First, Do No Harm
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Canine First Aid Course by DogSafe

Instructor: Michelle Sevigny (founder of DOGSAFE)

Saturday (DogSafe 101)

This course is designed to teach you the knowledge and skills to deal with a sick or injured dog until veterinary care is available. The topics are covered in-depth so that students have a thorough understanding of the principles of canine first aid. Since this is a very comprehensive course, we need your full attention and dogs do not come to class.

You'll Learn How to:

  • prevent common injuries
  • conduct a head to tail assessment
  • tell if your dog is experiencing pain
  • recognize 4 signs of illness or injury
  • respond to any emergency in 4 easy steps
  • safely approach an injured dog
  • take your dog's vital signs and 3 other health tests
  • perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
  • perform artificial respiration
  • remove an airway obstruction  (choking)
  • prevent and treat for shock
  • control deadly bleeding
  • respond to penetrating objects
  • prevent and treat eye injuries
  • prevent and treat abdominal wounds
  • recognize risk factors and respond to bloat
  • prevent and respond to drowning
  • assess and respond to bone and joint injuries
  • prevent and respond to poisonings
  • prevent and respond to frostbite and hypothermia
  • prevent and respond to heatstroke
  • treat minor burns
  • treat and manage wounds

Training techniques ​

Dogsafe courses are designed to make complex topics easy and everyone will learn thru seeing, listening, moving and doing which improves knowledge retention. This means that you not only learn  topics on course day, but retain the information for the future when you'll need it. Effective, but fun too!
​Our training techniques include: 
  • instruction
  • demonstration
  • hands-on learning
  • discussion
  • question & answer
  • and videos

Training tools

We'll bring the learning to life with
  • canine resuscitation manikins
  • plush demonstration dogs
  • bandages
  • first aid kits
  • even fake guts, eyeballs and more!

Sunday (DogSafe 201)

This course is designed to take the knowledge and skills learned in Dogsafe Canine First Aid 101 and apply them to a real dog. Graduates of Dogsafe Canine First Aid 101 attend with their own dogs. Bring your patience and a sense of humour for this fun and interactive workshop. All supplies included.

You'll Learn How to:

  • conduct a head to tail assessment
  • monitor canine body language
  • muzzle your dog with commercial and improvised muzzles
  • restrain your dog in a standing and sitting position
  • transport your dog with a stretcher
  • take your dog's vital signs
  • assess three critical health tests
  • practice proper positioning for artificial respiration (AR)
  • practice proper positioning for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
  • practice proper positioning for obstructed airway (choking)
  • practice wound management, including bandaging eyes, ears and paws

This is all about hands-on practice with live dogs while under the supervision of Dogsafe Instructor Michelle Sevigny (founder of DOGSAFE), but we do not force the dogs and offer lots of intermissions and bathroom breaks. ​

 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THESE TWO COURSES

What's New?
What Clients Are Saying:

Dear Lisbeth, With lots of practice through your guidence and instructions, I am beyond excited and pleased to inform you that Tina has conquered her fear of brooms and mops! It took about a month, slow consistent practicing and desensitizing, and I am now at a stage where Tina literally follows me around, tail wagging and smiles, while I clean the floors! Another fear checked off the list! Thank you so very much for your continued support throughout our journey. With the private training we took with you, then Confidence Class, and now Agility with amazing Glenda- Tina has turned into this confident, joyful, and content little dog that just loves life. School is Tina's absolute favorite thing and I am so glad to have found Cowichan Canine. Thank you for everything, to both you and Glenda for all fun we get to learn and experience. Tina's quality of life she so very much deserves just keeps getting better and better!

Hanna Quinn and Tina the Toy Poodle
Crofton, BC

We just wanted you let you know that we bought 2 of the tractive GPS trackers for our Siberian Huskies as they are a breed known to not come back if let off a leash. We purchased the premium plan and we are truly amazed at what this can do. We have tested it even driving in our vehicle. It was very easy to set up on an app on our phones and each tracker has the capability of having a photo of your dog and shows the picture while tracking. We have a perimeter alarm set on it that texts us as soon as either dog breaches it and no matter where we are in the world we can switch to live tracking and track exactly where they’ve run off to. We are very pleased with how simple everything was and how sturdy the trackers are themselves. We would recommend this to anyone. January 20, 2018

Dee & Terry Durant
Duncan, BC

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