If your pet has stopped breathing and has no heartbeat, go straight to the steps.
Is CPR Needed?
CPR is for pets that are not breathing and have no heartbeat. It is not for pets that are breathing, even poorly. Check first.
Check for breathing: Watch for chest movement. If you see none, move to CPR.
Check for a heartbeat: Press two fingers against the chest where the left elbow touches when the leg is bent. No pulse — start CPR.
Signs something is wrong:
- Gums are blue, white, or gray
- Pet is unresponsive
- No visible chest movement
- No heartbeat
Pet CPR: Step by Step
Step 1: Hand Placement
Position matters by body type. Get this right before you start compressions.
- Cats, small dogs, and deep-chested dogs: Place the heel of one hand directly over the heart. Place your other hand on top.
- Deep-chested dogs (like Greyhounds): Place the heel of one hand over the widest part of the chest. Place your other hand on top.
- Barrel-chested dogs (like Bulldogs, Pugs): Roll the dog onto their back. Place one hand over the widest part of the sternum. Place your other hand on top.
Lock your elbows. Shoulders directly above your hands.
Step 2: Chest Compressions
Push hard and push fast.
- Rate: 100 to 120 compressions per minute
- Depth: Compress 1/3 to 1/2 the width of the chest
- Recoil: Let the chest come all the way back up between compressions — fully, every time
- Count: 30 compressions
Step 3: Rescue Breaths
After every 30 compressions, give 2 rescue breaths.
- Gently close the pet’s mouth.
- Extend the neck to open the airway.
- Cover the nose with your mouth — for cats and small dogs, cover both the nose and mouth.
- Exhale gently until you see the chest rise.
- Give a second breath.
Then go straight back to 30 compressions.
Step 4: Keep Going
Continue the cycle — 30 compressions, 2 breaths — until:
- Your pet begins breathing on their own, or
- You reach the veterinary hospital
Check for breathing and a heartbeat briefly every 2 minutes. Do not stop for long.
If Your Pet Is Choking First
If your pet was choking before losing consciousness, check the mouth before starting CPR. Pull the tongue gently forward and look inside. Remove any object you can see.
If you can’t clear the airway and the pet is unresponsive, give 5 rescue breaths before starting chest compressions.
For the full choking protocol, see: What To Do If Your Dog Is Choking
Get to the Vet!
CPR buys time, it does not replace veterinary care. Get someone else to call ahead while you work so they’re ready when you arrive. Do not stop CPR on the way.
Learn It Before You Need It
Reading about CPR and doing it are different things. The American Red Cross offers a free 35-minute Cat and Dog First Aid Online course that walks through CPR with visual aids and interactive steps. Worth doing on a quiet afternoon.
The Red Cross also offers a free Pet First Aid app with step-by-step guidance, an animal hospital locator, and more. It’s available on iOS and Android, or text GETPET to 90999.
Steps based on current American Red Cross Pet First Aid guidelines. This article covers basic first aid technique and is not a substitute for veterinary care. If your pet is in distress, call your vet or an emergency animal hospital immediately.
PetsBlogs Editorial covers pet health, safety, and everyday life with animals. Health and safety content is written in accordance with current guidelines from the American Red Cross, AVMA, and AKC. See something that needs updating? Contact us.
Last updated: May 11, 2026
Originally published: April 11, 2011
The first part you write that says check with your vet is perfect. I am a Paramedic and have done CPR on people thousands of times yet I am about to be enrolled in a Pet CPR course.
These instructions are great, but there is simply no substitute for actually practicing it.
After reading them I feel I could probably do pet CPR and that would be a start, but I couldn’t trust myself without actually practicing it a lot. 🙂
It is so helpful. Thanks for explaining each step to use CPR if pet breathing has stopped.
That is a great image of how to perform CPR. Good to know hopefully don’t have to put it to use.
Dogs can choke like anyone else. We’ve had a couple of scares with our dog, who gets overexcited and eats too quickly. Normally, she handles it herself, but it’s good to know what to do if she needed us.
This article is very informative. This will give me a heads-up in case there comes a time that I will need to use this on my pup(hopefully this can’t happen) to give him oxygen. It is also illustrated well in the picture so that we would know where we can exactly place our wrists to pump air.
The illustrator was able to make a good image of this CPR. For pet owners like me, this is really helpful so that I would be able to apply this one to my pet if ever there is a need for CPR.
This article is very helpful. I know this might come in handy someday to save your pets in case your pets are out of breath. So that you can personally save them in case you can’t send them right away to the hospital. The illustration was great since it was very clear where you can place your hands and the whole procedure is very clear as well.
I think people should not ignore learning CPR because we might not know this could come in handy in the near future to save our little pets. http://thecatscratchingpost.com.au/
Knowing basic CPR is helpful in case that it might be of need some day.
Pet CPR is really helpful especially if there is an emergency wherein we have to apply this to our beloved pets in order for them to survive a certain crisis.
Pet lovers should learn how to do the pet CPR in case that there would be an event/time where this might come in handy.
This is a good step for saving your pet with CPR traning.Without the CPR traning many time a pet loss their life.Its very necessary for your pet.FOR THE PET ALSO REQUIRE THE cpr TRANING
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