STOP ASKING FACEBOOK. GO TO THE EMERGENCY VET.

I often see people posting in Facebook groups asking whether they should rush to the emergency vet or wait until morning.

Please remember that Facebook cannot examine your dog. Sometimes waiting just a few hours can make the difference between a full recovery and losing your best friend.

Here are some situations where you should stop asking Facebook and start driving.

Uncontrolled bleeding

This is especially serious in small dogs. An average Toy Poodle has only around 200–250 mL of blood in its entire body – about the volume of a small cup.

What looks like “not much blood” to us can be life-threatening for a tiny dog.

Apply firm pressure with clean gauze or a clean cloth. If the bleeding has not stopped after 5 minutes of continuous pressure, go to the emergency vet immediately.

Eye injuries

Bleeding, a bulging eye, sudden swelling, trauma, or anything that doesn’t look normal is an emergency.

Eyes cannot wait until tomorrow.

Difficulty breathing

Wheezing, struggling to breathe, blue or pale gums, open-mouth breathing (unless normal panting after exercise), or being unable to take a proper breath are all emergencies.

Snake or spider bites

Don’t waste time trying to identify what bit your dog.

Go to the emergency vet immediately.

Sudden paralysis or inability to stand

Whether it’s the whole body or just one limb, this is an emergency.

A serious fall

A fall from more than twice your dog’s height at the shoulder (withers) should always be treated as an emergency, even if your dog seems fine afterwards. Internal injuries are not always obvious.

Smaller falls can still cause serious injuries depending on how your dog landed, the surface they landed on, their age, and their overall condition. If your dog is limping, painful, reluctant to move, or simply isn’t acting normally after any fall, they should be examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Persistent vomiting or diarrhoea

Especially if your dog won’t eat, won’t drink, cannot keep water down, or seems weak.

Small dogs and puppies become dehydrated very quickly.

Heatstroke

Heavy panting that doesn’t settle, weakness, collapse, confusion or overheating after being in the heat is an emergency. Start cooling your dog while getting to the vet immediately.

Possible intestinal obstruction

If your dog has swallowed a toy, sock, corn cob, bone, clothing or any foreign object and starts vomiting, refuses food, has abdominal pain or becomes lethargic, don’t wait until morning.

Unable to urinate

If your dog keeps trying to urinate but little or nothing comes out, especially in male dogs, this is an emergency.

Seizures or collapse

A seizure lasting more than a few minutes, repeated seizures, sudden collapse or loss of consciousness all require immediate veterinary attention.

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I’d rather see ten unnecessary trips to the emergency vet than one dog that could have been saved if their owner hadn’t waited until morning.

Hopefully you’ll never need this information.

But emergencies don’t wait until morning, and it’s much easier to remember what to do when you’re not panicking.

Please save this post. I truly hope you never need it, but if it helps even one dog receive emergency care in time, it was worth writing.