[kendal]

we all now that chocolate is bad for our dog, and we have all had that panic for finding our dog in the Christmas, birthday easter presents eating that box of chocci's you forgot to put away. but do you actually know how much chocolate your dog can eat without becoming ill.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive.html


move down the breeds to find the one that represents your breed or is closest to the breed you own(lol most will be the cocker), very interesting.

 

[mollydoodlespoodle]

Even a small amount of choc could do a little damage, especially dark choc ,but
thats only for pups. Small dogs are more violenty affected so try to avoid choc at all costs. If your dog ate a bar of chocolate, you should phone the vet in the next hour. Dogs could be effected even by a couple of grams of it.

 

[kendal]

lol Delta was 4 months round about Christmas, and she ate a box of malteasers and then about a week later she ate a bag of chocolate coins. with the maltesers she had the skits but was fine. with the coins she was a little bit sick but didn't really bring up much and was fine after that.

so to be honest i think id watch the dog, if the dog is becoming lethargic then vet. but if not i don't see a problem, however I've they have eaten the packaging as well then it may be a good idea for a vet visit. delta was kinde enough to leave the box intact and peal the foil off the coins lol.

ok ignore the edit sorry, ment to click quoat and clicked the wrong butten

 

[Amy]

What about gum?? Walter "steals" gum out of all purses that are left within reach. I try to warn people but they don't always listen He loves fresh breath apparently!!!

 

[Emmy]

My late dog Lucy was a chocoholic.

We tried to keep chocolate from her but she would do tremendous feats to get it. She has had my daughters Easter candy, Valentine candy and Halloween. One Christmas she opened a gift under the tree that we didn't know was chocolate covered cherries. She left me one.

Through all of that, she vomited but after that was fine fortunately.

My vet recommended making them vomit with a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide.

Jan

 

[tessybear]

We nearly lost our dog Domino. He stole a large box of chocolate liqueurs that were on a table and ate the whole lot- silver foils and all. He was terribly sick and had to spend the night on a drip in doggie hospital- it was touch and go whether he survived. Luckily he did!

 

[Dylansmum]

It's always a worry - especially around Christmas when everyone has chocolates lying around the house.

 

[Leia]

Leia loves to sneak around on easter, we don't have kids yet but our nephews bring their easter baskets over. I found her face first in the basket and when I pulled her out as I was panicking…I noticed that she was going after the JELLY BEANS! I checked her breath and it smelled fruity in stead of coco. She also goes after my morning coffee like it is her mission in life. I think I have had her watch lady and the tramp too many times..

She did how ever get into a hershey bar..didn't get very far maybe just a small piece and she got a little sick to her stomach but was fine. I think it is the amount and how dark it is that really measures how sick they will get. My vet told my husband that giving her burnt toast will make her throw any chocolate up and will help her to get it out of her system. but we haven't tried that. we have just been supper careful with chocolate ever since.

 

[jesterley]

One of my collies regularly eats chocolate and is absolutely fine. Another one stole a 100g bar of plain chocolate, thankfully threw up most of it, but was hyperactive on and off for over a week.

It is this hyperactivity which is the main symptom, due to increased heart rate and metabolism. Also the active ingredient has a half life of, I think it was about 17 hours. That is to say, the ingredient is reabsorbed from the lower gut after it has already been in the bloodstream at a rate of about 50%, so just when you think your dog is calming down they have another burst of hyperactivity. During any one of these hyperactive periods, despite the lower levels of chocolate in the system, their heart can reach the point of overload (having already been stressed by the previous dose). This is why vets treat with activated charcoal, which absorbs the ingredient in the lower gut to reduce further the amount that returns to the blood stream.

Pepper was a very lucky puppy (she was only 4 months old, so not very big). The dose she had would have been fatal in many cases, and would have killed her too if she had not been sick. I have been extremely careful about plain chocolate since then (I had been before, but obviously not careful enough). Milk chocolate is less of a problem, and white chocolate basically contains only trace amounts of the problem compound. Cocoa powder is pretty much lethal in even small amounts, so if even a dusting floats to the floor while baking I immediately clear it up.

Some dogs are more sensitive than others, which is not necessarily to do with weight, either. So the guidance on the website above, which appears to be based on weight alone (although it wouldn't run properly on my pc so I could be wrong), is just that, a guideline.

Bottom line, if your dog has had chocolate and is bouncing off the walls, best get to the vet because a heart attack could occur at any moment.

 

[Holly88]

In a similar vein: Huxley drank a huge glass of whiskey that had been left on the floor on Christmas Eve. Cue emergency call to the vets. Luckily he was fine after some water and a snooze. He got away with a sore head but it can be super dangerous!