what if a dog eats chocolate? How much to eat to be toxic? Is giving her salt to induce vomiting bad?

Question

We had our little 11 lb Jack Russel Terrior eat 1 SMALL pepper mint patty. There was less that a 1/2 oz of milk chocolate on that patty. The dog was fine and had no bad reaction. Being told chocolate was bad for dogs we called the vet. The vet told us to induce vomitting by giving her 1 tsb. of salt in the back of the mouth. That made her vomit alright. She kept vomitting until she was vomitting blood. Well then the vet admitted her into their hospitol. Since the salt incident ( 4 days ago) she keeps throwing up when given soft foods. The dog is still in the hospitol under their care, and says something has upset her stomach and they can't calm it down. Do you think it was the salt?? What should we do? The animal hospitol doctors seems like she does not know what she is doing and is killing our dog. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Jack Russel Terrior owner.

Answer 1

that small of a piece of chocolate should have not done any harm. I have never heard of this salt procedure...don't think you vet knows what he/she is doing. Usually if your dog has eaten SOME chocolate, you should feed some bread which helps absorb the chocolate. The smaller the dog and the more chocolate eaten the more dangerous it is...if the dog had eaten lots of chocolate then you would bring him to the vet. I would mabye seek a 2nd opinion, not sure why you were instructed to make the dog vomit since he did not comsume very much chocolate at all.

Answer 2

I don't think the chocolate had much to do with the problem you are concerned with. I was a breeder and shower of Shar Pei and Chinese Crested as far as dogs go and while chocolate isn't real good for a dog it isn't toxic in small amounts. It does create a problem in that you will find it works out to one of the worst cases of gas you'll ever smell and it can cause diarrhea. The salt treatment is new to me. I would suggest a second opinion as the secondary effects suggests something is damaged. If the treatment that was suggested proves to be at fault then a new vet is not only a good idea but definitely needed. There may be damage to the digestive tract.

Answer 3

chocolate can cause problems for dogs, no matter what anyone else tells you, listen to the Vets, they are the ones who were trained and educated on it.....although this particular vet u are using seems to be a complete DUD.....and you should stop going there.

But I have never heard a Vet give the salt advice.......my suggestion is calling around other Vet clinics in your area IMMEDIATELY, tell them your story and all that you have told here....and take the dog to a different Vet. I suggest you do this IMMEDIATELY......the longer you wait the worse the situation may get......or worse your dog could die. I feel for you on this one, but move quickly, it could save his life. It sounds like your Vet sucks and I would suggest never using them again.

Since it is Sunday and Vet clinics most places are closed, find the closet vet clinic that does emergency, and take your dog ASAP. If your dog is at a Vet clinic right now, call them and demand your dog be released to you before they do more harm to it.

If you don't get your dog out of there and to a better vet immediately, that Vet will end up causing your dog's death. Seriously....this Vet sounds like a real BAD vet

Answer 4

Get your baby out of there and rush her to an vet emergency room...i have never hear of giving salt to an animal to make it throw-up and a teaspoon of salt is alot for your pet to swallow...and they don't know how much of chocolate it will take to kill a dog...i think your pet would of been okay with a small pepper mint patty...I just hope that vet hasn't cause alot of problems for your pet...so,get her out of there now...thats the first thing i would of done...GOOD LUCK...I HOPE EVERYTHING GOS WILL FOR YOU...

Clowmy

Answer 5

My kids gave our little pug a few M&Ms..it caused a seizure disorder , which caused a heart attack...
I'm sorry to hear of your little guy's troubles..The first aid from canine poison control says to give syrup of ipecac, if you don't have that on hand, then give 1Tablespoon of household hydrogen peroxide, and if you don't have that, then, as a last resort put salt on back of tongue...So, it is an accepted way to induce vomiting... I sure don't know how it reacted in such a violent way with your puppy.
I'll be praying for your terrier.

Answer 6

My dog has eaten a whole bag of chocolate @ least 1 lb. and yes she got sick to her stomack but she was ok.. It was the salt that you gave to her /him.. You need to go get your dog and take it to another place or make them drink lots of water it was not the chocolate like I said my dog has done that before and not just once... Good luck

Answer 7

too much choc. can be toxic but my lab at a whole batch of choc. cupcakes and nothing happened. the worst kind of choc. for dogs is the pure kind like baking choc. if they eat a whole brick or something, they'll get thirsty. fill their water dish 2 to 1 with water and hydrogen peroxide. that'll do it. make sure you give it to them outside because it will be messy.

Answer 8

my yorkie often eats choc ,and it hasnt killed him yet nd he is 14yrs and is only 4lbs in weight .Do not make your dog sick with salt or anything else as this can cause kidney failure,it is plain choc that is most toxic.salt is a poison in itself and you would never give it to a dog like this ,i should say your poor dog is in kidney failure now.get him to another vet and sue this vet

Answer 9

I think you should change vets if she doesn't improve right away. Sounds like the vet doesn't have a clue.

Answer 10

go to the vet should be letting your dogs have that kinda stuff smart ***