Damn - how much chocolate vs dog?

[lukasahero]

I just caught my 45 lb pup with a malted milk ball (thick chocolate coating). I know chocolate is poisonous to dogs, just not sure how much/how quick/what to watch for. Not really in the mood for a trip to the ER... Thoughts?

Cross-posting in Lounge while I go do some Googling.

Thanks.

[AZBlue]

1. I found a good link here - talks about amounts eaten and also what you can do.

http://www.bigpawsonly.com/chocolate-poisoning-in-dogs-health.htm

Did he just eat the one? How much of it did he eat?

[Muttocracy]

4. good link - bookmarking. nt

[MadMaddie]

2. How much did he eat?

[Muttocracy]

3. Baker's Chocolate is the dangerous stuff - 45lb dog with small amt of milk choc should be OK...

...looking for links on ASPCA poison control and Cornell vet sites...

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_faq#chocolate

Why is chocolate bad for dogs?

Chocolate can contain high amounts of fat and caffeine-like stimulants known as methylxanthines. If ingested in significant amounts, chocolate can potentially produce clinical effects in dogs ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death in severe cases.

Typically, the darker the chocolate, the higher the potential for clinical problems from methylxanthine poisoning. White chocolate has the lowest methylxanthine content, while baking chocolate contains the highest. As little as 20 ounces of milk chocolate—or only two ounces of baking chocolate—can cause serious problems in a 10-pound dog. While white chocolate may not have the same potential as darker forms to cause a methylxanthine poisoning, the high fat content of lighter chocolates could still lead to vomiting and diarrhea, as well as the possible development of life-threatening pancreatitis, an inflammatory condition of the pancreas

[haele]

5. Shari loves Ferrar-Rocher balls -

She has been known to climb up on a countertop to get into cabinets for the boxes - of course, only when everyone's in bed. It got very bad around the holidays waking up to broken plastic and shredded foil - before my parents stopped sending us the chocolate sets with the presents or for Valentine's day, etc...

Don't know how she ever decided they were good; I've never given her chocolate.

Haele

[lukasahero]

6. Update:

Thanks everybody for the input. It seems she only got one ball and it was milk chocolate (the least poisonous). I did some Googling and with input from a few folks in the Lounge, felt pretty confident we knew what to watch for and what to do.

She's really going to be the death of us. In the last 12 hours she has 'eaten' a glove (retrieved out of coat pocket), a malted milk ball (not sure how she got that one), a scrunchie hair tie (taken out of gym bag) and a sock (removed from trash). :wow: Honest to Pete, I had a Lab for 14 years and I thought they ate everything. HA!

Anyway, thanks again for the interest/input. This forum has been a wonderful resource and haven. :hi:

PS - a pic of the little monster in action:

[livetohike]

7. She's such a sweetie!

I'm sure everything will be okay. My two dogs ate a whole bag of miniature snickers bars one Halloween! They weighed 86 lbs and 51 lbs. at the time. I didn't know which one or if both of them did it. I got my answer the next day when candy wrappers started appearing in their stool (both of them). No way to know which one ate more, but they never had any bad effects from it (no vomiting, diarrhea or other).

[XemaSab]

12. Bailey ate a 2 pound bag of Hershey's

He went to the vet. 75 bucks later.... x(

Edit: this is back when he was 30 pounds.

He's 95 now, down from 105. :P

[lukasahero]

16. Glad to hear they were ok!

It's a miracle any of our dogs (cats/kids/etc) survive reading all these stories, isn't it?

[livetohike]

20. My dogs have eaten stuff much worse than the candy I was

worried about. It's a miracle they are alive.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. What a sweetie.... My last German Shepherd ate a couch! That is how he got so big!!

I had to throw it out when he got down to the wooden frame.:shrug:

[lukasahero]

14. Nice

I think Bella's too small to eat the couch, but she's done a nice job on reducing the number of Christmas tree ornaments we'll have to put up next year. ;) We got to work on the "leave it" command - a lot. :)

[AZBlue]

10. What a handsome boy!!

How old is he?
I'm so glad he's ok!!

[lukasahero]

15. She's 11 months

but she was 'wild' (read: abandoned) for the first 5 so she eats absolutely everything she finds. (Ick.) I think she's just getting around to being a puppy now as a result of not really having had the chance to be one before.

[AZBlue]

21. Sorry - she's a beautiful girl!!

:D

Eleven months - you probably have about 7 months left of "puppydom" although you may see some calming in the next couple of months. Why is it puppies just have to put everything in their mouths??! And having been abandoned - who could abandon that face??? - she had no training or discipline at first, I think you're right, she's getting it out now. She probably feels secure now too and fearless.

What a sweetheart - I'm so glad you rescued her!

[lukasahero]

22. No worries :)

It's a little hard to tell a dog's gender by a picture of their face! lol She's very 'girlie' in the way she moves, just not in the way she behaves!

We're already seeing some calming on her side whether that's from growing up or feeling more secure (I don't think she'll ever truly be 'fearless' but that's a story for another post :) ). We're torn, while we can't keep up with her at this pace, neither do we want her to grow up too fast and lose that spirit. But we do know that she's just testing her boundaries right now so that's a good thing. :)

[XemaSab]

11. Did YOUR shepherd mix get ahold of a bottle of RoundUp today?

x(

[lukasahero]

13. ACK!

Are all these horror stories for your "Bailey"? If so, it's a miracle he's still around (and you haven't killed him yet!) ;)

I feel better now just knowing that I'm not the only one going through it. All these stories here give me hope that she (and I) will survive puppyhood. :P

[XemaSab]

18. No, this is Maddy now

Bailey grew up and became a good boy.

So we got another puppy. :eyes:

[lukasahero]

19. "So we got another puppy."

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I know - I think forgetting the terrible twos is a survival technique! We went from the perfect "Saint" Beau, the 14 yo yellow Lab to Bella (Lugosi, the monster of Our Street) and all we keep saying is "We're too old for this!" :)

I hope Maddy didn't get hurt by finding the RoundUp. And that's an awesome reminder for me that, spring with the new puppy will require some re-organization of the garden shed. Ugh.

[catgirl]

9. Just saw this

Every dog owner should have a few bottles of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide in their house. A proper dose
of this will cause vomiting- note: only do this if you know what has been eaten, and when.

Another use for HP is when your dog is sprayed by a skunk. I'll post a separate thread with the recipe.

Glad your cute dog dog is okay.

[lukasahero]

17. This is a good pointer - thanks

We should probably make a list here somewhere with tips like this - things to stock in your pet's medical "pantry".

PS - I'd love a tip on the skunk remedy. Last dog ran in to them 3 times in our yard - only got sprayed once (he was a gentle and kindly beast). I'm thinking this pup will get sprayed 3 times next summer. :rofl:

[elleng]

23. Tomato juice

.

[barbtries]

24. my 6 lb dog

ate about a quarter of a snickers bar and the vet said not to worry, and he was fine.

[stpalmer]

25. My dog loves chocolate

Mr. Hankie is a dachshund who is a piggy as well. I freaked when she broke into a Christmas stocking and devoured an entire bag of hershey's kisses (after removing their foil carefully!) and the next time when she got hold of a bag of Reece's Peanut butter cups. She didn't seem effected at all by either episode...not even a burp. My pug, on the other hand, has horrible reactions to all kinds of food, including milk and eggs which cause vomiting and foaming at the mouth.

I think it depends on the dog.

[badgerpup]

26. Ex-sig other's cat got into the trash, dug out and ate a ribbon...

...you know, one of those curly ones for Christmas presents?
This was a few years ago, but I remember it well...packing little Hara into her carrier, getting Jason into the van and banzai off to the vet...
worry worry worry all the way:scared: and Hara yowling her fool head off...
she did NOT like going for rides (because they always ended up at the vet's office)...:hide:

If you ever catch your furkid eating something and need to make them barf it back up immediately, H₂O₂ (aka hydrogen peroxide) and water mixed 1:1 is a safe emetic.
Vet told us this for future reference.

Obligatory 'cover my ass' disclaimer:
Use only for stuff that is 'safe to induce vomiting'...
don't use it for stuff where the label says DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING