how much chocolate does a dog have to eat to die?

Question

my dog just ate some a few minutes ago because stupid me left it on my computor table ...i cant exactly remember how much there was left of it ....do you know the signs of death or what could happen? please help me!

Answer 1

You can recognize that your dog has eaten a toxic dose of chocolate from the symptoms. Within the first few hours, the evidence includes vomiting, diarrhea or hyperactivity. As time passes and there's increased absorption of the toxic substance, you'll see an increase in the dog's heart rate, which can cause arrhythmia, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination or excessive panting.

This can lead to hyperthermia, muscle tremors, seizures, coma and even death.

They need to eat an awful lot of it unless it's the baker's chocolate (the unsweetened really bitter stuff). It doesn't take much of that at all to reach toxic levels. If your dog's eaten chocolate, call your vet, tell him/her how much your dogs weighs and how much chocolate he/she ate and what kind (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, etc.)

The first-aid treatment for chocolate poisoning involves removing it from the body, quickly, before too much time passes and the theobromine has circulated, damaging the gastrointestinal tract in the process. The treatment includes:

* inducing vomiting, which removes, and then administering
* activated charcoal slurry, which absorbs.

The sooner this is done, the less the effects of the poison. So it's important you act fast if you think your dog got a toxic dose!

Here's a table I found on the web about the different toxicities of different chocolate:

* White chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes 250 pounds of white chocolate to cause signs of poisoning in a 20-pound dog, 125 pounds for a 10-pound dog.
* Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound dog. Semi-sweet chocolate has a similar toxic level.
* Sweet cocoa: 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight. One-third of a pound of sweet cocoa is toxic to a 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog.
* Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounce per pound body weight. Two one-ounce squares of bakers' chocolate is toxic to a 20-pound dog; one ounce for a 10-pound dog.

Answer 2

I know this is scary and if others are telling you to call your vet, they are right.

It depends on what kind of chocolate it was, how much the dog ate, and the dog's weight. For example, smaller dogs are more at risk. Dark chocolate or baking chocolate are the most dangerous, milk chocolate less so but not risk-free. Even if you don't know how much there was when you left it on the computer table, do you know how big a piece it was to begin with? Was it a regular sized candy bar? They range from 1.3 to 2.5 ounces, usually.

If you absolutely cannot get hold of a vet, do a Google or Yahoo search for Animal Poison Control. Get the package the chocolate came in if you can. Act as if you had not had any, and work from there.

The danger is that there are, I believe, three different stimulant type drugs in chocolate (one is caffeine) and if I am not mistaken, the risk is to the dog's heart. Tell your parents. Call the vet. Don't try any home remedies.

Good luck, and I hope your dog will be OK.

Answer 3

Depends on the size of the dog and the type of the chocloate.
If your dog is medium or large and ate one candy bar he should be fine. If the chocolate is milk chocolate that is better.
Dark or bakers chocolate is the worst
If you have a small dog you may want to call your vet and ask.
If this just happened you can induce vomiting in a dog by giving them hydrogen peroxide.
Give 10ml or a tablespoon or two at one time and wait. The dog should vomit. If not dose a second time and wait.
If that does not do it call your vet.
ONLY induce vomiting if you have spoken with your vet first as this will only work if the dog just ate the stuff.

Answer 4

If they ate a pound or two, they would probably die.. If it was a candy bar, they would be alright.. sometimes if a dog gets too much, it will vomit a lot and cause diarrhea... actually... some additional facts:

The first signs of chocolate poisoning are vomiting and diarrhea, increased urination and nausea. These can progress to cardiac arrhythmias and seizures. The lethal dosage of theobromine in dogs is between 250 and 500 mgs/kg, or about 2/3 to 1 1/3 of baking chocolate for every 2.2 pounds of body weight. However, serious non-fatal poisonings have been reported in dogs after eating smaller amounts. Relative theobromine content per ounce for various products is: Milk chocolate: 44 - 60 mgs/ounce; Unsweetened baking chocolate: 450 mg/oz; Cacao meal: 300 - 900 mg/oz; Cacao beans: 300 - 1200 mg/oz; Hot chocolate: 13 mg/oz.

If your dog eats potentially dangerous amounts of chocolate and you can get to your vet within two hours, vomiting can be induced to remove the poison. If longer than two hours has passed, the animal may need to be seen and treated. Always call your veterinarian for advice.

Other foods that are toxic for your dog: Onions, Pork (especially the fat), Tomatoes, Ibuprofen/Advil/Tylenol (can cause ulcers). Also be careful not to feed your dog chicken/turkey bones as they can splinter and lodge in your dog's throat.

Answer 5

Any chocolate amount is harmful to your pet. If little was eaten then just keep a close eye on the dog for eating normal food and going to the restroom. If it throws up, If you see any blood or a long period of diarea, take it to the vet.

Answer 6

a few M&Ms killed my precious pug, so no amount is safe. However some dogs are more likely to suffer damage than others. I really think it would be worthwhile to call your vet, as they would know the size of you dog, and perhaps you could give them a better idea of how much the dog may have eaten.

Answer 7

depends on the size of your dog.
if you have a big dog and it was just a candy bar, your dog will have the runs for a few days.
if you own a toy breed call a vet

Answer 8

Take the dog to the vet now.

Answer 9

it would take a months worth to feed a dog to kill it....ive fed my 13 yr old chow mix it b4 nothing ever happened.. i think it is just the younger they are the less they need to kill it.
mua
aliya

Answer 10

contact your vet!!! More than likely your dog should be fine but contact your vet for what you should do.