This post will cover the top essentials to have in the best dog first aid kit, as well as a few extras to consider based on your dog's needs and lifestyle.
When it comes to your dogs health, you don't want to wait until you have a need for medical supplies to go get medical supplies. Here's some must haves for any basic dog-first aid kit and what you can use them for.
After working in a veterinary hospital for five years, I've learned what is essential to have in your dog first aid kit, and what you can leave out.
**This post and website are not a substitution for veterinary medicine. Please contact your veterinarian for advice, application and medication dosing for your specific situation**
Best Dog First Aid Kit
Before you go shopping, you might have the start of a dog first aid kit in your own home! While some things are specific to dogs or cats, there are things that you may already have in your first aid kit that can double for your dog.
Related: 12 Creative Ideas on How to Keep an Energetic Dog Calm After Surgery
How to Make a Dog First Aid Kit
1. Hydrogen Peroxide
Besides general cleaning, removing stains and cleaning, hydrogen peroxide can also be used to induce vomiting in dogs.
If you witness your dog ingest something in appropriate that could lead to obstruction, inducing vomiting can save your dog from extensive surgery and save you from expensive medical bills.
Related: Dog Ate Squeaker: What to do next?
This could be handy if you've accidentally quicked your dog's nail and need a clean up. It can also help stop bleeding, but usually isn't a first choice for clotting since there are better compounds for that.
How I've used Hydrogen Peroxide at home:
I gave my dog hydrogen peroxide at home, orally via syringe immediately (at least within 1 hour) after swallowing something she shouldn't have. The sooner you give it the more effective it is.
Contact veterinarian for your dog's dosage and instructions as there are contraindications and making your dog vomit is not always recommended after they've swallowed something. Also, see this PetMD article by Dr. Jennifer Coates on How to Make a Dog Vomit.
2. Quick Stop Powder
The most common type of injury you will encounter with your pet is if you plan on trimming your dogs nails at home.
If that's the case, kwik-stop is an essential. No one intentionally wants to quick their dog, but if it does happen, you don't want to be scrambling to make a bandaid or trying to use kitchen ingredients.
The Splash and Dash Groomer and Boutique has a great article explaining what to do if this happens in their article, Five Easy Ways to Stop Dog Toenail Bleeding.
How I've used Kwik Stop with my dogs:
I've applied a small amount of powder to affected area. Sometimes I'll hold a bit of pressure depending on the situation. Hydrogen peroxide will work to clean up any mess from a quicked nail.
Best Dog First Aid Kit for Hiking
3. Tick Remover
Tick removers work much better than tweezer for removing these squirmy insects. Tweezers have the potential to rip the head of the tick from the body of the tick.
It's important to be sure that you grab the head of the tick, because that's the part of the tick that causes diseases like lymes, rocky mountain spotted fever and anaplasmosis to name a few.
How to use:
Scoop the tick into the slot, do NOT twist and gently pull up. Works for people and animals. If the tick was embedded, contact your vet to plan for tick borne disease testing approximately 30-60 days after tick exposure. Here's a full article about what to do when you find a tick on your dog and the next steps to take.
Dog First Aid Kit Pets at Home
4. Heartworm and Flea and Tick Preventatives
Prevention is the best medicine!
Most heartworm preventatives also have other active deworming ingredients, so you're able to double up on killing the number of parasites that can affect your dog.
Heartworm prevention can only be purchased with a veterinarian's prescription. There are plenty of brands that your vet can recommend for heartworm prevention. In my dog's experience, Heartgard is the tastiest!
Heartworm and flea and tick preventative can be filled at an annual exam as long as a negative heartworm test has been completed within the year. The regulations on dispensing heartworm preventative are created by the American Heartworm Society.
How I use these products:
I give my dogs prescription strength heartworm preventative year round every 35-40 days. I give prescription flea and tick prevention (usually nexgard) in the peak tick seasons (usually spring and fall).
We do a lot of hiking and camping, and will often pull 10-30 ticks off our dogs in the peak tick season. So, for me and my dogs, the prescription is worth it.
In the off seasons (Summer and Winter) we will use Springtime Supplements Bug-Off for fleas and ticks, or sometimes no preventative at all.
Dog First Aid Kit Reddit
5. Neosporin
If you catch your dog licking at a certain spot, you can utilize a triple-antibiotic or Neosporin to help sooth and heal the abrasion.
Neosporin or any other topical triple antibiotic designed for dogs is definitely something to make sure you have on hand. It can save you a trip to a vet office and prevent infection on a small cut.
How I Use Neosporin:
I use topically on my dogs for minor and superficial cuts, wounds and abrasions.
6. Gauze and Vet Wrap
The duct tape and paper towel of medicine are vetwrap and gauze.They can fix most things, be applied almost anywhere (with some skill) and are usually pretty effective. Vetwrap comes in all sorts of patterns designs and colors too!
Related: Veterinary Price List: How to Save Money at the Vet
How I use Gauze and Vet Wrap:
I create a bandaid with a gauze square or two as needed, then use the vet wrap to cover my dog's limb or affected area. Usually I use this if I want to keep my dog from licking an injury or keep something clean.
I've gotten pretty creative with my wrapping technique depending on the injury. I'll leave on as needed, checking every few hours for swelling or to make sure the wrap is still covering the area it's intended too.
If any swelling occurs the bandaid is wrapped too tight and should be adjusted. The wrap should be snug, but not so tight that you can't lift the edge of the bandage.
Dog First Aid to Keep on Hand
7. Bland Diet Ingrediets
An upset stomach is not usually considered an emergency unless two or more symptoms occur together or you know that your dog got into something. When in doubt, contact your vet.
How I treat any of my dog's GI symptoms:
So, if my dog is having some diarrhea or vomiting I'll usually offer some boiled chicken and rice, or just fast them for up to 24 hours to let their stomach settle.
However, we're also learning that chicken and rice is not always the most healthy option for our dogs. FeedReal Institute has a lot of information about how to handle an upset stomach naturally.
Some veterinarians will recommend a prescription bland diet that is either kibble or canned food. Some vets are even happy to prescribe a Bland Diet without an exam or diagnostics, but you will need to be a current client.
DIY Dog First Aid
8. Trazodone or Sile-o or a Weighted Blanket
If your dog has a fear of thunderstorms, the grooming appointment or the vet, you may want to consider some of these options.
If this is something that your dog could benefit from, it's important to have this drug on hand ahead of time. A veterinary clinic can't always fill a prescription same day, and can't guarantee it will be in stock (especially in a popular season). So, it's also a good idea to do a trial run to see what dosing works best for your dog.
How I use these:
I used to use trazodone for thunderstorms and fourth of July weekend, but now I usually resort to keeping the TV on, fan on loud and covering my dog in a weighted blanket.
I just found the trazodone helped, but my dog just seemed out of it and not like herself. Plus, she getting the timing right for an undpredictable thunderstorm was always difficult. But, I have clients who use trazodone for nail trims, car rides, vet appointments and grooming appointments successfully!
9. Benedryl
Benadryl, or Diphenhydramine, is an antihistamine. The most common reason to give benadryl to your dog is if there's a run in with some kind of insect and your dog has a little bit of swelling.
If the swelling is causing issues with breathing then your dog MUST be seen by a veterinarian ASAP.
If your dog seems to be having an allergy flare up or you're noticing some red skin, itchy paws, sometimes, Benadryl helps. It's not the greatest for allergies, as there are other prescription strength drugs that work a lot better, but it is a good place to start.
How to use:
Use diphenhydramine 25mg tablets orally based on dosing from veterinarian. Dogs metabolize Benadryl differently than people, so dosage instructions are different.
10. Thermometer
Dogs have a range of normal temperatures from 99.5-102.5 degrees Fahrenheit, but just like people, individual "normals" can vary.
When you take your pet in for a routine exam they should be taking vitals on your pet. This way your pets unique baseline is established. They can also do this at the vets office, but it isn't a bad idea to keep at home, just in case.
How to use:
Dogs don't hold a thermometer under their tongue very well. So we're gonna go the other way. Lubricate the end of the thermometer. Insert it about 1/2"-1" into your dogs rectum. It shouldn't feel anything but uncomfortable to your dog though you'll definitely need a holder, and if you feel like it's unsafe, please skip the temperature check.
The end of the thermometer is smaller than their poop!) You can also utilize an ear thermometer, which are much easier and less intrusive, but aren't quite as reliable.
Ear thermometers - $50
Sterile Lubrication - $7
12. Carprofen
It's important to stay away from any human NSAIDs when looking for pain relief for your dog. Carprofen goes by many different names (rimadyl, carprovet).
This is the NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) for dogs. Many human drugs for pain relief can cause serious complications for pets.
Carprofen is also not a drug that should be given long term without monitoring blood work as it could cause liver damage or other complications. It is a good thing to have on hand for acute pain management. Consult your veterinarian for a prescription.
How I use:
I don't often use carprofen often, but every now and then my dogs seem to benefit from a dose or two if they are injured or recovering from surgery. Usually, I am using CBD oil to help control pain though.
Pet First Aid Kit
13. Crate or Baby Gate
You never know when you may need to limit your dogs activity. A crate can be helpful if you need to leave your dog unattended after surgery.
However, a small quiet room could do the same job depending on your dogs specific needs and their previous training. A baby gate can be utilized to block off stairs or other high risk areas within the household.
14. T Shirt/Baby Onsie, Socks and/or a Cone
E-collars (or cones) are pretty reliable as far as doing their job. As far as comfort, wear-ability and the ability to eat and drink while wearing a cone an e-collar is less than functional.
Plus, your dog is not going to be interested in having a huge thing on their head!
Depending on the size of your dog and where an injury or irritation may occur, a onesie, sock or t-shirt can do the same thing!
How to use:
These tools are a must have on hand in order to protect your dogs skin from infection or protect the integrity of a surgical site in the healing process.
Related: 12 Creative Ideas on How to Keep an Energetic Dog Calm After Surgery
It might require some creativity to get the fit just right and to cover the affected area (this is where some vetwrap might also come in handy!
Natural Dog First Aid
Pets can benefit from alternative medicine too! It is important to keep your veterinarian in the loop, and if you can find a holistic veterinarian you'll be even better off.
Personally, I love the kinesiology taping for pets who are sore, arthritic or are have certain types inflammation. This should be done by a certified professional, but there is a course for pet owners offered by Holistic Animal Studies that will teach you how to use kinesiology taping as a supportive therapy.
There are also lots of benefits to massage therapy or using both the tape and massage together to help relieve your dogs pain. Please Note: There are contraindications to utilizing massage or kinesiology taping.
Dog First Aid Kit Amazon
First Aid Kit for Dogs and People
This is the top selling first aid kit for dogs on amazon! The best thing is it double as a first aid kit for dogs and people, plus it has a reference guide so you can be prepared to take action! A slip lead, bandage scissors and clotting gauze are all included.
However, this kit contains aspirin which is meant for human consumption. Dogs should not get aspirin unless it's an emergency. Consider packing some carporfen in the first aid kit for your dogs benefit.
Dog First Aid Kit Camping
A first aid kit for a human can usually double as your dog first aid kit for hiking trips. The only extra to consider would be a rescue sling.
While you're out and about you never know what could happen. Injuries could happen as well as interactions with bears, coyotes, snakes that could render your dog unable to finish the hike. Be prepared to take care of your pup on any adventure! Fido Pro offers a light-weight way to make sure you're prepared for any injury your dog may sustain on a hike.
How to use:
Refer to instruction manual.
