check it every few months for anything out of date (ASPCA).

Some US lists add medicines and 3% hydrogen peroxide (to make a dog vomit), which ASPCA says to give only after checking with a vet or poison expert. Ask your vet before adding either.

Bleeding

1. Protect yourself. Even the friendliest dog can bite when in pain; use a muzzle or towel if needed (PDSA).
2. Press a clean cloth firmly on the wound for at least three minutes before you check (RSPCA).
3. If blood soaks through, don’t pull the cloth off, which can restart the bleeding (PDSA). Add more on top and keep pressing (Merck).
4. Call your vet and go.

Vet sources differ on when and how to use a tourniquet (VCA Canada; Merck), so only use one if the vet on the phone talks you through it. Pale gums, weakness, cold feet or ears and a swollen belly can mean bleeding inside: call your vet immediately (PDSA).

If your dog ate something poisonous

1. Take away what’s left, and tempt your dog to drop anything in its mouth with a treat or toy (PDSA).
2. Call your vet or a poison line now. Don’t wait for signs, which can take hours or days (PDSA).
3. Don’t make your dog sick unless a vet tells you to. It can do more harm than good (PDSA); Merck’s guide for vets lists collapse, choking on vomit and pneumonia among the risks. No home antidotes either (Pet Poison Helpline).
4. Take the packet or a photo of the label to the vet (PDSA).

Have ready your dog’s age, breed and weight, and what it ate, how much and when (Animal PoisonLine).

If your dog ate chocolate

Call straight away, even if your dog seems fine. Signs usually start 6 to 12 hours after eating, with thirst, vomiting, diarrhoea and restlessness, which can lead to tremors, a racing heart and seizures (Merck). The poisons are theobromine and caffeine (Merck), and the darker the chocolate, the bigger the risk: cocoa powder and baking chocolate are worst, white chocolate has the least (ASPCA). If your dog needs to vomit, the vet can do it at the clinic (Merck).

Other common poisons

• Xylitol, a sweetener: a fast, severe drop in blood sugar, sometimes within 30 minutes, and liver damage (Merck). It’s in sugar-free gum and sweets, peanut and nut butters, baked goods (Merck) and toothpaste (ASPCA).
• Grapes, raisins and sultanas: kidney failure in some dogs (Merck). The harmful amount varies from fruit to fruit (Merck), so call even after a few.
• Rat and mouse poison: the most common kind stops blood clotting (Merck), and a dog can look well for days before bleeding starts (Animal Poisons Helpline). A poisoned rat or mouse can poison a dog too (Merck).
• Painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol (acetaminophen): ibuprofen causes sudden, severe vomiting and belly pain, and with longer use stomach ulcers and kidney damage; paracetamol damages the liver and blood (Merck). Poisonings often happen when pets chew into packets of tablets or gels (Animal Poisons Helpline).

Poison lines by country

Each charges a fee (ASPCA says one “may apply”):

• US: ASPCA Poison Control, (888) 426-4435, 24/7 (ASPCA).
• US, Canada and the Caribbean: Pet Poison Helpline, (855) 764-7661, 24 hours, US$99 per incident (Pet Poison Helpline).
• UK: Animal PoisonLine, 01202 509 000, 24 hours, £35 a call 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, £45 at other times (Animal PoisonLine).
• Australia: Animal Poisons Helpline, 1300 869 738, 24/7, from AU$79; its site lists 0800 869 738 for New Zealand.
• Everywhere else: your vet and the nearest 24-hour vet are your poison line.

If your dog has collapsed, is fitting or can’t breathe properly, go straight to a vet (Animal PoisonLine).

Choking

A coughing dog can still breathe in; a choking dog can hardly breathe, may paw at its mouth, and its gums and tongue can turn blue (PDSA). It may panic and bite (PDSA).

1. If you can see the object, grip it with tweezers or pliers (PDSA), careful not to push it further down (RSPCA). Don’t put your fingers in a conscious dog’s mouth (PDSA, Merck, VCA Canada).
2. If it won’t come out, or your dog collapses, lay it on its side and push quickly and firmly on the side of the rib cage with both hands, or strike it with the flat of your hand three or four times. Repeat until it comes out or you reach the vet (RSPCA, PDSA).
3. Call your vet if it stays stuck (PDSA), and for a check even if it comes out (VCA Canada).

Seizures

A single seizure is rarely dangerous, and dogs do not swallow their tongues (VCA).

• Move your dog off a sofa or bed onto the floor, and clear space around it (PDSA).
• Dim the lights, keep the room quiet and cool, and time the seizure. A video helps your vet (PDSA).
• Don’t hold your dog down or go near its mouth (PDSA).

Call your vet straight away if it lasts more than two minutes or isn’t the first in 24 hours (PDSA); one lasting over five minutes (status epilepticus) is life-threatening (VCA). After a short one, still call your vet (PDSA), and mention anything your dog might have eaten, as toxins can cause seizures (VCA).

Hit by a car or a broken bone

A dog hit by a car needs a vet straight away, even with no visible injury, as there may be internal injuries (PDSA).

1. Make sure you’re both safe from traffic (PDSA).
2. Check for heavy bleeding and trouble breathing, then wounds and broken bones (PDSA).
3. Keep your dog warm with a blanket or coat (PDSA), and as still as you can (VCA Canada).
4. Don’t let it walk on a broken leg (PDSA) or pull on the leg to set it (City of Jacksonville). Give nothing to eat or drink until you’ve spoken to the vet (PDSA).

Pale gums, a weak pulse, fast or shallow breathing and cold legs can mean shock: keep the head level with the body and go (RSPCA, VCA Canada).

A hurt dog may bite

Pain and fear can make a gentle dog bite (PDSA). A cloth over the head and eyes can calm it (Merck). For a makeshift muzzle, wrap a strip of soft cloth or a tie around the nose, under the chin, and tie it behind the ears (City of Jacksonville).

Only muzzle a dog that is breathing normally: never one that is struggling to breathe or has face injuries (PDSA), has a chest injury or a flat face like a pug (Merck), or is vomiting (City of Jacksonville). Loosen it after handling so your dog can pant (City of Jacksonville), and never leave it alone muzzled (Merck).

Moving a hurt dog

Don’t lift a dog over about 15 kg alone (PDSA). With one arm under the head and shoulders and the other under the hips, lift your dog onto a blanket or board and carry it by the corners without jolting (PDSA). If the back or neck might be hurt, use a firm board and keep the head, neck and spine still (PDSA, Merck).

Heatstroke

Cool first, then go to the vet. Get your dog into shade, pour cold tap water over its body (PDSA) but not its head (RSPCA), and fan it, then drive with the air-con on or windows open (PDSA). Full steps: heatstroke in dogs.

Go now if

These need a vet straight away, with first aid only on the way. Go now if your dog:

• has collapsed (VCA Canada) or is struggling to breathe (Merck)
• keeps trying to vomit with nothing coming up, which can be bloat (VCA Canada)
• has a seizure lasting over five minutes, or several in a row (VCA Canada)
• has bleeding you can’t stop, or may have a broken bone (Merck)
• has stopped breathing: call an emergency vet. The RSPCA’s page shows dog CPR (100 to 120 chest compressions a minute, two breaths after every 30).

FAQs

Should I make my dog sick if it ate chocolate? No, not unless a vet tells you to: PDSA warns it can do more harm than good. Call first.

Can I give my dog paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain? No. Merck says these drugs should not be used in pets unless your vet directs it. Ask your vet what’s safe.

What if there’s no pet poison line in my country? Call your vet or the nearest 24-hour vet. Save both numbers now, so you aren’t searching for them in a hurry.