Efficacy of Oxygen Therapy in Dogs
Oxygen therapy can be life-saving and is an essential treatment in many circumstances. However, the very nature of the conditions for which therapy is given mean the patients are high risk and, therefore, some fatalities are inevitable.
Oxygen therapy is a short term treatment, given in order to stabilize the patient so that a workup can be done without causing a crisis. This workup may include taking radiographs or drawing fluid off the chest so that the lungs can expand and breathing can improve.
Oxygen therapy is effective at what it does, delivering oxygen, with some means of delivery being more potent than others. But as mentioned earlier, there is a degree of judgement required to balance the efficacy of the route of delivering oxygen against the risk of stressing the patient.
Oxygen therapy in itself is not likely to be curative, but a tool used to stabilize patients. Ultimately, their recovery will depend on identifying and treating the underlying cause of their respiratory distress.
The majority of patients who received oxygen therapy do so only for a matter of hours, by which time medications have started to work or the pressure on the lungs has been relieved by other means such as draining fluid off the chest.
It is not generally considered practical or ethical for a pet to receive oxygen therapy at home. Should this be necessary, the dog is unlikely to have a reasonable quality of life and serious welfare issues raised. While portable units for home use are available, this should only be undertaken after close discussion with the treating vet to ensure it is fair to the dog.
Why Do Dogs Require Oxygen Therapy?
Like us, our pets absorb oxygen through the lungs from the air-inhaled and then it gets transferred to the bloodstream. The heart circulates the oxygen-carrying blood to the rest of the body. This ensures proper oxygen saturation. The oxygen saturation can be checked by attaching a pulse oximeter to your pet’s paw, ear, or tail. A low oxygen level may cause hypoxia in dogs and oxygen level less than 93% should trigger oxygen therapy to provide the supplemental oxygen needed.
A dog would need oxygen therapy for various reasons including:
If your dog is very sick, you can help make its life more comfortable by getting it something to increase the oxygen intake. There are mini oxygen conserver tanks that can be provided for our canine friends who need it, but you’ll have to get one from your veterinarian. Using one that is too large, or on too high of a setting can be harmful to your pet – yes, more than required oxygen-flow is also troublesome. This is why it is so important to stick with the setting prescribed by your vet.
There are several techniques to deliver supplemental oxygen. It could be through a dog oxygen mask or cannula. You might also be wondering how you would keep a nasal cannula or face mask on your dog intact. A neck cone will help stop him from pawing at the tubing and will prevent him from removing or damaging any of the parts with his teeth or paws. A surgical tape will help hold the nasal cannula in place. Just make sure you change the tape every day and clean out the tubing. You need to clean it every day; bacteria can quickly begin to form in the tubing. Your vet will likely show you how to attach the tape and keep the tubing clean.
Oxygen can also be provided through an oxygen cage, chamber or tent, through intubation, or by using an oxygen hood for a dog. Please consult with your vet the preferred method, level and duration of oxygen therapy for your dog.
The source of oxygen can be an oxygen tank, home oxygen concentrator or portable oxygen concentrator. The home oxygen concentrators for dogs are stationary devices for in-home usage, continuous oxygen flow and are low on budget. Whereas, portable ones, as the name suggests, are battery-operated mobile devices which can be carried outside. The concentrators make their own oxygen and do not require a refill.
Your dog can use a simple strap-like carry bag so they can carry around their oxygen tank or concentrator when they go outside or walk to their food bowl.
You might start to notice that your dog has gotten a little more energetic, like its old healthy self. This is because the proper amount of oxygen is being distributed throughout its body, and its muscles and organs can function more normally.
Being able to provide a sick dog with portable oxygen therapy is very helpful because he or she will be able to get up and move around and will likely feel more inclined to after using oxygen therapy for a while. Depending on the diagnosis, your dog might even be able to recover much more quickly, or at least be able to live a somewhat normal life, despite its illness.
We know how much our pets mean to us and we are willing to help by providing state-of-the-art oxygen devices. Our knowledgeable and experienced Oxygen Specialist can help you determine the appropriate oxygen concentrator to meet your pet’s needs.
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Information on this page is for reference and educational purposes only. For more information about talk to your veterinarian.
Updated: February 28, 2020 Published: August 25, 2014
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Keep in mind that you should always check with your veterinarian before using this, and ideally, bring your pet to a veterinary emergency room to make sure they are stable. In the least, this cage can be used for safe transportation to get to the emergency clinic when your pet has difficulty breathing!
When in doubt, if you ever notice your dog or cat having difficulty breathing, please get to a veterinarian or emergency veterinarian right away for life-saving treatment!
This does need the accessory oxygen kit too to appropriately hook up the oxygen cannister safely to the cage.
As an emergency critical care veterinary specialist, I often see cat and dog patients who have underlying respiratory issues that need to be treated long-term. It’s really important to treat respiratory problems aggressively, as without treatment, it can cause a) difficulty breathing and pain in your pet and b) worsen the long-term side effects on your pet. Untreated, respiratory problems can cause pulmonary hypertension (often called cor pulmonale), which is high blood pressure to the lungs. This adds secondary strain to the right side of the heart, and can cause severe long-term complications.
When in doubt, talk to your veterinarian about how to treat these diseases. When in doubt, you can schedule a consultation with a cardiologist (for heart problems) or an internist (for respiratory problems).