First Aid

• Self-Adherent Bandage/VetWrap - Not just for wrapping injuries but can also be used to make a muzzle or booties in a jam. VetWrap works much better on fur than regular athletic tape.
  
• Styptic Powder or Pencil - Used to coagulate blood from broken nails or minor skin wounds.
  
• Flea Comb - Great for removing hitchhikers such as fleas, ticks before they have embedded themselves, and speargrass. Speargrass is also known as foxtail and can be dangerous to dogs, read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.o....
  
• Razor Blade - Cheap disposables with a plastic handle work great to shave hair away from a wound before treating it.
  
• Good Tweezers - For removing ticks or thorns or anything else fun dogs can find to get into; reference speargrass above.
  
• Benadryl - Used to treat anaphylaxis. The standard recommended dose is 2mg/lb in an 8 hour period (example, a 25lb dog shouldn't exceed 50mg in 8hrs so you could give that dog 25mg every 4hrs as needed). Children's liquid Benadryl works great and can be given with an oral syringe. Please consult with your veterinarian before administering any drug to your pet to verify proper dosage.
  
• Liquid Bandage - Sold in small tubes or vials, liquid bandage works well to hold together pad tears/rips and minor skin injuries. It does have alcohol as one of the ingredients, so don?t be surprised by a negative reaction to the momentary burn when this is applied. After applying the liquid bandage, wrap the area in VetWrap and if it?s a pad, cover with a bootie to hold the wrap in place.
  
• Snake Bite Kit (optional) - You decide if you really need it based on the type of trip and the area of the country you're going to be in. Please consult your veterinarian before using a venom extractor as improper use can be more harmful than helpful.
  
• Triple Anti-biotic Ointment or Biocaine Lotion - Most human tubes will be OK for dogs, but you can get pet specific tubes from pet suppliers. Consult your veterinarian for recommended products.
  
• Buffered Aspirin - Dogs can't have human aspirin, pick some up specifically for dogs from pet stores, they'll be chew tabs and will be the proper dose for your dogs weight. Non-buffered aspirin will cause stomach upset in dogs.
  
• Small Scissors or a Small Knife - An invaluable tool with lots of uses.
  
• Gauze - For packing and cleaning wounds.
  
• Rubbing Alcohol - Used to help cool overheated dogs; rub on inside of ears and soak pads in it.
  
• Hydrogen Peroxide - Used to induce vomiting, one teaspoon per 10lbs of weight, PLEASE do your research before attempting this, it can do more harm than good (i.e. sharp objects or caustic substances). Consult your veterinarian for additional circumstances where vomiting should not be induced.
  
• Oral Syringe - For administering liquid medications.
  
• Bitter Spray - Used on bandages to discourage licking of the area. Biocaine (mentioned above) has a bad taste to it for that purpose so it?s a two in one; you can rub a little bit on the outside of the bandage.
  
• Plastic Baggie - Put everything in a waterproof baggie.