A veterinary nurse has shared a potentially life-saving message for dog owners everywhere – detailing crucial health advice on what to do if your pet starts choking and is unable to breathe.

In a TikTok video, nurse Jade used a soft toy for demonstration and stressed the importance of remaining calm in such emergencies. She explained that her guidance is vital when your dog is suffering from a "total obstruction" of the airway, leaving them completely breathless.

"Signs of this will be a look of sheer panic on your dog's face - they will have their eyes very wide and their mouth open, but no air will be able to get in or out," she said. "It's normally silent and very frightening to see - and they're often pawing at their face frantically."

Jade advised that the first step is to inspect your canine's mouth as safely as you can. "Take care not to get bitten - the dog will be very distressed," she cautioned. "If you can see an object relatively near the front you can try and get your finger in behind it and pull it away. However, if you see an object quite far towards the back of the throat, you don't want to be sticking your hand in because the chances are you will end up pushing it even further down the airway."

Jade further explained that if a ball is lodged in the dog's airway, the best approach is to lay the dog on its back, bend its neck and from the outside, place your thumbs underneath the jaws and push up and out. "Try and push that ball out from the outside," she advised, but cautioned against this method if the obstruction has been caused by something sharp.

If the foreign object remains stuck, Jade suggests holding the dog in a "wheelbarrow position" to allow gravity to assist. "Whilst they're standing you can also do five back slaps between the shoulder blades," she added. "If that doesn't work, you need to go into the Heimlich manoeuvre.

"To perform this, you want to sit the dog upright (or standing for smaller dogs) with their spine in line with yours then make a fist and place it under their sternum (breast bone) - there's a dip in their belly right below the rib cage," Jade continued. "Place your fist in there and your other hand on the back of the fist and pull in and up - you can do this five times."

Jade emphasised that it's "not like in the movies" – and you probably won't see the object come flying out. "What you need to do is occasionally check in the mouth to see if the object has dislodged, still taking care to see if you can get your fingers in behind it," she said.

The nurse offered further advice to owners of larger breeds such as Great Danes, which may be too heavy to lift in such situations. "Instead, what you can do is try and lay them on their side, and at the widest part of their rib cage, place both hands flat and give one strong compression," she explained. "Do it once, then check in the mouth. Can you see if it has dislodged the object? If not, again you can do this up to five times."

While all this is happening, Jade emphasised the importance of contacting your vet for advice. With a total obstruction, time is of the essence. She concluded: "The vet will give you further advice on the phone. If you do successfully manage to dislodge the item, you still need to get your dog to the vet as soon as possible for a check up. If your dog, however, has collapsed, is not breathing and has no pulse - you should go straight into CPR."

We would also like to stress that medical intervention on your pet should only be carried out in an emergency. In other situations, always seek professional help.

One TikTok user praised Jade's advice, saying: "I always wondered what to do! I have a German shepherd and she's huge! So this is something to know." Another agreed: "Brilliant description, thank you I have saved this. My two labs are always picking various things up but luckily never got anything stuck."

A third grateful viewer commented: "Thank you so much! Really appreciate you making these first aid vids. Never know when it might be needed." Whilst a fourth shared their personal experience, adding: "Thank you for this. My dog has choked on his dinner last year and it was very scary but managed to clear it. It was honestly such a scary time."