Did You Just Eat My Chocolate?
This seems to happen at the worse times.
You just went grocery shopping and put it down for a minute.
You think to yourself,"I will only be a second, go about whatever you need to do, and when you come back the bag is missing.
Did the kids take it?, Did your spouse take them?.
You look around until you see a wrapper on the floor, then another, than another, and it leads you to an empty chocolate bag and your dog.
This is a concern, because everyone knows that chocolate is bad for dogs.
But wait for a minute and take a deep breath.
The first thing to do if it has happen recently is to contact your local Veterinarian or Vet.
ER if they are not available.
You will most likely be offered the option of a doctors exam, but you will also be asked a few key questions as well.
Like What type of dog do you have?,What type of chocolate was it? How much does he/she weigh?, How long ago was ingestion? Has he/she eaten recently? you may even be asked to give a guess as to the quantity that was ingested and possibly if there are any medical problems or if they are on any medication? All of these questions will help the veterinary technician and DVM assess if the amount of chocolate is in a toxic range.
If with all the information gathered it is assumed to not be in the toxic range they may have you consult with your regular veterinarian as a precautionary measure the next day.
And they may also give you a few signs to look out for through the night.
Signs may include vomiting, diarrhea, agitation, shaking, and could (if the dose was substantial enough) include seizure activity.
But if they want you to monitor for that last one, You should probably just head into the clinic.
A lot of people know that chocolate is bad for dogs, but what most people do not know is that the main too components of chocolate that causes life threatening situations is Caffeine and Theobromine.
Lets talk about Theobromine for a second.
It is found in highest concentration in unsweetened Bakers Chocolate.
The amount of milligrams per one ounce is more than five times the amount that is in milk chocolate.
So what does that mean? It means that it take a smaller amount to cause the same toxicosis.
Caffeine is almost always at a lower concentration in all chocolates.
That is just for Bakers chocolate, don't forget that there are a lot of "special" chocolates, so read the packaging if available.
Or if you know the name of the chocolate look it up online to see the concentration.
At any rate you need to make the DVM or technician aware of what chocolate is involved.
Another little tidbit of information on theobromine.
It is metabolized through the liver.
Almost everything that goes through the body is either metabolized through the Liver or Kidneys.
And it is eliminated from the body in the urine.
If your dog ingested enough to be a toxic dose of chocolate, then at this point you may be seeing excitement, Increased heart rate, agitation, nervousness, they may have a big thirst and or vomiting.
Sometimes signs do not show themselves until up to twelve hours after ingestion.
In severe cases with large doses ingested seizure activity has been noted.
And in some cases seizures have progressed to coma.
I know this is a bit much to take in and a little scary, but don't forget these are all pets that got into a large toxic dose.
As long as you don't have a combination of a one pound toy breed dog and a three pound bag of bakers chocolate, you may be fine.
One thing I say a lot in my posts is that every situation is different.
It all depends on the situation.
Your veterinarian will come up with an appropriate treatment plan.
It may include Emesis or inducing vomiting, Possibly Activated Charcoal ( If in the right time frame), the doctor may offer to give a gastric lavage or flush the stomach while under anesthesia.
This can be helpful to remove excess chocolate and decrease the amount circulating in the pets system.
If seizure activity seen, possibly even anticonvulsants.
IV Catheterization for Diuresis with IV fluids.
ECG monitoring to watch the heart and gauge and possibly counteract any effect the caffeine and theobromine may be causing.
Last but not least you may be given the option of hospitalization.
Most of these treatment options are not offered on an outpatient basis, so hospitalization may be a given.
In the end, if your pet has ingested chocolate, to be safe, the best thing would be to contact your veterinarian.
I have been told before, "My dog has eaten chocolate before and was just fine.
" That is great, but I always have to wonder about the people who tell me that, Were they fine or were they just not showing you any outward signs.
Is your pet normally extremely active so you did not notice the exitedness.
Did they vomit in the yard and you just did not find it.
Maybe he was absolutely fine, but there are things that are not necessarily shown outwardly, like the effect of theobromine on the heart.
You may not have seen anything at all.
And just because he did well last time, does not mean he will be fine this time.
You just went grocery shopping and put it down for a minute.
You think to yourself,"I will only be a second, go about whatever you need to do, and when you come back the bag is missing.
Did the kids take it?, Did your spouse take them?.
You look around until you see a wrapper on the floor, then another, than another, and it leads you to an empty chocolate bag and your dog.
This is a concern, because everyone knows that chocolate is bad for dogs.
But wait for a minute and take a deep breath.
The first thing to do if it has happen recently is to contact your local Veterinarian or Vet.
ER if they are not available.
You will most likely be offered the option of a doctors exam, but you will also be asked a few key questions as well.
Like What type of dog do you have?,What type of chocolate was it? How much does he/she weigh?, How long ago was ingestion? Has he/she eaten recently? you may even be asked to give a guess as to the quantity that was ingested and possibly if there are any medical problems or if they are on any medication? All of these questions will help the veterinary technician and DVM assess if the amount of chocolate is in a toxic range.
If with all the information gathered it is assumed to not be in the toxic range they may have you consult with your regular veterinarian as a precautionary measure the next day.
And they may also give you a few signs to look out for through the night.
Signs may include vomiting, diarrhea, agitation, shaking, and could (if the dose was substantial enough) include seizure activity.
But if they want you to monitor for that last one, You should probably just head into the clinic.
A lot of people know that chocolate is bad for dogs, but what most people do not know is that the main too components of chocolate that causes life threatening situations is Caffeine and Theobromine.
Lets talk about Theobromine for a second.
It is found in highest concentration in unsweetened Bakers Chocolate.
The amount of milligrams per one ounce is more than five times the amount that is in milk chocolate.
So what does that mean? It means that it take a smaller amount to cause the same toxicosis.
Caffeine is almost always at a lower concentration in all chocolates.
That is just for Bakers chocolate, don't forget that there are a lot of "special" chocolates, so read the packaging if available.
Or if you know the name of the chocolate look it up online to see the concentration.
At any rate you need to make the DVM or technician aware of what chocolate is involved.
Another little tidbit of information on theobromine.
It is metabolized through the liver.
Almost everything that goes through the body is either metabolized through the Liver or Kidneys.
And it is eliminated from the body in the urine.
If your dog ingested enough to be a toxic dose of chocolate, then at this point you may be seeing excitement, Increased heart rate, agitation, nervousness, they may have a big thirst and or vomiting.
Sometimes signs do not show themselves until up to twelve hours after ingestion.
In severe cases with large doses ingested seizure activity has been noted.
And in some cases seizures have progressed to coma.
I know this is a bit much to take in and a little scary, but don't forget these are all pets that got into a large toxic dose.
As long as you don't have a combination of a one pound toy breed dog and a three pound bag of bakers chocolate, you may be fine.
One thing I say a lot in my posts is that every situation is different.
It all depends on the situation.
Your veterinarian will come up with an appropriate treatment plan.
It may include Emesis or inducing vomiting, Possibly Activated Charcoal ( If in the right time frame), the doctor may offer to give a gastric lavage or flush the stomach while under anesthesia.
This can be helpful to remove excess chocolate and decrease the amount circulating in the pets system.
If seizure activity seen, possibly even anticonvulsants.
IV Catheterization for Diuresis with IV fluids.
ECG monitoring to watch the heart and gauge and possibly counteract any effect the caffeine and theobromine may be causing.
Last but not least you may be given the option of hospitalization.
Most of these treatment options are not offered on an outpatient basis, so hospitalization may be a given.
In the end, if your pet has ingested chocolate, to be safe, the best thing would be to contact your veterinarian.
I have been told before, "My dog has eaten chocolate before and was just fine.
" That is great, but I always have to wonder about the people who tell me that, Were they fine or were they just not showing you any outward signs.
Is your pet normally extremely active so you did not notice the exitedness.
Did they vomit in the yard and you just did not find it.
Maybe he was absolutely fine, but there are things that are not necessarily shown outwardly, like the effect of theobromine on the heart.
You may not have seen anything at all.
And just because he did well last time, does not mean he will be fine this time.