When A Dog Eats Chocolate

It’s not news that dark chocolate can be toxic to your dog.  What to do?  If they have ingested the chocolate within an hour or two, you can induce vomiting by giving them hydrogen peroxide.  It varies by the size of the dog; however, it doesn’t take much.  For small dogs, give them a Tablespoon and follow with another Tablespoon until you get the desired result.

Recently, a Great Dane ate a lot of dark chocolate.  It could have been hours since she ate it, so they chose to wait and monitor her behavior.  This Dane inherently exhibits some of the behaviors you should watch for when a dog consumes too much chocolate – she’s already restless, exciteable, and at times pants excessively.  The point. . .it is to be taken seriously, but don’t panic and attribute their normal behavior to being a reaction to chocolate.

Since it was too late to induce vomiting, the Dane didn’t go to the vet and was monitored at home.  Fortunately, she was able to “pass” the chocolate and process the caffeine and theobromine (stimulants) that were absorbed into her system.

I don’t doubt there have been a lot of sick dogs due to chocolate prior to our knowing it’s potential harm; however, I have heard so many dog owners say quietly that they used to give their dogs oreo cookies as treats.  Some were even given chocolate kisses!  My guess is they weren’t given enough to do harm and we weren’t nervously looking for symptoms.

Information is knowledge and may save you a trip to the vet.  My best advice is to eat the dark chocolate and give the dog a dry, nearly tasteless dog biscuit.  No wonder they too love chocolate!

Go to this article for more detailed information on Why Dogs Can’t Eat Chocolate