Drug abuse is a major concern in many countries worldwide. When it impacts a large swathe of the working population, the economy takes a hit. Opioids have been among the most abused drugs since the Victorian opium wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Today, working sniffer dogs also suffer from K9 opioid overdose in the line of duty.
Sniffer dogs often face many challenges when in the line of duty. As they are primarily trained to sniff out narcotics, they ingest the very narcotics they are tasked with sniffing out at times. To prevent death whenever such cases occur, handlers must know how to offer emergency assistance.
Luckily, there are training programs for law enforcement officers that are tailored for such catastrophes. During training, officers get to learn how to respond to overdoses by their K9s on emergency basis. Emergency handling is usually done using a set of tools that every K9 officer must be comfortable to handle at the end of training.
Naloxone is the primary drug that doctors administer to overdose patients. It has compounds that actively reverse the negative effects of heroin and other opioids in the blood. Administration is done by injecting it directly into the blood stream or using it as a nasal spray. The good thing is that this antidote has been proven to work on dogs too.
During an overdose incident, the most potent killer for a dog is Fentanyl. With potency that is 50 times the standard potency of heroin, many drug addicts have a liking for it. When a working sniffer dog ingests during its sniffing mission, it is likely to collapse and die in a matter of minutes. As the treatment window is relatively short, it is advisable for handlers to always have the antidote on them when on field assignments.
If you are a handler, there are some symptoms that you should easily spot to know whether your canine has overdosed. Immediate observable symptoms are weakness and staggering. Your dog may collapse or seem to find it difficult to stay upright a few seconds after ingestion.
Once you spot these signs, you should check its respiratory rate immediately. Abused drugs usually slow the heart rate and can lead to respiratory failure. Your first actions should help ensure the dog does not slip into a cardiac arrest.
An important thing to remember is that a typical overdosed canine is likely to react aggressively to any attempt made to treat it. Therefore, be sure to muzzle it prior to administering Naloxone. For your own safety, have a colleague help you keep the dog down while you give it the emergency treatment.
Responding to respiratory failure is often the trickiest bit of handling an overdose. Once this phase kicks in, the dog stops breathing. The first thing you should do is administer CPR. However, you should not put your mouth in the snout directly as some drug residue may be left over in it. You do not want to ingest that.
There should be a CPR tube and face mask in your kit. Use the tube to apply 10 to 12 breaths every minute. When the dog recovers, spend 30 minutes monitoring it. If its condition worsens, repeat the treatment procedure.
Sniffer dogs often face many challenges when in the line of duty. As they are primarily trained to sniff out narcotics, they ingest the very narcotics they are tasked with sniffing out at times. To prevent death whenever such cases occur, handlers must know how to offer emergency assistance.
Luckily, there are training programs for law enforcement officers that are tailored for such catastrophes. During training, officers get to learn how to respond to overdoses by their K9s on emergency basis. Emergency handling is usually done using a set of tools that every K9 officer must be comfortable to handle at the end of training.
Naloxone is the primary drug that doctors administer to overdose patients. It has compounds that actively reverse the negative effects of heroin and other opioids in the blood. Administration is done by injecting it directly into the blood stream or using it as a nasal spray. The good thing is that this antidote has been proven to work on dogs too.
During an overdose incident, the most potent killer for a dog is Fentanyl. With potency that is 50 times the standard potency of heroin, many drug addicts have a liking for it. When a working sniffer dog ingests during its sniffing mission, it is likely to collapse and die in a matter of minutes. As the treatment window is relatively short, it is advisable for handlers to always have the antidote on them when on field assignments.
If you are a handler, there are some symptoms that you should easily spot to know whether your canine has overdosed. Immediate observable symptoms are weakness and staggering. Your dog may collapse or seem to find it difficult to stay upright a few seconds after ingestion.
Once you spot these signs, you should check its respiratory rate immediately. Abused drugs usually slow the heart rate and can lead to respiratory failure. Your first actions should help ensure the dog does not slip into a cardiac arrest.
An important thing to remember is that a typical overdosed canine is likely to react aggressively to any attempt made to treat it. Therefore, be sure to muzzle it prior to administering Naloxone. For your own safety, have a colleague help you keep the dog down while you give it the emergency treatment.
Responding to respiratory failure is often the trickiest bit of handling an overdose. Once this phase kicks in, the dog stops breathing. The first thing you should do is administer CPR. However, you should not put your mouth in the snout directly as some drug residue may be left over in it. You do not want to ingest that.
There should be a CPR tube and face mask in your kit. Use the tube to apply 10 to 12 breaths every minute. When the dog recovers, spend 30 minutes monitoring it. If its condition worsens, repeat the treatment procedure.
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