help! my mom's dog ate chocolate?

Question

I am watching my mom's dog for the week and I left for an hour to work out. The dog got into a bag of wrapped halloween candy I had, unwrapped 3 kit kat bars and ate them. I have heard that chocolate is really bad for dogs. What should I do and what can happen?? It's a pomeranian.

Answer 1

chocolate is bad for dogs, but your dog will be fine - she may throw up, but that should be in. You mostly have to watch out for dark, baking chocolate - that can kill a dog, even in small amounts. The milk chocolate in kitkats is not deadly even for a small dog

here is some info:
How much is too much?
The toxic dose of Theobromine (and caffeine) for pets is 100-200mg/kg. (1 kiliogram = 2.2 pounds). However, various reports by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) have noted problems at doses much lower than this - i.e. 20mg/kg.

Translated to a "typical" scenario, and using the 20mg/kg as a measure of "problems can be seen at this level of ingestion", a 50 pound dog would have to consume 9 ounces (+/-) of milk chocolate to consume the 20mg/kg amount of Theobromine. Some dogs won't see problems at this rate. Some may.

This is a much more conservative toxic level calculation than the "standard" of 100-200mg/kg, but better safe than sorry. A dog sneaking a couple M&M's shouldn't have a problem, but it isn't a good habit to get into!

What are the signs of toxicity?
Signs are most commonly seen within 12 hours (or less) of chocolate ingestion.

* Excitement / nervousness / trembling
* Vomiting / diarrhea
* Excessive thirst / sometimes excessive urination (at higher levels of Theobromine toxicity)
* Muscle spasms
* Seizures
* Coma (rare
* Death (rare) -- likely due to heart rhythm abnormalities.

Answer 2

If it only ate 3 small pieces it should be okay. Kit Kat bars do not have much chocolate on them. Any time there is a dog in the house, you have to keep things like pills, chocolate, etc out of reach. I would call the vet and ask them about it, but it should be okay.

Answer 3

First of all the size of the dog matters, and the amount and kind of chocolate. If it is a small dog, the dog needs to get to an EV, especially he/she ate dark chocolate. Here's a little tip if it is a small dog, give it a tbsp of hydrogen peroxide. It will make the dog throw up within about 5 minutes. It will completely empty the contents of its stomach. I don't know how much to give a big dog though. Good luck

Answer 4

Well, Chocolate is a major source of caffeine, and records show that up to an oz. is enough to kill a small dog. Why? Because dogs have high metabolisms, and the caffeine can exceed in great heights for his heart rate and blood pressure which could just overwork the little guy. I would go to your nearest vet and get a checkup, i wouldn't worry THAT much if the dog ate under an ounce, but since its a Pomeranian, and they could be extremal hyperactive, id take action. =) good luck! (I wouldn't worry that much if its milk chocolate though, its the baking stuff you mainly have to worry about, if Daria ac curs, id take her to the local vet =) )

Answer 5

chocolate is bad for dogs. But one of my dogs gets into it all the time. She even ate 6 dozen Christmas cookies within about an hours time. I thought it would kill her, but she made it just fine, only to repeat by eating a whole chocolate cake. Just keep an eye on moms dog, and, if it gets sick call a local vet for advice.

Answer 6

My friends dog ate A LOT more than that when he got into the halloween candy. He used the bathroom a lot but other than that he was fine.

Answer 7

You can use activated charcoal - give it to the dog to absorb the chocolate. But I would seriously call the vet. My dog once ate an entire pound of fudge - he didn't die, but he did make quite a mess!

Answer 8

it will just give it diarrhea. However, it can be toxic because of teh concentration of the caffeine in the blood but that takes a lot of chocolate and a relatively small dog. Best of luck and keep it off the carpet.

Answer 9

my dog ate a whole pound of chocolate from sees candies ans showed no symptoms so i dont tink it will effect you that much if she only ate three kit kat bars

Answer 10

Call your vet just to be on the safe side. My neighbors toy poodle died after eating a box of chocolates left under the Christmas tree. Your vet will be able to tell you what to do. You can call immediately, I'm sure that someone is on call at their office. Better to be safe than sorry.