Pet Emergency First Aid

This program seeks to provide the viewer with the skills and awareness to care for a dog until veterinary intervention arrives. The information is well demonstrated with staged scenarios, including two dozen situations that a pet owner might encounter, from spider and snake bites to near drowning, heat stroke, burns, eye or foot injuries, shock, dehydration, and the ingestion of poisons. The need for a well-stocked first aid kit—in the car and at home—is reinforced, as well as the necessity of learning and understanding what is normal for your own dog before an emergency occurs. While the DVD does contain sound basics in a broad variety of emergency situations, the method of presentation is often too quick for people to absorb the information or take notes. Add to that the difficulty of remembering these procedures when emotion and stress interfere with clear thinking, and it is obvious that this information is best provided in print rather than video format. No booklet summarizing key points is provided, a serious flaw given the topic. Three bonus segments of video/photos of dogs set to music could easily have been omitted, with the core presentation slowed down to help viewers absorb more detail. An optional purchase; for a fraction of the cost, a basic canine first aid book would serve most viewers in need.—Edell M. Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI