# Chocolate!!



## Wild Kitten (Mar 13, 2014)

Oh no! Great that she was near and they listened to leave it! 

I hate people dropping/throwing away food on the floor all the time, one got to be so vigilant when walking with the dog. 
Lucia keeps finding chicken bones and other stuff. 
She's also good at dropping and leaving things though so I am lucky, and I always give her loads of treats when she does


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

If you see a dog ingest something that is hazardous to their health, like chocolate, you can induce vomiting by making them drink hydrogen peroxide (full strength out of the bottle). Don't do this if vomiting would be dangerous (e.g. a caustic chemical or something that would have sharp edges), but for things like getting into the waste bin under the kitchen sink (coffee grounds and such) or naughty things like eating Easter (or halloween) candy this can come in very handy. You repeat as needed until all that comes up is foam.

Another thing to know about chocolate is that one of the responses to it is hyperactivity. Lily once ate some chocolate that she got by counter surfing (people bad for leaving it out). She was a lunatic, jumping on and off our bed and barking at us unceasingly. Since BF had to be at work much earlier than I did I eventually took her upstairs to guest room to let him sleep. So if you catch them soon enough after eating chocolate and you want to sleep, make them get rid of it with the hydrogen peroxide.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Good thing they didn't get to much. Glad to hear they are ok. Was it milk chocolate? They would have to eat a good amount for it to be severely toxic for them. My 3lb poodles can eat up to 1 oz of milk chocolate and it only be moderately toxic. One time when I was younger our golden retriever ate all of out Easter candy/chocolate before we woke up to her it. She was fine never even had to take her to the vet. Here is a link for a chocolate toxicity calculator that could be helpful. http://www.petmd.com/dog/chocolate-toxicity?mobi_bypass=true



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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Actually, it isn't toxic in the poison them and die sense. It causes their heart rate to increase... my Annabelle stuck her head in a bag of chocolate chips and ate all she wanted. The vet put her on an IV and kept her overnight to watch her... so I wouldn't have to stay up all night.

But, in any case... it isn't good for them. So, I'm glad that everything is going to be alright!! I just didn't want you to feel like they'd been poisoned...which was my understanding.


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## Rusty (Jun 13, 2012)

We had a similar scare when Begley stole 1/2 a chocolate cadbury egg off the counter. I was scared! I wasn't sure if we had to rush to the vet or think about inducing vomiting. We did some research and calculated the amount of theobromine likely to be found in such a confection; it turns out it's a pretty low amount, mostly due to cadbury eggs and similar treats being made of fairly low quality chocolate (low amounts of cacao). The amount in the 1/2 egg was negligible and there were no effects apart from slightly higher energy levels possibly associated with a short-term sugar high. 

Not that you want to take any chances with chocolate or other unknown or toxic foods, but knowing the facts is always helpful when deciding how to react if this kind of situation comes up. Glad to hear Mr. Eusty was okay!


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## eusty (Jan 5, 2014)

hopetocurl said:


> Actually, it isn't toxic in the poison them and die sense.
> 
> I just didn't want you to feel like they'd been poisoned...which was my understanding.


Actually it can be fatal! 

But as it was milk chocolate, and a guess at how much they could have ingested, we were sure that it wouldn't be an issue


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## eusty (Jan 5, 2014)

Rusty said:


> Glad to hear Mr. Eusty was okay!


I'm fine 

(Pebbles & Jasper are the dogs!)


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

eusty said:


> Actually it can be fatal!
> 
> But as it was milk chocolate, and a guess at how much they could have ingested, we were sure that it wouldn't be an issue


Interesting, my vet told me it wasn't. Not that I'd purposely let a dog have chocolate...but now, I'm curious, why did they tell me differently? To keep me calm?


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## eusty (Jan 5, 2014)

"Death is generally due to cardiac arrhythmias, hyperthermia, or respiratory failure"

Chocolate: Food Hazards: Merck Veterinary Manual


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

hopetocurl said:


> Interesting, my vet told me it wasn't. Not that I'd purposely let a dog have chocolate...but now, I'm curious, why did they tell me differently? To keep me calm?


maybe because it's partially true, maybe to keep you calm, maybe out of ignorance. my own vet, who is not young by any means, says no chocolate. his illustrative story is about parrots: some can eat avocados and some keel over and die almost immediately, so no avocados for parrots is his bottom line. maybe dogs are the same way - some can handle a bit of chocolate and some can't.


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## SilverSpoo (Jan 15, 2014)

hopetocurl said:


> Interesting, my vet told me it wasn't. Not that I'd purposely let a dog have chocolate...but now, I'm curious, why did they tell me differently? To keep me calm?


Absolutely chocolate can be fatal if they have enough!! Which takes a LOT of milk chocolate (it is pretty much just sugar), but can be a relatively small amount of dark baking chocolate or cocoa.

The dogs heart begins to race, can go into arrhythmia, and then the dog can go into cardiac arrest. That is why they need to be on IV and have their heart monitored closely for any arrhythmia so it can be treated with medication if it occurs.

My guess that in your case, your vet looked up the amount of chocolate that your dog ingested, and knew that it was a lower dose with only mild or moderate side effects.


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

SilverSpoo said:


> Absolutely chocolate can be fatal if they have enough!! Which takes a LOT of milk chocolate (it is pretty much just sugar), but can be a relatively small amount of dark baking chocolate or cocoa.
> 
> The dogs heart begins to race, can go into arrhythmia, and then the dog can go into cardiac arrest. That is why they need to be on IV and have their heart monitored closely for any arrhythmia so it can be treated with medication if it occurs.
> 
> My guess that in your case, your vet looked up the amount of chocolate that your dog ingested, and knew that it was a lower dose with only mild or moderate side effects.


That makes sense... And the fact that she proceeded to vomit fudge ALL.OVER.THE.HOUSE, really, that was how I knew she's been in the chocolate. Maybe the vet assumed she threw a majority of it up.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

If you know it was chocolate that they ate and you catch them soon enough after they do it, this is why it is useful to know how to get them to vomit. BTW, the vomiting will start very fast. I suggest being outside when you give them the hydrogen peroxide. Even though Lily didn't have obvious tachycardia or arrhythmia when she ate her big dose (dark chocolate) she was clearly unhappy because of the hyperactivity.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

lily cd re said:


> If you know it was chocolate .... give them the hydrogen peroxide.


I've always heard hydrogen peroxide was advisable too, but I have also read this.
Dogs and Chocolate Poisoning: A Toxic Combination
One method is giving the dog a* one-to-one solution of hydrogen peroxid*e and water. But DeHaven says that* treatment is now discouraged because it can cause esophageal ulcers. *She recommends *syrup of ipecac,* which induces vomiting. uke:
~Just f.y.i., the article also offers this caution...
Most people don’t realize it, but those increasingly popular cocoa shell mulches used for landscaping can also pose a serious risk to dogs in the same way that chocolate does. :dog:


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks for that. I have used hydrogen peroxide with no problems since that is what was recommended to me and because it was on hand, but I will change my dog first aid supplies to include ipecac.

I did know that cocoa shell mulch could be toxic. It smells too much like the real thing to not be a tempting snack.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

It is actually not chocolate itself that is toxic but a main ingredient in chocolate, Cocoa. That is why the landscaping shells are also toxic. And why different types of chocolate have different levels of toxicity.


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## Rachel76 (Feb 3, 2014)

Ok so I'm reading this thread and the add banner at the top is for chocolate. :aetsch:


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

As it has been established, cocoa is dangerous to dogs and can cause some serious health problems. That being said, it's not an automatic fatal occurrence if the dog gets into some chocolate - especially milk chocolate. 

For example, my dad used to give a couple chocolate chips to our poodle mix, Penny, when I was a child for a "treat." She lived until she was 16.

Also, when my mom and dad were married and living together pre-children, they had a "teacup" poodle. There was a dish of wrapped Hershey Kisses on an end table in their living room. One day, this poodle decided to jump up and eat all the Kisses while they were gone...and she unwrapped every single one. She never got sick from it.

Another time, my sister made a plate of brownies and put them on a paper plate in a Ziploc bag (half the pan of brownies, mind you). Ryker was crated since he was still a puppy, but our other two poodle mixes had free roam. After we left, apparently the cat jumped on the counter and knocked the brownies onto the floor where the two dogs proceeded to rip it to shreds and eat every single bite of brownie. Sadie had some shoe strings later that night, but no one had any other side effects.

So depending on the amount and richness/cocoa content of the chocolate, I would probably just keep an eye on them.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Rachel76 said:


> Ok so I'm reading this thread and the add banner at the top is for chocolate. :aetsch:


That's because we keep writing the word chocolate, I think. It is pretty silly though!


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## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

I think it also depends on the dog. I know when I was growing up we had a dog that was a serious garbage hound, and got into chocolate more than once but never had an issue. On the other hand I had a friend who's dog was super sensitive. If she got even a little bit she would have seizures.


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## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

We had TWO expensive incidents with Coco with chocolate. The first was when she was about four months old. My 11 yr old (her fault and my fault) left a candy bar on her nightstand. After the girls went to school I discovered Coco ate it. 
Trip to vet, expensive day and treatment; vet said they may have to send her to the overnight hospital because of her elevated heartbeat (yes, death by cardiac arrest is real). By 7 pm her heart rate was down and they let me take her home. Had to have a follow up visit the next day and her heart rate was normal.


Three months later, my 19 yr old left a bag of M and Ms on a low shelf and noticed with anxiety that they were gone the next morning. Coco had eaten them. A $75 phone call to the ASPCA poison control center. They had me monitor her heart beat. The beat was just under the crisis number...we counted her heart beats all day. Chocolate is very dangerous to the dog's heart and a real concern. We were scared and it was an expensive learning lesson.


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