Dog CPR

Knowing how to perform CPR and clear a choking airway could save your dog's life. These are skills you hope you'll never need — but in a true emergency, seconds matter, and having even a basic understanding of what to do can make the difference.This page covers what to do while you're getting to a vet — not a substitute for emergency veterinary care. If your dog is in cardiac arrest or choking, call your emergency vet immediately if you have any way to do so. Get to a veterinary hospital as fast as possible. The steps below are what you do on the way.

We strongly encourage every pet parent to take a hands-on pet first aid course. Reading instructions is helpful, but practicing in a low-stakes setting is how these skills actually stick. The American Red Cross offers pet first aid courses in-person and online. The RECOVER Initiative also offers training resources based on the most current veterinary CPR guidelines.

Part 1: Dog CPR

When Is CPR Appropriate?

CPR is only for dogs who are unconscious, not breathing, and have no heartbeat. It should never be performed on a dog whose heart is still beating — doing so can cause serious injury. Before starting CPR, take 10–15 seconds to assess:

1. Check for responsiveness — call your dog's name loudly, gently shake their shoulders. Do they react at all?

2. Check for breathing — watch the chest for rise and fall. Place your hand in front of the nose and mouth to feel for airflow.

3. Check for a heartbeat — place your hand or fingers on the left side of the chest, just behind the front leg, where you can feel the heartbeat.

If your dog is unresponsive, not breathing, and you cannot detect a heartbeat — begin CPR immediately.

Step 1: Position Your Dog

Lay your dog on a firm, flat surface on their right side, with their left side facing up. This puts the heart in the best position for compressions.

Exception — barrel-chested breeds (Bulldogs, Pugs, French Bulldogs): Place them on their back with their feet in the air and compress the sternum (breastbone) with both hands.

Step 2: Chest Compressions

According to the 2024 RECOVER Initiative guidelines — the most current and comprehensive veterinary CPR research available — chest compressions are the most critical part of CPR. Quality matters more than anything else.

Hand placement:

• Large and medium dogs: Place the heel of one hand over the widest part of the chest, then place your other hand on top. Keep your arms straight and compress straight down.

• Small dogs (under ~30 lbs): Place one hand over the heart (left chest, just behind the front leg), or cup both hands around the chest and compress with your thumbs.

How to compress:

• Push down to about one-third to one-half the width of your dog's chest

• Compress at a rate of 100–120 times per minute — about the same tempo as the song "Stayin' Alive"

• Let the chest fully recoil (spring back) between each compression — don't lean on the chest

• Deliver compressions in uninterrupted cycles of 2 minutes before pausing to check for a pulse or give breaths

Step 3: Rescue Breathing

The recommended ratio is 30 chest compressions to 2 breaths.

How to give a breath:

1. Close your dog's mouth gently but firmly with your hand

2. Cup your hands around their muzzle to form a seal

3. Breathe directly into their nostrils — not their mouth — until you see the chest rise

4. Each breath should take about 1 second

5. Allow the chest to fall, then give the second breath

If the chest doesn't rise, recheck that the mouth is fully closed and that nothing is blocking the airway.

Step 4: Keep Going

Continue cycles of 30 compressions and 2 breaths. If there are two people present, switch off on compressions every 2 minutes to maintain quality — compression effectiveness drops quickly with fatigue. Continue until your dog starts breathing on their own, a heartbeat returns, or you reach emergency veterinary care.

Part 2: Helping a Choking Dog

Recognize the Signs

A choking dog may be: pawing frantically at their face, gagging or retching without producing anything, making high-pitched or wheezing sounds while breathing, turning blue around the lips or gums, or suddenly becoming panicked and distressed. Unlike a coughing dog, a truly choking dog cannot move air effectively.

Step 1: Stay Calm and Check the Mouth

If your dog is conscious and will allow it

1. Open the mouth gently and look inside with a light source if available

2. If you can clearly see the object and can reach it safely, use your fingers or blunt tweezers to carefully remove it

3. Never blindly sweep your fingers deep into the throat — you can push the object further in, and a panicked dog may bite even if they never would otherwise

Step 2: Back Blows

Give 5 firm blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. This can dislodge an object through force and vibration.

Step 3: Abdominal Thrusts (Modified Heimlich)

For large dogs:

1. Stand or kneel behind your dog

2. Wrap your arms around their waist

3. Make a fist with one hand and place it just below the ribcage

4. Give 5 firm upward-and-forward thrusts — sharp and deliberate, not slow squeezes

5. Check the mouth again after each set of thrusts

For small dogs:

1. Hold your dog with their back against your chest, facing outward, head up

2. Place two fingers just below the ribcage

3. Give 5 firm upward thrusts

4. Alternatively, you can carefully hold small dogs upside down by the thighs for a few seconds — gravity sometimes helps dislodge the object

Alternate between back blows and abdominal thrusts until the object is cleared or you reach the vet.

Step 4: If Your Dog Loses Consciousness

If your dog loses consciousness during a choking episode, lay them on their side, open the mouth, and check again for the object. If you still cannot remove it and they are no longer breathing, begin CPR — chest compressions can sometimes force air past a partial obstruction.

Always Follow Up With Your Vet

Even if you successfully clear the obstruction and your dog seems fine, go to the vet. Choking can cause swelling in the throat, fluid in the lungs, or other internal trauma that isn't visible from the outside. A dog that seemed okay after a choking episode can decline hours later.

Be Prepared Before You Need To Be

• Save your emergency vet's number in your phone right now — including the nearest 24-hour emergency animal hospital

• Keep the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center number handy: (888) 426-4435

• Take a pet first aid course — the Red Cross, RECOVER Initiative, and many local vet schools offer them

• Consider a pet first aid kit — we cover what to keep in one in our Dog First Aid Kit guide

Sources: AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association,Veterinary Partner, VCA Animal Hospitals , the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), RECOVER Initiative, the ASPCA, VCA Animal Hospitals, PetMD , American Animal Hospital Association, MedVet, PMC / NIH peer-reviewed research, VIN (Veterinary Information Network), Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and trusted Veterinarians along my 17-year journey as a dog mom