Emergency? Call a veterinarian now
Veterinary help in your selected country
Phone your usual veterinarian; their recorded message should explain out-of-hours arrangements. If unavailable, contact a local emergency veterinary hospital. Confirm that it can receive your dog before traveling if possible; do not delay urgent care. Human emergency numbers are not veterinary helplines.
Open country-specific veterinary contactsWhile arranging help
Keep the surroundings safe and quiet. Observe without forcing handling or painful checks. Note when it began, changes, medicines and possible exposures for the veterinarian. Follow their advice about safe transport and first aid.
Do not give human medicines, leftover prescriptions or another animal’s treatment. Do not change prescribed treatment without veterinary advice. Do not force food or water into a distressed dog.
Call your veterinarian now about suspected harmful or uncertain ingestion, even if your dog looks well. Remove access safely, keep packaging and note what, how much and when. Do not induce vomiting or give salt, peroxide, charcoal, milk, oil or other home remedies unless a veterinarian specifically directs treatment.
Injuries: first actions while calling the veterinarian
After a road collision, serious fall or suspected fracture, call urgently even if your dog walks or seems better. Hidden injuries are possible. Do not test the limb, straighten it, fit a splint or make the dog walk. Tell the practice what happened and ask how to move them.
Animal bites need veterinary assessment even when the puncture looks small. For heavy bleeding, use clean material and steady direct pressure if safe; do not probe wounds or remove embedded objects. Eye injuries need urgent advice: prevent rubbing without pressing the eye and do not remove a stuck object.
For a burn or scald, move away from the source safely and call the veterinarian. Cool the affected skin with cool water for 10–20 minutes while help is arranged; keep the rest of the dog warm, especially a tiny dog. Do not use ice, creams or ointments. Chemical or electrical exposure needs immediate specific veterinary advice.
For breathing difficulty, choking, poisoning, heat illness, seizures or collapse, use the existing emergency instructions and phone immediately. Do not put fingers blindly into the mouth, induce vomiting or give medicines. First aid supports the journey to veterinary care; it must not postpone it.
Sources and review
Editorial review: 20 September 2026. Sources checked for the stated guidance; no veterinary certification of this tool.
Lifetime health & preventative care
Safety, recovery and life together
Owner resilience and home health
Practical content enhancement: 11 October 2026. Evidence for this enhancement: PDSA: moving an injured pet · PDSA: burns · PDSA: bite wounds