What To Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate

With the holidays approaching it is more likely that there will be treats around the house for us humans to enjoy. However, some of these treats can be dangerous to our dogs. One of the most dangerous is chocolate. The following is from dog-health-guide.org explaining the signs and symptoms, as well as first aid treatment for your dog if they have ingested chocolate.

Dog Eats Chocolate

If your dog eats chocolate, he can become seriously ill and in severe cases it could result in death. There is a chemical in chocolate called theobromine that is toxic to dogs. Theobromine is a stimulant similar to caffeine. It is harmless to people, but can cause your dog to become very sick including problems with heart rhythm (arrhythmia) and problems with the central nervous system.'m,.;/.,m
Different types of chocolate have different amounts of theobromine. Therefore they reach a toxic level at different amounts. Toxicity depends on the amount eaten and the body weight of your dog.

Milk chocolate- has 45 mg theobromine per ounce (1 ounce = approximately 1 square). It is toxic at one ounce eaten per pound body weight.

Semi-sweet chocolate- has 150 mg – 260 mg per ounce. It becomes toxic at one ounce eaten per 3 – 6 pounds body weight.

Baker’s chocolate- has 450 mg per ounce. It is toxic at one ounce eaten per 10 pounds body weight.

Cocoa beans- have 450 – 1500 mg per ounce. They become toxic at one ounce eaten per 10 – 33 pounds body weight.

If your dog eats chocolate in lower doses, digestive upset such as vomiting and diarrhea may occur. This can happen immediately or may even happen the next day.

In higher doses, more severe symptoms will occur. You dog may appear restless and irritable. He may have increased urination. His heart rate will increase. He might have tremors or even seizures.

At toxic levels, coma or even death can result. If your dog has eaten close to the amounts of chocolate listed above, you need to take him to the veterinarian right away.

Chocolate in any dose is not good for your dog including human junk food such as chocolate cookies. White chocolate, carob and cocoa butter do not contain dangerous toxins.

What to do if Dog Ate Chocolate

If it has been within two hours since your dog ate the chocolate, your veterinarian will give your dog a medication to induce vomiting. After 2 hours it will have passed through the stomach and into the small intestine where it will all be absorbed by the body. At that point, inducing vomiting will not rid your dog of the toxin followed by repeated doses of activated charcoal to absorb any toxins.
If your dog eats chocolate and shows signs of toxicity, he may need to be hospitalized for a time so that he can be observed and supportive therapy given for any symptoms he has. For instance, if he is having seizures, anti-convulsive medication will be given. The length of the hospitalization will depend on how much chocolate he ate, what symptoms he is showing, and the severity of the symptoms. Usually he will be kept until the theobromine has left his system. Theobromine has a half life of 7 ½ hours. That means that in 7 ½ hours from the time your dog eats chocolate, half the theobromine will have left his system. In another 7 ½ hours, half of that will be gone, and so on. Symptoms can last up to 72 hours.