What to Do if Your Dog Ate Chocolate?

Chocolates are great! They come in all kinds of flavor and is often available anywhere. For us humans, chocolates are the best way to give ourselves some treat but for animals like your dog, chocolates can be poisonous if ingested. That is why you should never give dogs large amounts of chocolates.

It is a fact that dogs should not eat chocolate but there are times when this is not easily avoided. Sometimes dogs eat chocolate when we are not looking and we usually find out after they have already consumed a good amount of it! In case you discovered that your dog ate chocolate, don’t panic. You can always do something about it.  Make sure to read this article so you know what you should do in case such situation indeed occurs.

Giving your dog a small bit of chocolate cannot hurt them but if they have ingested chocolate in large quantities then this could be alarming. Depending on the type of chocolate they have ingested, the amount of toxic may vary. Dark chocolates in particular pose a big threat to your dogs. So before your dog ingests chocolate, make sure that you read this.

What’s in a Chocolate?

Chocolates are made from cocoa and cocoa beans which contains not only caffeine but also theobromine. The darker the chocolate is, the stronger the amount of theobromine is. Dogs cannot break this down so it usually ends up as poison in their system. White chocolates also have theobromine but lesser in quantity but dark ones have enough to kill your dog so make sure that these are avoided.

Signs and Symptoms:

If you have suspected that your dog ate chocolate, you might as well watch out for these signs and symptoms. Your dog may be:

• Diarrhea
• Vomiting that may come up with blood
• Muscle tension
• Incoordination
• Restlessness and hyperactivity
• Increased heart rate
• Seizures
• Rapid breathing

What to do if your dog ate chocolate?

The best solution to treat your dog is to bring them to the vet as soon as possible. This way they can identify what kind of chocolate your dog has ingested and when the chocolate was eaten. This could also help identify what kind of treatment should be done to your dog.

Understand that there is no treatment for theobromine poisoning on dogs. Most of the time the vets will help your dog vomit or expel the chocolate they have ingested. They will also feed them with activated charcoal to help wash and absorb the theobromine in the intestines. Intravenous fluids and medications may also be needed to help hydrate your pet.

The holidays are coming and with that, chocolates are overflowing. Make sure that your dog stays away from these tasty sweets if you don’t want them to get poisoned. If in any case this is not avoided since dogs are known to eat almost anything they find tasty, make sure to bring them to the vet as soon as possible, this way treatment is given immediately and save your dog’s life.