Is This an Emergency? When to Seek a Vet Urgently.

Beta version (early access beta testing)

Before You Use This Tool

This symptom checker does not apply if any of the following happened. These situations are always emergencies—do not delay seeking care.

Any serious trauma (hit by a car, fall from a moving vehicle, deep puncture wounds)
Electrocution
Difficulty giving birth
Animal bites or attacks (including unknown-species snake strike)
Burns (chemical or thermal)
Near drowning
Smoke or carbon monoxide inhalation
Obviously broken bones
Exposure to extreme cold or hot temperatures
Possible poison ingestion (including human or pet medications)

Find an emergency vet

Is This an Emergency? Symptom Checker

When to Seek a Vet Urgently

Educational only. This tool does not replace veterinary care.

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No urgent signs selected.

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Top 10 Emergency Conditions

Any type of serious trauma (e.g., hit by a car, a fall from a moving vehicle, car accidents, gunshots or deep puncture wounds)
Electrocution
Difficulty giving birth
Animal bites, including snake strikes by an unknown species
Burns (chemical or thermal)
Near drowning
Smoke or carbon monoxide inhalation
Obviously broken bones
Exposure to extreme cold or hot temperatures
Ingestion of a possible poison (including human and pet medications)

Top 10 Symptoms of an Emergency

Difficulty breathing
Severe pain in any part of the body
Profuse vomiting, particularly associated with an inability to keep down water, blood in the vomit, depression or pain
Profuse diarrhea
Unsuccessful straining to urinate
Repeated unsuccessful attempts at vomiting, especially if associated with an enlarged abdomen
Seizures
A severely depressed attitude or unresponsiveness
Extreme weakness or wobbliness
Large amounts of blood in the stool
Collapse
Bleeding that drips or pools (a “smear” here and there is probably not an emergency)

Dog Symptoms: When is it an Emergency?

Do you know what your dog is telling you about their health?

From the award-winning author of Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog—recipient of the Maxwell Award from the Dog Writers Association of America and the Morris Animal Foundation Canine Health Award—comes the second volume in the Owner-to-Owner Dog Health Care series: Decoding Dog Health Speak: How to See and Think About Your Dog’s Symptoms—Illustrated by Real-Life Stories

It can take years of experience and countless dogs to develop the right instinct. The Owner-to-Owner Dog Health series offers you a shortcut—real-life stories that highlight how many problems can appear alike, and the clues that will help you tell them apart.

Owner-to-Owner Dog Health Series call to action

5 Comments

Tiffany Smith 26/01 – 10:11 am

This is a great idea! Especially when you can’t get a hold of your vet right away to ask.

LaylasWoof 25/12 – 2:24 pm

Fantastic list and an will relax me a bit as I run to the vet for everything and the vet laughs at me that I am such a Jewish Mom LOL.

- Jana Rade 25/12 – 3:11 pm
  
  I am not Jewish but I have to be on the top 10 most paranoid dog parents ever list. Did you try out the app too?
  
Terri 25/12 – 6:42 pm

Good tool to determine if a symptom is an immediate issue or not. I’m looking forward to seeing the updates and additional tools.

- Jana Rade 25/12 – 12:12 pm
  
  The additional too, Symptom/Trends Tracker is in working. The interface is harder but programming the function should be easier since there won’t be any mathematics involved, just visual interpretation of input data.