Free printable resource
Dog First Aid Kit Checklist
A first aid kit does not replace veterinary care. It keeps basic supplies and emergency phone numbers ready while you contact a veterinarian and travel for care.
This is a contents list, not a treatment guide. The kit keeps basic supplies and emergency details together so you can cover an injury, move your dog more safely or give a clinic clear information while arranging care.
Who this is for: Any dog owner. Particularly useful for fosters, rescues and anyone travelling with a dog.
Write these on the inside of the lid first
This is the part people skip and the part that matters at eleven at night. Fill it in now, in pen.
- Your veterinary practice, phone
- Nearest 24 hour emergency clinic, phone
- Emergency clinic address
- Animal poison control line for your country
- Her microchip number
- Current medications and doses
The kit
- Non stick sterile dressings and a roll of conforming bandage
- Self adhesive cohesive wrap that does not stick to fur
- Blunt ended scissors and tweezers
- Sterile saline for flushing a wound or an eye
- A digital thermometer kept for the dog only, plus lubricant
- Disposable gloves
- A clean towel and a spare slip lead
- A muzzle that fits her, fitted and tried on before there is an emergency
- A blanket or a rigid board that can be used to carry her
- A copy of her vaccination record and any current prescriptions
- A small torch
- Tick removal tool if ticks are common where you walk
Deliberately not in this list
No human painkillers. Several are toxic to dogs at ordinary human doses, and the ones that are not still interact with whatever she is already prescribed.
No hydrogen peroxide for inducing vomiting. Whether vomiting should be induced at all depends entirely on what was swallowed, and getting that wrong causes further injury. That decision belongs to a veterinarian or a poison control line, on the phone, in the moment.
No antibiotic ointments or eye preparations left over from a previous problem. Old prescriptions treat the wrong thing confidently.
No tourniquet. Direct pressure with a dressing is what a non professional should be doing while travelling to a clinic.
A muzzle is a kindness, not a punishment
A dog in sudden pain may bite someone she loves, and that is not a character flaw. It is a reflex.
The time to introduce a muzzle is a quiet afternoon months beforehand, in short pleasant sessions, so it is a familiar object rather than a frightening one added to an already frightening day. Never muzzle a dog who is vomiting, struggling to breathe, or overheating.
Sources
Written against published veterinary guidance. These are the sources behind the urgency and observation guidance on this page.
- Gastric Dilatation Volvulus, American College of Veterinary Surgeons
- Urgent Care for Lethargy, VCA Animal Hospitals
- New dog checklist: Your step by step guide to a successful start, American Animal Hospital Association
Buddylio helps you notice and organize what you see. It doesn't diagnose or treat anything, and it isn't a substitute for your veterinarian. If you think your dog is unwell, in pain, or in danger, call your vet or an emergency clinic.
Free to use and free to share. Veterinary teams, shelters and rescues are welcome to link to this page or print it for clients.