If I may ask, how different is animal first aid from human first aid? Obviously CPR is going to be a little different, but are the fundamentals like wound care similar?
Yeah fundamentals are similar. We follow DRSABC (dangers, responsiveness, airways, breathing, CPR).
CPR is similar and we were taught how to locate the heart, and how to give breaths. As well as proper bandaging techniques and stress free handling, how to transport large dogs.
The caveat is that CPR is really not that effective outside of a vet clinic, but it's better than nothing at all and at least gives the animal a chance of survival. The best success rates of animal CPR are within vet clinics/hospitals where there are multiple members of staff to assist and provide intravenous supports/breathing.