IMPORTANT UPDATE!
The RECOVER Initiative has published the 2026 RECOVER First Aid Guidelines for Dogs and Cats!
Veterinary CPR Guidelines by Experts, for Everyone
Less than 6% of dogs and less than 20% of cats that experience cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) survive to hospital discharge, while survival in people is over 20%. Until the advent of evidence-based guidelines and standardized training in human medicine, survival in people was similar to animals. In 2011, the Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) initiative, a collaborative project supported by the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS) and the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC), developed the first evidence-based consensus guidelines on CPR in dogs and cats.
The original RECOVER Domain papers and Guidelines were published in 2012, and updated in 2024. Since the Guideline’s original publication, over 113,000 people have completed online RECOVER CPR training. Over 38,000 of these individuals have become RECOVER Certified BLS/ALS Rescuers® by completing in-person Rescuer Certification based on the RECOVER CPR Guidelines.
The RECOVER Initiative updated CPR treatment recommendations for Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support, and CPR-centered Monitoring in dogs and cats using the rigorous GRADE methodology for evidence evaluation in 2024. Treatment recommendations and Guidelines were released for Newborn Resuscitation in puppies and kittens in 2025.
Links to these papers, always published open-access, detailing treatment recommendations are available below. Upcoming publications will be added as they become available.
2024 RECOVER CPR Guidelines
The Guidelines paper is a consensus guidelines paper that contains treatment recommendations from the BLS, ALS, and Monitoring Domains. The Guidelines paper contains images and algorithms designed to help veterinary professionals learn to perform high-quality, evidence-based CPR techniques in dogs and cats. The CPR Algorithm for Dogs and Cats is also available in poster format for use as a cognitive aid in the clinical setting.
2024 Basic Life Support
The Basic Life Support domain paper contains detailed background information and a consensus on the science regarding each clinical question addressed within the BLS subject area. Treatment recommendations are listed for each clinical question as well as accompanying justification and ideas for future study directions. Some clinical questions pertinent to BLS are addressed in the Monitoring domain paper.
2024 Advanced Life Support
The Advanced Life Support domain paper contains detailed background information and a consensus on the science regarding each clinical question addressed within the ALS subject area. Treatment recommendations are listed for each clinical question as well as accompanying justification and ideas for future study directions. Many clinical questions pertinent to ALS are addressed in the Monitoring domain paper.
2024 Monitoring
The Monitoring domain paper contains detailed background information and a consensus on the science regarding each clinical question addressed within the area of monitoring in the CPR and Post-Cardiopulmonary Arrest periods. Treatment recommendations are listed for each clinical question as well as accompanying justification and ideas for future study directions.
2024 RECOVER Initiative Methods Paper
The Methods paper serves to describe the years-long processes that made the 2024 RECOVER CPR Guidelines and domain papers a reality. The methods were based on the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach to evidence evaluation and consensus guideline development. The RECOVER Initiative continues to use methods described in this paper to create more evidence-based treatment recommendations for life-threatening events in veterinary species.
2025 Newborn Resuscitation
The Newborn Resuscitation Guidelines paper contains evidence- and consensus-based recommendations regarding support of puppies and kittens as they transition from intra- to extrauterine life immediately after birth. The guidelines include recommendations on routine measures such as warming and drying, more complex interventions such as positive pressure ventilation, advanced procedures such as chest compressions, and administration of drugs including epinephrine and dextrose. The paper also contains a newborn resuscitation algorithm provided as a cognitive aid to help rescuers accomplish the sequence of decision points and interventions during active resuscitation efforts.
First Aid
First aid is medical assistance provided in the preclinical setting, generally by people who are not medical professionals, until professional medical treatment is available. The RECOVER 2026 First Aid Guidelines provide evidence- and consensus-based treatment recommendations for provision of first aid to dogs and cats.
First Aid for Acute Hypersensitivity
Acute hypersensitivity reactions are treated relatively frequently in small animal general and emergency practice. While acute hypersensitivity can manifest as mild, uncomplicated allergic reactions, it can also manifest as life-threatening anaphylaxis. The goal of the acute hypersensitivity sub-domain of the RECOVER 2026 First Aid Guidelines project is to provide evidence-based consensus guidelines to help improve outcomes of dogs and cats experiencing acute hypersensitivity reactions.
Coming in 2026
Preparedness & Prevention
The Prevention & Preparedness domain paper contains detailed information regarding each clinical question addressed within the area of prevention & preparedness for CPR in the 2012 RECOVER publication. Evidence has been evaluated and public comments received for an update in this domain area; publication is expected by Q1 2027.
Coming in 2027
Point-of-Care Ultrasound for CPR
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) performed by a trained emergency clinician can be incorporated into CPR to identify reversible causes of arrest. The goal of the RECOVER CPR-POCUS Guidelines is to provide evidence-based consensus guidelines to help practitioners decide whether and how to incorporate point-of-care ultrasound into CPR efforts in dogs and cats. Publication is expected by Q1 2027.
Coming in 2027
Anesthesia and Analgesia
Recognizing and treating cardiopulmonary arrest in the peri-anesthetic period carries specific challenges. Therefore, the RECOVER Initiative is currently evaluating evidence in 12 specific areas related to preventing, recognizing, and treating cardiopulmonary arrest in the peri-anesthetic setting. Guidelines publication is expected by late 2027.
Coming in 2027
Large Animal – Foals
Newborn and neonatal foals have unique risk factors for cardiopulmonary arrest, and pose specific challenges regarding CPR. Therefore, RECOVER is currently evaluating evidence based on more than 20 clinical questions related to preventing and treating cardiopulmonary arrest in foals. Guidelines publication is expected in 2028.
Coming in 2028
Post-Cardiopulmonary Arrest Care
The RECOVER Post-Cardiac Arrest (PCA) care algorithm describes a goal-directed approach to the management of patients in the immediate period after ROSC is achieved. The RECOVER 2024 process identified very little new evidence to modify the PCA algorithm. We anticipate that minor updates to this algorithm will be published in 2027 after the other domains with more substantial updates have been completed. We recommend that the original 2012 algorithm be used in the interim.
Coming in 2028
Guidelines Committee
Learn about the specialists involved in creating the Guidelines
