1. Don't wait to see what happens. While it may be nothing, you have to take action immediately in case it is poisoning. Any delay could be fatal.

2. Call vet. (Don't know vet's number by heart? Right now, make sure you have put vet's number by every telephone in your house, and in your mobile phone contacts.)

3. Follow vet's advice. Different poisoning cases sometimes have to be treated differently.

4. If you know what poison is, take some of it with you to vet’s office.

5. If you cannot reach vet, call ASPCA's animal poison control center: 1-888-4ANIHELP (1-888-426-4435). Put this number by your home telephones and in your mobile phone contacts right now. A $50 fee per incident applies for this nonprofit service--it's worth it. If you don't have a credit card, they can charge fee to your telephone bill.

Emergency 5: Dog Choking

1. Open dog’s mouth carefully and try to see what is causing problem. It could be anything: a small ball, bone, stick, meat wrapping.

2. Pump chest by pressing down on ribs and releasing immediately at 5-second intervals.

3. If this doesn’t dislodge object within a few moments, rush dog to nearest animal hospital to have foreign object removed under anesthetic.

Dog Emergency 6: Drowning

1. Remove dog from water.

2. Try to get water out of dog's lungs as soon as possible by pumping chest as for choking (see above).

3. Take dog to vet to be checked out.

Hopefully, you will never have to handle any of these emergencies. But if you do, you have dog health advice that you need.