Chocolate and dogs

[huckster]

tell me what you know..? has any one dog ever died from this?what if to many hours past for the vet to do anything??

 

[Serena]

What I know is dark/baking chocolate is more dangerous than any other. Some dogs have no problem at all. A small amount is probably ok.

 

[Pixiedust34]

It would depend upon the size of the dog and how much chocolate it ate. If in doubt, at least call a vet to touch base and to find out if you need to bring the dog to the office or if it's OK for you to wait it out at home.

 

[damo]

I have also heard that it is dark baking chocolate that is the most dangerous. We had a cocker spaniel eat my sons entire halloween candy collection and have no adverse effects from all the mini chocolate bars.

I would also suggest you call the vet just to double check.

 

[cwnhokie]

My dog once ate about a 1/2lb of fudge one christmas eve while we were at church. It took us a while to figure out what had happened. She was running up and down the stairs, chasing her tail around in circles, hopping all over the place and she was about 15 at the time. I called the emergency vets, they asked for every detail that was in the fudge recipe, how much sugar, what kind of chocolate. They said it was probably too late to give her anything, she had already thrown up all over my MILs very light carpet, which probably helped her out tremendously, my dog, not my MIL. And we realized later that she hid the other half of it in the sofa. They said to keep an eye on her, if she started having convulsions or seizures to bring her in and they would give her something to make her throw up. Also they said to keep an eye on her because she would probably need to be let out a lot for a while. It was very scary, kind of funny too, she would lay down for a few seconds and then hop up take off running around in circles, up the stairs, we coulld hear her racing around up there and then back down again. She finally calmed down and went to sleep.

 

[disneyaggie]

A few years ago, I had a yorkie who found a chocolate candy bar (with nuts and all) in a bag when I was out. When I returned, I found nothing but a wrapper left, and a big smile on Precious' face!

I immediately called the emergency vet (of course he would do this on the weekend). They asked how much he weighted and all about the candy bar. The lady said the most I could expect from the information I gave her was that he would get sick. Nope. Never happened! He actually kept following me around wanting more! Silly fur child! He was just fine.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

depends on the size of the dog and amount of chocolate. try pouring some hydrogen perioxide down its throat so it throws up.

 

[Honu]

Our old dog used to steal it all the time, but she never got sick. The new dog is the complete opposite. I could drop a piece at his feet and he'd just sniff it and walk away. Does he know it's poisonous?

 

[osukristin227]

I don't remember the source, but I think it's interesting (and helpful) knowledge
and having been on the administrating side of the charcoal, if your vet deems it necessary, be happy you don't have to help, it can be such a mess!

WHY CHOCOLATE KILLS PETS
Chocolate contains theobromine (a compound similar to caffeine) which is poisonous to dogs. A dose of 50 mg/lb can be fatal to a dog. Milk chocolate contains 45 mg of theobromine per ounce and unsweetened baking chocolate contains 400 mg per ounce. Just one ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate can kill a small breed dog. Theobromine when ingested by dogs causes release
of epinephrine (adrenaline) which causes the heart to race and serious cardiac arrhythmias to develop. Signs of chocolate poisoning in dogs include vomiting, diarrhea, excessive urination, hyperactivity followed
by depression and coma, seizures, and death. Emergency care for a dog ingesting chocolate includes inducing vomiting and administration of charcoal to reduce absorption of the chocolate remaining in the stomach and intestines. Drugs to stabilize the heart are needed as well as intravenous fluids and drugs to prevent shock. Mortality is high and care for these cases is intensive and expensive. Owners should be prudent to prevent dogs from finding and consuming chocolate. Theobromine is also present in cocoa beans,
cola, and tea. If you suspect your dog has ingested chocolate, call your veterinarian immediately. With their instruction you may be able to induce vomiting greatly increasing the odds of your pet surviving.

 

[aprilgail2]

my 30 pound cocker spaniel ate about 2 pounds of chocolate out of my daughters room and the little rat dog is still around so it didn't kill him!

 

[DawnCt1]

depends on the size of the dog and amount of chocolate. try pouring some hydrogen perioxide down its throat so it throws up.

The Hydrogen peroxide is the best first aid for dogs! My standard poodle ate an entire rotisserie chicken, even the bones. I saw the empty container and I smelled her breath. One ounce every five minutes and up it all came. I think I only got about a dose and a half into her before it worked. Its amazing. It saved her life. The vet also told me that ONIONS are poisonous to dogs. Who would have guessed?

 

[Poohbear123]

My Golden Retriever Max ate 1 pound of Chocolate about 11 years ago, it was Russel Stover, and was OK. However, I noticed with my Mini-dachshunds Lady and Mickey if they eat one M&M they throw up about 20 min later. So, NO chocolate for them!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Maybe I am part dog - I am allergic to chocolate AND onions!

 

[wilderness01]

My 45 pound dog got into Christmas candy and ate 4 pounds of mint meltaways! I was so upset. The vet said to just watch him. He would also run, chase his tail, drink and urinate like he was a diabetic. He only got sick a small amount and when he finally pooped it came out in small chocolate strands, just like if you put the chocolates together when they were ingested. It was Christmas day and a very long, upsetting day to say the least. When the "high" went away he crashed and slept for so long. Needless to say I never kept chocolate hidden under the tree again. The little rat pushed aside a mountain of gifts to sniff out those chocolates......he had NEVER done that before, been naughty, so I was so I didn't think twice about hiding the candy. Thank God he was ok.

 

[rt2dz]

My mom is the type of person who eats pounds of chocolate. Their dog got into her "stash" one day... Not pretty. They had to make the dog vomit, rush it to the emergency vet where she remained for 3 days on the verge of life and death.

 

[Val]

Many years ago (9 to be exact, as DD is now 8) our dear old lab, Merry Puppy, ate an ENTIRE box of Lady Godiva chocolates (cellophane, cardboard and all). I had been given the box as a present, but was pregnant and very morning sick so I was saving it for "later". Darn dog had no ill effects except for some AWFUL houseclearing gas. As I stood outside getting a breath of fresh air I remember screaming at her "die you Godiva stealing dog"......we lost her in August to cancer and diabetes and the family misses her (but not her gas) terribly. Not much affected that dog's digestion- but EVERYTHING contraband made her incredibly odorous!

....we have a new golden retriever pup (okay, he will be one at the end of March, but he will always be my "baby"). He eats anything and everything, too. Thank goodness his, uhm, "gas" isn't quite so lethal. Our 5 year old rescue coon hound, on the other hand, seems to have inherited Merry Puppy's odorous production ability!

Good luck. Commercially produced sweetened chocolate is generally not too toxic. Others are correct, however, it is the unsweetened "pure" stuff that can be bad. Also shows that dog's don't taste- come on, who would willfully ingest Baker's chocolate?

 

[arminnie]

tell me what you know..? has any one dog ever died from this?what if to many hours past for the vet to do anything??

My dog (cocker under 30 lbs) ate a HUGE bag (from Sam's) of M&Ms. I didn't even know about it for weeks.

I'd put him in the garage when a workman was coming. I'd forgotten about the M&Ms. Weeks later I found little tiny shreds of the bag and figured out what had happened.

No ill effects. But I did learn to be more careful.

 

[kilee]

My little 9# shih tzu has twice now gotten into candy ds left around. Both times it was small amounts of chocolate (like 1/4-1/2 a candy bar). I panicked though. He did throw up both times- but he was okay.

 

[Cindyluwho]

Our vet asst told me that even if it LOOKS like there are no ill effects from the chocolate, it does build up in their liver. So they may eat it a few times with no problem and then next time could be fatal. This goes for all kinds of chocolate but yes, some, like the baking chocolate, are much worse than others. Oddly enough, grapes can be fatal for dogs, especially Rottweillers. Who knew? I was feeding them like crazy to my Chihuahua with no problem. With grapes, they're either poison to the particular dog or they're not. Weird!

 

[Serena]

Can you update us on the dog?