i was just curious to see if any of you have ever actually experienced their dog dying from eating it?? Ive never actaully heard a story about someones dog that has died from chocolate...(that doesnt mean i dont believe it...) i just would like to hear of anyone its actually happened to...
2006-11-02 15:27:54 · 17 answers · asked by hello hello! 3 in Pets ➔ Dogs
I saw this happen to a dog on Animal Planet's Emergency Vets years ago.
It isn't as dangerous for cats because they won't eat it in great quantities like dogs do. Since I just have cats I haven't personally experienced it happening.
2006-11-02 15:32:40 · answer #1 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Chocolate, depending on what kind it is, the quantity the dog ate, and the weight of the dog, can definetly be lethal to a dog. I have never seen a dog die from eating chocolate, but when I worked as a vet assistant, we had a dog come in that was near death because of chocolate.
It was around Valentine's Day and the husband had bought the wife a 3lb. chocolate heart. Well guess who found it. The dog was very sick, vomiting, diarrhea, very lethargic. We flushed his system by pushing fluids through an IV, treated the vomiting and diarrhea, and just waited, hoping he would pull through.
After about 6 days, he did, and he was fine. But I wouldn't have wanted to be responsible for that vet bill.
Normally one small piece of chocolate wouldn't affect a dog at all, or maybe just cause an upset stomach. But, just to be on the safe side, I would steer clear of letting my dog have access to chocolate.
2006-11-02 23:46:35 · answer #2 · answered by ryleigh4265 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, I haven't personally experienced this, but a cousin had a small dog who got into the Easter basket and had a severe reaction. The dog did recover, but it was touch and go for a while.
ALL chocolate is dangerous to dogs. The severity of the reaction will depend on the size of the dog and the amount ingested. AND it depends on the strength of the chocolate.
Baker's chocolate is the strongest. One square of this can be fatal for a tiny dog. It would take almost half a bar to kill a St. Bernard.
Semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips) is second strongest.
Milk chocolate is the weakest, but if eaten in large enough quantities can be just as fatal as baker's chocolate.
The best thing is to simply NOT feed your dog chocolate and to prevent access so no accidents occur.
2006-11-02 23:41:09 · answer #3 · answered by Lori R 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It all depends on how much they eat. No, I have never actually heard of one dying from it, but the majority of people know NOT to give a dog chocolate. People who are careless enough to leave it around where they can get it are just ignorant. It would be like leaving an open bottle of medicne around a baby or a dog. You just have to be responsible to keep that stuff out of reach. With a very large breed dog, a couple of hershey's bars might give them an upset tummy, but a tiny pice or 2 off of one bar might kill a chihuahua.
2006-11-02 23:42:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
None of my own personal dogs.....
But I have had about a half-dozen patients die after eating chocolate, because their owners didn't get them to me in time. Waiting until symptoms develop before seeking treatment raises the fatality rate dramatically. I have had many calls about dogs who died because the owner never sought treatment at all.
I have treated well over a hundred who survived and did great because their owners called and came in when they were supposed to.
Does that help answer your question?
ETA: Theobromine toxicity due to chocolate ingestion is not an 'urban myth.' It is well-researched, and well-documented as fact. Whoever said it was a myth on that TV show was not a licensed DVM graduate from an accredited veterinary college. If she was, she obviously wasn't paying attention, and apparently hasn't been in practice very long....or she'd have no doubt that it's not a myth.
2006-11-02 23:52:20 · answer #5 · answered by A Veterinarian 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The cases I've heard of where a dog has eaten chocolate,the people took the dog to the Vet when it got sick,rather than wait to see if it would live or die.
2006-11-02 23:42:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All the time on "Emergency Vets" especially around christmas, halloween and easter.... and yes it can lead to death if the dog isnt taken to the vet fast enough. I have never had my dogs or cats die from eating it because I am not stupid enough to leave chocolate lying around my house.
Excerpt from Wikipedia..
Theobromine poisoning or chocolate poisoning is an adverse reaction to the alkaloid theobromine, found in chocolate, tea, cola beverages, and some other foods. Cacao beans contain about 1.2% theobromine by weight, while processed chocolate generally has smaller amounts. The amount found in highly refined chocolate candies (typically 40-60 milligrams per ounce or 1.4 to 2.1 grams per kilogram) is much lower than that of dark chocolate or unsweetened baker's chocolate (over 400 mg/oz or 14 g/kg).
The amount of theobromine found in chocolate is small enough that chocolate can be safely consumed by humans in large quantities, but animals that metabolize theobromine more slowly can easily consume enough chocolate to cause chocolate poisoning. The most common victims of theobromine poisoning are dogs (for which it can be fatal). Cats and especially kittens are yet more sensitive, and many other animals are also susceptible.
The first signs of theobromine poisoning are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and increased urination. These can progress to cardiac arrhythmias, epileptic seizures, internal bleeding, heart attacks, and eventually death.
Theobromine is especially toxic to horses, dogs, parrots, voles, and cats because they are unable to metabolize the chemical effectively. If they are fed chocolate, the theobromine will remain in their bloodstream for up to 20 hours. Medical treatment involves inducing vomiting within two hours of ingestion, or contacting a veterinarian.
A typical 20 kg dog will normally experience intestinal distress after eating less than 240 g of dark chocolate, but won't necessarily experience bradycardia or tachyarrhythmia unless it eats at least a half a kilogram of milk chocolate. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, approximately 1.3 g of baker's chocolate per kilogram of a dog's body weight (0.02 oz/lb) is sufficient to cause symptoms of toxicity. For example, a typical 25 gram baker's chocolate bar would be enough to bring out symptoms in a 20 kg dog.
2006-11-02 23:44:54 · answer #7 · answered by Kelly + Eternal Universal Energy 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I had a weenie dog that ate about 15 small pieces of milk chocolate, wrapper and all! She was fine. I've heard that dark chocolate is what is toxic (i.e. baking chocolate mentioned on another post). Still better safe than sorry!
2006-11-03 00:43:03 · answer #8 · answered by michelle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Someone I knew had a dog that died because he gave it chocolate ice cream.. often... not knowing chocolate was toxic to dogs.
2006-11-03 01:58:17 · answer #9 · answered by Megan g 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hasn't happened to me personally but i did have a kid try to tease my dog with a chocolate bar at the vets none the less...
2006-11-02 23:47:45 · answer #10 · answered by ldygrnleaf 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋